Detroit Zoo's Snow Monkeys Are Offering A Discount Holiday Admission

By Patricia Janeway

Royal Oak, MI - The Detroit Zoo has the perfect gift for tens of thousands of school children on holiday break and anyone else looking for a cure for post-holiday cabin fever. The Zoo is offering a discount of $2 off all regular-price admissions from December 26 to December 31, 2008. The offer is available only with a coupon which can be found on the Zoo’s Web site.

Winter Zoo-goers often find that when the mercury dips and the snow flies, many of the animals become more active outdoors. The Japanese macaques, or snow monkeys, are among the many winter-hardy Zoo animals and can often be seen basking in the warm steam from their hot tub on a frigid day. The Amur tigers, wolverines, red panda, Asian wild horses, elk and bison also adapt well to cold, snowy weather.

A popular attraction in any type of weather is the Arctic Ring of Life with its 70-foot underwater Frederick and Barbara Erb Polar Passage providing spectacular views of swimming polar bears and seals. For a more tropical experience, visitors can take refuge in the Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden – where the temperature is always a cozy 75 degrees – and the adjacent free-flight aviary.

Other indoor experiences at the Zoo include the National Amphibian Conservation Center, Penguinarium, Holden Museum of Living Reptiles, Great Apes of Harambee, Mardigian River Otter Habitat and Meerkat Digs. In addition, the giraffe, white rhino, lemur and farm animal habitats have indoor viewing areas.

To download the holiday discount admission coupon, visit www.detroitzoo.org, scroll to the rotating banners at the bottom of the home page and click on the $2 Off link.

The Detroit Zoo is open daily year-round except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October. Regular admission is $11 for adults 13 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org. The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. For more information, call (313) 852-4056.