Media Release : April 30, 2006                  

ZOO EXPERTS LEAD AMAZON AND AFRICA ADVENTURES
Zoo previews Botswana, Amazon and Kenya tours, April 30

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Those looking for a South American adventure on the
Amazon or an "Out of Africa" experience can explore travel opportunities
at the Oregon Zoo's Wild World Tours preview, Sunday, April 30. The
event takes place in the zoo's Skyline Room at 4 p.m.

Oregon Zoo Deputy Director Mike Keele, an elephant expert who has
traveled extensively in Africa, will lead an 11-day excursion to
Botswana. The tour takes place Nov. 7-18, 2006, and is timed to take
advantage of the annual flooding of the Okavango Delta in northern
Botswana. Each year, after the rainy season, the delta floods, and
animals from across the savanna flock there to mate and raise their
young alongside its plentiful banks. Antelope, zebra, lion, hyena,
buffalo, leopard, cheetah, giraffe and elephant are just some of the
species that may be seen.

From April 25 to May 4, 2007, Oregon Zoo Conservation Manager Anne
Warner leads an adventure up the largest river in the world, the Amazon.
Travelers board a ship handcrafted to match the style of an early
19th-century vessel, but outfitted with 21st-century amenities. Discover
the diverse wildlife teeming along the river while visiting a riverbank
village or hiking through the jungle. Look for gray and pink Amazon
River dolphins swimming alongside the ship, monkeys frolicking in the
trees or sloths hanging from jungle branches. And, of course, the Amazon
is a bird-watcher's paradise: One-fifth of the world's bird species are
located in and around this historic passage.

From Oct. 5 to Oct. 17, 2007, return with the zoo to Africa -- this time
to Kenya. Oregon Zoo Director Tony Vecchio leads travelers past the
equator to the Samburu Reserve, home to wildlife rarely found anywhere
else in Kenya. See the toothy yawn of a hippo on Lake Naivasha and the
dazzling number of flamingos lining the shores of Lake Nakuru. Explore
the rolling grasslands of the Maasai Mara in the Serengeti, home to
lion, cheetah, elephant, leopard, black rhino, zebra and hippo.

As with the Amazon, Kenya is bird-watcher's paradise, with more than 500
resident bird species. Travelers get the chance to meet with
conservation researchers from Save the Elephants and the Cheetah
Conservation Fund.

To R.S.V.P. for the complimentary informative presentation, call
503-220-5770 or e-mail lamoras@metro.dst.or.us by Monday, April 24.

Information about the preview and tours are available on the zoo's Web
site at http://www.oregonzoo.org/Involved/travel.htm.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire
the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to
conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California
condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and
Kincaid's lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian
elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown
Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light
rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus
#63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive 50 cents
off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or
visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.50 (12-64), seniors $8 (65+), children $6.50
(3-11), and infants two and under are free. A parking fee of $1 per car
is also required. Additional information is available at
www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.