Animals and Attractions

Chimps Should Be Chimps 
Free, Entertaining and Educational iPad Book Released

Lincoln Park Zoo's Project ChimpCARE announced the release of a new children's book for iPad®, Chimps Should Be Chimps, that can now be downloaded for free from the App StoreSM. ChimpCARE is an initiative aimed at heightening awareness about the welfare of chimpanzees across the United States.

Chimps Should Be Chimps is designed for early readers aged 3 - 8 years and offers an interactive and engaging story that aims to educate and inform kids - and their parents - about chimpanzees.

"Too often, first impressions about chimpanzees are formed by seeing them dressed in human clothes performing in movies or television shows," said Steve Ross, PhD, founder of Project ChimpCARE. "Unfortunately, recent research suggests that these impressions can be lasting and have detrimental consequences for this endangered species."

Chimps Should Be Chimps provides kids, and their parents, with a different impression - one that looks at life from a chimpanzee's perspective. Through rhyming, lyrical prose, the story is told through the eyes of two chimpanzee characters: wise old Poe and his granddaughter Lulu who live amongst other chimpanzees at a local zoo.

The engaging story is highlighted with bright, colorful and playful illustrations which seem to come to life with the stroke of a finger on the iPad screen. This multisensory book includes the sounds of waterfalls, music and birds that help bring the characters to life.

The story highlights things that chimpanzees love to do including climbing and swinging in trees, fishing for termites, building nests and playing with other chimpanzees. The story also carefully conveys a message about things that do not make chimpanzees happy, such as being separated from their mother at an early age and being isolated from their peers so they can be used for performancein movies or circuses.

Chimps Should be Chimps was created in partnership with Manning Productions. Learn more about this free iPad book, see illustrations, view the book trailer and get detailed behind the scenes interviews about the creation of this children's app and the work of Project ChimpCARE by visiting www.chimpsshouldbechimps.com or download the book from iTunes by clicking the iPad App Badge below.

Extreme Cuteness Now on Exhibit!  

Daily from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. 

Click here to watch our red panda cubs live on a webcam courtesy of Mozilla Firefox.

Knoxville Zoo's three red panda cubs are now on exhibit daily in The Boyd Family Red Panda Village nursery. Knoxville Zoo ranks as one of the top two zoos in the world for the breeding of endangered red pandas, and the new arrivals bring the total number of red panda cubs born in Knoxville to 102.

Two female cubs were born on June 6, 2011, to mother Kumari and father Madan. On June 20, 2011, male and female cubs were born to mother Akkali and father Chewbacca, although the female cub did not survive.  Zoo staff christened the male cub Winston and the female cubs Bernadette, in honor of Bern Tryon, the zoo's long-time director of herpetology who passed away in May, and Dolly, in honor of Sevier County native and country music legend Dolly Parton. When told that she had a red panda namesake, Ms. Parton responded with gracious enthusiasm. "I am so excited to have my own ‘Little Dolly' at the Knoxville Zoo," said Ms. Parton. "It is a great honor to be immortalized by having the 100th panda born at the zoo named after me. It's a lot cuter than the sheep named ‘Dolly'."

Red pandas are endangered primarily due to destruction of their native habitat, which extends from western Nepal to northern Myanmar. The zoo's newest red panda additions are very important genetically to the red panda population.

Wee Play Zoo is a fun interactive exhibit, designed with toddler, pre-school and elementary school-aged visitors in mind.  Wee Play Zoo lets kids dress up and try their hand at different roles throughout the "zoo", whether it's selling tickets in the ticket booth, working in the Pizzooria concession  stand, or preparing special diets for the animals in the commissary. Little animal enthusiasts can be veterinarians or become an animal researcher and take part in conservation projects. Of course, the zoo always needs zookeepers! Pint -sized keepers can scoop poop, stack hay, and meet animals that live at the zoo. (Parents can rest assured that Wee Play Zoo does not use real poop or actual food.)

Wee Play Zoo is located in the Pilot Special Exhibit Building, and is open daily during regular zoo hours. Come let your imagination run wild!