FORGET BUNNIES AND CHICKS – MEET THE EASTER PENGUINS

Easter Penguin extravaganza at Blackpool Zoo!

Blackpool Zoo is gearing up for an Easter with a difference by organising a whole host of penguin related fun activities. Between 11.00am and 4pm from Friday 2nd to Monday 5th of April there will be pretend penguin racing, Easter trails and storytelling. Visitors will be invited to take part in the race by squeezing a balloon between their knees and run ‘penguin style’ in the hope of being crowned the winner. They can also take part in the fact finding trails around the zoo and be thoroughly entertained by animated story telling by the zoo’s education team. The literary theme will carry on when Gillian Duxbury from Blackpool Libraries hosts a special animal themed storytelling session between 10.15am and 12.00pm on Wednesday 7th April. All the events will take place by the Active Oceans area of the zoo, which is home to the penguin enclosure and the soon to be opened sea lion pool. Jude Rothwell, Marketing and PR Co-ordinator at the zoo said: “The penguins have been very popular since they came last year so we decided to dedicate Easter to them this year. “We are also concentrating on the education aspect of the zoo during 2010 and the story telling sessions over the Easter weekend on Wednesday 7th April are part of this. “In addition, we launched our Bookworm competition in March, which has had a great response and we are looking forward to announcing our first winner just before Easter.” The stars of the show, the zoo’s beloved Penguins, arrived in Blackpool in 2009 after a 10 year absence from the award winning attraction. A £250,000 investment in the new penguin pool was a resounding success and the zoo is in the final stages of the construction of a completely re-vamped sea lion enclosure. Set to open fully in late May, once Lotte the sealion and her gang have settled in, it will complete the spectacular Active Oceans area of the zoo which is expected to bring people in from miles around. The sea lions are currently living happily with the tapirs, who have been kind enough to let them use the pool. Blackpool Zoo will be raising funds for the Mediterranean Monk Seal project, which is dedicated to protecting the animals in the wild. More details about the Easter activities and the new Bookworm competition can be found at www.blackpoozoo.org.uk. -ENDS- Picture shows: A perky penguin enjoys Easter in Blackpool Notes to editors: • Blackpool Zoo is owned by Parques Reunidos, the second largest European leisure parks operator and a leading world wide player. • Blackpool Zoo is home to over 1,500 mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates set amidst thirty-two acres of mature woodland and lakes. The zoo’s signature animals include elephants, giraffes, big cats, gorillas, orangutans, sea lions, primates, zebras and kangaroos. • Blackpool Zoo is open every day from 10am. Blackpool Zoo, East Park Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8PP. Tel: 01253 830830.

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