What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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MAY 22-28, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 39 COVER STORY PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca REPORTERS Monica Hooper mhooper@nwadg.com April Wallace awallace@nwadg.com (479) 770-3746 DESIGNER Deb Harvell ! UP WHAT'S ON THE COVER Visitors to Zoorassic World can enjoy a photo opp with a T-Rex, but they might be surprised to find out he's not the biggest dinosaur on the block. The largest dinosaur spend- ing the summer at the Tulsa Zoo happens to be the one of the tallest animals to ever live on Earth, a 35-foot-tall, 65-foot-long Brachiosaurus — an herbivore. (COURTESY PHOTO) What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. environment and animals today relate to these impressive dinosaurs. "The exhibit highlights many interesting species dynamics, from a predator and prey scene to a mother dinosaur caring for her newly hatched offspring," Compton goes on. "Since these dinosaurs are accurate, life-sized representations, we are also able to detail the special adaptations that each dinosaur had to help them survive in their environment. For instance, the incredibly long neck and specialized teeth of the Brachiosaurus helped the animal forage on vegetation from very tall trees, similar to how giraffes are able to reach vegetation at impressive heights today. "From a fossil dig area for younger ages, a photo opportunity with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and specialized signage with educational information for dinosaur enthusiasts, this exhibit has something fun to offer for all ages," she promises, even a daily Zoorassic World animal chat with a zoo educator. "This will be an awesome opportunity for guests to get an up-close encounter with one of Tulsa Zoo's ambassador animals, many of which can be considered 'living dinosaurs,'" she promises. "All of the dinosaurs are set within themed plantings, some that are here at the zoo naturally and others that have been added by our extremely talented horticulture team," Weisz adds. "One of our goals for all exhibits, including Zoorassic World, is to give an immersive experience. In Zoorassic World, you feel like you are walking through a prehistoric jungle where a new dinosaur greets you around every turn." Habitat is obviously important for all the Tulsa Zoo's permanent residents, too, and the elephants are about to get a new one. The construction project, which should be finished sometime in 2024, will include a 10-acre wooded area "with ponds and streams for the elephants to explore," Piha says, along with a new barn with indoor bathing and wading pools, husbandry stalls for daily care of the elephants, enrichment opportunities and more. With it will come the hope, says Piha, that the zoo can be home to a multigenerational herd of elephants. Sooky and Booper are both around 50 and past baby-bearing years, but there might be a little Sneezy in the future, Piha confirms. "Our plan is to work with our Association of Zoos and Aquariums partners and the Species Survival Plan to identify the best situation for our future and how we can help the future of the Asian elephant population," he says, and fight modern-day extinction. Dinos Continued From Page 9 Zoorassic World is all outside but is set in a jungle setting with a lot of shade. The exhibit also features guest amenities like Dinobites, offering grab-and-go snack items. (Courtesy Photo) The dinosaurs inside Zoorassic World have a lot of movement including head and mouth movement, eyes that blink and tails that wag, plus they make sounds based on what the paleontologists who are studying them in the field hypothesize. (Courtesy Photo) Although all of them are about the same age — 50 — none of the Tulsa Zoo's elephants were born there and none of them are related. Sneezy arrived at the zoo in 1977, Sooky in 1997, and Booper in 2020. But plans for a new habitat come with hopes of a multigenerational herd sometime in the future. (Courtesy Photo)