ROYAL OAK, Mich., August 23, 2006 – Senior citizens are invited to enjoy a special day at the Detroit Zoo on Senior Day, Wednesday, September 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Seniors 62 and older and their caregivers will receive free admission, parking and miniature railroad rides.

Presented by AM580, MPRO and Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), Senior Day will feature live music by Picks & Sticks, narrated tractor train tours and bingo.

Seniors are invited to stop by the Senior Resource Area for free health screenings and the opportunity to speak with representatives from Health Alliance Plan (HAP), Henry Ford OptimEyes, Blue Cross Blue Shield, DaVita at Home and other community groups.

The day’s activities will also include zookeeper talks highlighting some of the Zoo’s senior animals, including Jock, the resident river hippopotamus, who is 36 and has called the Detroit Zoo home for 35 years; and female grizzlies Napa, Nicki and Teddy, 34 – affectionately known as the “Memphis Grizzly Girls” – who were donated by the Memphis Zoo in 2002.

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 5 p.m. April through October – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11.00 for adults 13 to 61, $9.00 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7.00 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 398-0900 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March, and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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