For Release: 2008-08-11 13:29:00
The next One to One with Bill Goodman, taped on location at the Louisville Zoo’s Gorilla Forest, features zoo director John Walczak. The program airs Sunday, Aug. 24 at 2/1 p.m. CT on KET1 and Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 7:30/6:30 p.m. CT on KET2.The Gorilla Forest, Walczak explains, simulates a tour through an African wilderness, and was awarded the Best Exhibit in North America by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2003. One of the stars of the exhibit is the 49-year-old Timmy, the oldest male gorilla in North America. Timmy shares his home with several female gorillas and Mojo, a patas monkey previously owned by Nascar driver Tony Stewart.
Walczak explains why he thinks the zoo makes a wonderful place for people to enjoy each other’s company, and even a good place for a first date. He then goes into the zoo’s larger mission of allowing people to form a bond with the planet, thereby encouraging them to become conservationists. The zoo, he says, is also an outstanding educational tool that annually hosts more than 100,000 student visitors, ranging from pre-schoolers to scholars in advanced degree programs.
Walczak then discusses current events at the zoo, including the progress of baby elephant Scotty, now weighing in at more than 1,400 pounds. In March 2007, Scotty became the first elephant born in Kentucky. Walczak describes the preparation and planning involved in Scotty’s conception and birth. He reveals that the zookeepers actually slept in the elephant barn for four months prior to Scotty’s birth.
Finally, Walczak gives an update on the development of Glacier Run, a $25 million exhibit scheduled to be completed in 2010, that will allow guests to observe polar bears close-up.
One to One with Bill Goodman is a KET production, produced by Goodman and Cindy Asher. Following the broadcast, One to One is available for on-demand videostream viewing at www.ket.org/onetoone and podcasting at www.ket.org/rss. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.
Contact: Amanda Stroud
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