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Animal Magnetism

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By KEITH MORELLI

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

Published: February 13, 2009

TAMPA - Tales of romance abound in the most unlikely places, like fenced compounds and behind bars.

Relax, we're talking about wild animals here.

As Valentine's Day approaches, such exploits are bubbling to the surface at the Lowry Park Zoo, where during the next three nights Wild at Heart will stir the primal urges.

The three-hour tour, for patrons 21 and older (hint, hint), reveals some of the animals' most fascinating mating facts through tales of caged and unchained lust, wild romance, courtship and uncivilized breeding behavior.

"It's really an amusing, light-hearted look at, we call it, love," said Rachel Nelson, director of public relations at the Tampa zoo. She said the tour includes visits to the giraffes, elephants and Indian rhinos (a longtime zoo couple with well-documented mating habits).

If people are expecting to watch animals copulate, their desires may go unrequited.

"Animals don't breed on cue," Nelson said. "Some animals are monogamous, some are not. Some breed with as many mates as possible, others have very sweet love stories. There are stories that will make you blush and other stories that will make you laugh."

This is the fourth year the zoo has staged the amorous fundraiser, she said, and each year it changes a little so that repeat Valentine's Day patrons don't get bored.
Lowry Park is not the only zoo offering Valentine's Day events. The concept originated at the San Francisco Zoo in the 1980s with an idea by Jane Tollini, a penguin keeper there at the time.

On her Valentine's Day tour, Tollini said, "I get to talk filthy about animals to perfect strangers for two hours. Mine is the raunchiest. I jump into the gutter and stay there until the tour is over."

She's not surprised that the tours are catching on across the country. "Sex sells," she said.

The Lowry Park Zoo tour includes a champagne toast, a four-course dinner and open bar.

The evenings begin just after sunset with music and cocktails, then the tour of the animal areas. Wild at Heart patrons will dine at different locations throughout the park.

Limited space is available for the events, which began Thursday. The zoo's Web site says Saturday is sold out and just a few spots remain for today. Tours start between 5:30 and 6 p.m. and end about 9 p.m. The limit is 100 people a night.

Reservations are required. Tickets are $55 a person or $50 a person for zoo pass holders. To register, call (813) 935-8552, ext. 235.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7769.

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