A SPECIAL REPORT: ZOOS

STARTING SMALL: Orange County has two zoos, and they appeared almost by accident. . . . Turn-of-the-century fox hunters in Santiago Canyon couldn’t catch the local gray foxes, so they imported red ones, which turned out to be even wilier. Caged in what is now Irvine Regional Park, the foxes became so popular among park visitors that other animals were added, and the menagerie evolved into Orange County Zoo. . . . The Santa Ana Zoo was born in 1949 when a rich, local eccentric, Joseph E. Prentiss, donated 12 acres to the city for a park, provided that at least 50 monkeys always be kept there in “ample accommodations.” The current monkey population: 61.

PET NAMES: Ron Glazier, Santa Ana Zoo director, doesn’t like to name his animals. “It has public appeal, but when one dies or you have to trade, sometimes people get upset.” . . . On the other hand, when two foxes rescued from the Costa Mesa Freeway arrived at the Orange County Zoo, a name contest drew 400 entries. Winners: Foxy and Roxy. Losers: On-ramp and Off-ramp, Road Kill and Pancake.

WEATHER: Sunny. Gusty winds below canyons and passes. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. (B6)

* The Top of Today’s News is on A2