Girls Camp Among the Zoo’s Wild Things

The night sounds of wild creatures--the screeching of monkeys, the hooting of owls and the chirping of bats--did not disturb the sleep of the 29 Girl Scouts camped on the grass.

Far more intrusive was the incessant whine of the cars on the freeway.

“People are the loudest animals of all,” said Tish Flynn, educational specialist at the Santa Ana Zoo, where the Scouts were spending the night as part of a program called Roar and Snore. The goal is to give children and their parents a wilderness experience within city limits.

Several times a year, the institution opens its gates to families and groups that want to pitch their tents on the grounds and experience the park after dark.

“We want people to see a different side of the zoo that they’ve never seen before,” Flynn said. “We want to open them up.”

That certainly was the agenda for the Scouts visiting last weekend. The group--girls from three Fountain Valley troops accompanied by 13 of their moms--arrived just before sunset to make camp.

“This is an easy camping experience,” Scout leader Yvonne Florez said, “and a great way to learn about animals without having to go into the wild.”

After hoisting their tents in a grassy clearing near the zoo office, the girls were ushered into an outdoor amphitheater and told the night’s three simple rules: Wear shoes at all times, refrain from running on zoo grounds and don’t--repeat, do not under any circumstances--chase the chickens.

“You’d be surprised at how many of them want to do that,” Flynn said.

The educational specialist brought out some of the zoo’s permanent residents for hands-on inspection. First came the giant African millipede, a thick 6-inch-long worm with hundreds of tiny, wiggling legs and a hard, purplish skin. (“I’m not touching it,” one girl declared. “It’s icky!”)

Next, a colorful milk snake made its appearance, curled around the zookeeper’s arm like a winding red-and-black bracelet.

“How do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” a young Scout asked. (Answer: Girl snakes have shorter tails.)

Buck the opossum was a big hit, despite a propensity for pointing his rear end toward people.

And finally, an Amazon parrot entertained the children with her unique English and a vocabulary that included “hello,” “banana,” “meow,” “red ball” and “hmmmmmmm mmmmm, good.”

The night’s major event was still to come: a flashlight tour for a look at the nocturnal animals. After consuming hot dogs and potato chips, the Scouts set out on their nighttime adventure.

One girl stood open-mouthed in front of a dark cage of chirping bats. “Wow!” was all she could manage to say.

Another girl, at the house of the spider monkeys, made a scientific observation: “It looks like they’re mating!” she shared with her friends.

A 9-year-old declared that she had never seen a bat and found the experience disgusting. “They looked slimy,” she said.

Others were kinder. “My favorite was the porcupine,” a 10-year-old said. “I never knew they were so big.”

Zookeeper Flynn said such observations--positive and negative--are a key to the program’s success because they show the youngsters are learning.

“Any time you put kids and animals together, you have a winner,” said Flynn, who led the zoo’s first Roar and Snore in 1995. Since then, she said, about 500 people a year have paid $10 to $27.50 apiece for a night at the zoo.

The next Roar and Snore, set for Friday, will be open to families. The registration deadline is today. For information, call (714) 647-6575.