CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / PASO ROBLES
About 35 animals perished in a blaze Thursday morning at a wildlife education facility.
The fire, whose cause is under investigation, was discovered as employees were arriving at Zoo to You about 7:30 a.m., said Anita Jackson, the education director. It spread through a building on the 40-acre ranch that housed offices, as well as reptiles, birds and several mammals.
Among the animals lost were Lisa Lulu, a monkey whose credits include a recent appearance on the “Today” show, and a colorful 50-year-old macaw.
“Johnny was the first thing you talked to in the morning,” said Jackson, who founded Zoo to You with her husband and a colleague 20 years ago. “He’d ask you for a walnut or a sip of water.”
A nonprofit rescue agency, Zoo to You puts on school programs promoting habitat protection and conservation. About 200 animals live on its ranch.
-- Steve Chawkins
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