ASHEBORO, NC - North Carolina Zoo keepers will present programs on the benefits and identification of snakes during a series of special events for park visitors Saturday, May 21.

The event, "Save Our Snakes," will feature:

•keepers at the Cypress Swamp exhibit talking about the benefits of snakes. Included will be pictures and models of snakes and a Wheel-of-Snake Trivia game. Children with the correct trivia answer will receive a small plastic snake.
•keepers at the Streamside exhibit discussing North Carolina snake identification and the differences between venomous and non-venomous snakes here.
•a display at the Sonora Desert exhibit featuring the ongoing snake telemetry (tracking) research conducted on zoo grounds.

All activities will be held in the North America region and will run from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
All the weekend events take place during regular zoo hours of 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and are included in the regular zoo admission of $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62+) and $6 for children (ages 2-12). Coca-Cola is the signature sponsor for all zoo special events this year.

The zoo is an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Dee Freeman, Secretary; Beverly Eaves Perdue, Governor.

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