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Article: Creature teachers tell animals' tales: Corps of `interpreters' educates zoo visitors.(Washington Weekend)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- April 29, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Skip down the large, white-painted round tracks through the National Zoo and into the first building at the bottom of the hill. Step inside and take a breath.
Is it humid? Dank? Tropical? Yes, of course. It's the Elephant House, home of the zoo's biggest residents - the elephants, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses and giraffes that make a visit to the zoo complete. It's command central, too, for the large-mammal interpreters, a phalanx of 31 human volunteers who tell zoo visitors about these lumbering creatures and even show off plastic models of their dun.
"It's been a terrific opportunity to learn about these animals that I may not have come in ...