THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408060194
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
When they return, in six to nine months, they'll no longer be cubs but full-grown tigresses.
``The tigers are about three-quarters grown now. They'll be adding about 150 pounds to reach an adult weight in the neighborhood of 600 pounds,'' Gary Ochsenbein, zoo superintendent, said Friday.
The tigers came to the Virginia Zoological Park nearly two years ago after federal agents confiscated them from a breeder who had sold them illegally.
``A lot of people have been following the tigers' history,'' Ochsenbein said. ``A lot of people would like to take a last look before they go off exhibit.''
But even if you miss seeing the tigers in person, all is not lost.
The tigers - in cub form - will pop up throughout Hampton Roads on a hand-painted billboard promoting the zoo.
The billboard shows the cubs against a flowery backdrop. The caption: ``Visit One of Norfolk's First Families. The Virginia Zoo.''
On Friday, the billboard was unveiled by the Adams Outdoor Advertising company at its corporate office, 5547 E. Virginia Beach Blvd.
Come Monday, the billboard will be near Interstate 464 in Chesapeake, close to Norfolk's city line, in view of motorists heading from Norfolk to Chesapeake. Over the next year, it will be moved every other month to other sites in Hampton Roads, said Gardner King, Adams' general manager.
Adams donated the $750 production cost plus billboard space worth $2,650 a month, King said.
The billboard's dedication coincided with opening bids for the tigers' new exhibit area.
``I can't wait to get them into a proper exhibit. The one they're in now is really so small,'' said Margaret Falkiner, president of the Virginia Zoological Society.
The exhibit now has about 450 square feet of open area and a small night house. In their new habitat, the tigers will roam over an 8,500-square-foot paddock and have a three-bay shelter.
Also, there will be a ``hot rock,'' an electrically heated artificial boulder where the tigers can stretch out.
The final cost is not yet known. There were seven bids in a base range of $342,000 to $560,000, but there probably will be extras such as a waterfall and swimming area, said Chuck Joyner, a public works civil engineer. The city and the zoological society soon will choose the best construction package.
The society so far has raised about $217,000 of its share of the cost, with Norfolk to provide the other half, Ochsenbein said. Leading donors included local Exxon service stations and the gasoline company's national corporation.
The tiger display will be the first phase in the zoo's long-anticipated expansion. The city and zoological society hope to continue sharing costs, said Mayor Paul D. Fraim.
``We have a notion that we would like to have a world-class zoo,'' Fraim said. MEMO: For fund-raising information, call the Virginia Zoological Society,
624-9937.
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL AIKEN/Staff
A hand-painted billboard of the tigers as young cubs was unveiled in
the 5500 block of E. Virginia Beach Blvd. on Friday. The billboard
will be moved around Hampton Roads over the next year.
by CNB