Detroit Zoo animals will receive an extraordinary treat on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, when Buddy’s Pizza delivers specially created “enrichment pizzas”. Prepared in collaboration with the Zoo’s animal welfare staff, the pies will be topped with such culinary delights as fish, peanut butter, bones, bugs and worms.
The special delivery is to kick off a multi-year agreement between the Detroit Zoological Society and Buddy’s Pizza recognizing the restaurant group as “Proud Pizza Partner of the Detroit Zoo”.
Detroit Zoo visitors are invited to watch the animals devour their pizzas at the following times:
- 9:30 a.m. – polar bears (tundra) – giant pizza with fish and peanut butter
- 10 a.m. – snow monkeys – personal pan pizzas with cereal, honey, craisins and crackers
- 10:30 a.m. – wolverines – pizza with bones, meat and scents
- 11 a.m. – tigers – meat lover’s pizza
- 11:30 a.m. – reptiles – vegetarian pizza with bugs, worms and veggies
- 1 p.m. – penguins – frozen pizza with fish and krill
- 1:30 p.m. – meerkats – pizza with baby food and meal worms
- 2 p.m. – coatis – pizza with honey and crickets
- 2:30 p.m. – anteaters – pizza with avocados, oranges and bananas
Enrichment is provided daily at the Detroit Zoo to help make the environments of the animals more dynamic and engaging. It includes the introduction of novel and sometimes unpredictable elements such as objects, sounds, scents or other stimuli that give the animals choice and control in their environment and encourage them to respond in species-typical ways.
As the Detroit Zoo’s pizza partner, Buddy’s Pizza will provide discount coupons to Zoo guests who purchase tickets to rides and attractions such as the Tauber Family Railroad, Wild Adventure Ride and Wild Adventure 3-D/4-D Theater. Buddy’s will also subsidize field trips to the Zoo for underserved elementary students throughout Metro Detroit.
Founded in 1946, Buddy’s Pizza has nine locations throughout Metro Detroit and has been recognized by The Food Network as one of the “nation’s five best pizza places”.
Celebrating its 100th year, the Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of 10 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through Labor Day (with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day after Labor Day through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March. Admission is $12 for adults 15 to 61, $10 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $8 for children ages 2 to 14 (children under 2 are free). The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round; admission is free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.
