INDIANAPOLIS — Once a day when the weather is nice, the Indianapolis Zoo frees its flamingos to let them visit up-close with guests.
It's called the "Flamingo Mingle."
“They're very social, they really like to touch everything including people,” said Chelsea Wilbur, an ambassador animal keeper at the zoo. “They’ll mess in your hair, play with your jackets.”
The zoo is home to 34 flamingos. Guests who arrive before 9:45 a.m., can get so close that the flamingos nibble on their clothing.
Jennifer Grzesic, Brandon Bishop and children Elsie Bishop, 4, and Henry Bishop, 8, drove in from Louisville, Ky, to visit the the zoo, but mostly the flamingos.
“They think it tickles when they touch them and bite their hair,” Grzesic said. “This is our third time here and (the Flamingon Mingle) is always the most fun that we have at the zoo.”
Admission to the zoo varies depending on how busy it it is on the day of your visit. Adult tickets range from about $15 to about $35. Buy tickets in advance to save on admission. Be sure to check out the schedule for the day you plan to visit.
Here are some of the up-close animal experiences any guest will find during a visit to the Indianapolis Zoo.
Flamingo Mingle
The Flamingo Mingle happens Fridays through Sundas yin the spring and every day in summer at 9:45 a.m.
Guests form a circle while the birds walk around and introduce themselves, nibbling their large beaks on hair, bags, clothing, whatever they can reach.
It lasts about 20 minutes. Guests also have opportunites to buy a $4 ticket to feed the flamingos several times a day in the summer.
Pet a stingray and shark
Children and adults can pet the cownose rays and the dogfish sharks at the Indianapolis Zoo's touch pool.
It’s open whenever the zoo is open in the Oceans exhibit.
Eye-to-eye with orangutans
A thick piece of glass is all that separates visitors from the playful and curious primates who live at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center.
Feed a giraffe
Guests can buy a $4 ticket to hand feed a carrots to a giraffe. Giraffe feedings happen twice a day in the summer.
Hop by kangaroos
You can walk or hop incredibly close to kangaroos in the zoo’s Kangaroo Crossing exhibit. Guests can feed the kangaroos daily in the summer for about $4.
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on X/Twitter: @vicryc.
