Zoos across the country are warming up to the idea of letting visitors feed the animals as a marketing and educational tool. At Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla., visitors pay $2 to feed crackers to giraffes, the Dallas Morning News reports. That’s done from platform that puts the visitors at eye level with the giraffes. Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury said it provides a great experience that gets kids up close to the tall animal, witness the 18-inch tongue and smell its breath. Chuck Siegel, deputy director of animal management at the Dallas Zoo, would like to make it more educational. That zoo is contemplating a change from the past where feeding an animal was prohibited. He wants to incorporate it with a guided tour or class. Animal feeding was once common in zoos but ended when biologists worried about the affect on animals’ health. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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