Zoo sex tours becoming popular Valentine date

At Zoo Atlanta, organizers added a second night this year for their "Love In The Zoo" lecture and dance party, with several hundred expected.

"This is science, and it's actually fun," said Nicole Johnson, who works in marketing for the zoo. It's quite fascinating, too. Zookeepers are finding crowds rapt by the dirty details they didn't hear on their school field trips.

For instance, flamingos often pair with members of the same sex. Mallard ducks are notorious rapists. Groupers can change their gender when the ratio of males to females is off balance.

At Zoo Atlanta, James Ballance grins ear to ear when he talks about the romantic lives of the birds and small animals he cares for.

"Birds are like, totally crazy," Ballance says, waving his arms to imitate a strutting pheasant. "Some we call the backseat-of-the-car guys -- they don't stick around. They leave a lot of single mothers. Then we have the guys who will build the house before they even suggest anything." Outside the zoo's flamingo pond, Ballance points to the pairs who spend nearly all day within a foot or two of each other.

"They pair up, but there's a lot of cheating out there," he said. "You've always got female flamingos coming home with muddy footprints all over their backs."

Ballard's talk is hilarious, and zoos are finding adults will pay up to $100 to hear about the amorous antics of animals.

There's "The Mating Game" at the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo. In San Diego, a "Night Moves" program sells out seven nights straight in February.

The topic has proven so popular aquariums are getting into the act, too. Starting this year, the New York Aquarium is offering a February "Sex In The Sea" singles mixer.

"So many institutions have had success with this type thing, we figured, 'Why not? Fish do it, too, you know,"' said Fran Hackett, a spokeswoman for the aquarium.

The trend started in San Francisco, where zookeepers came up with a "Sex Tour" in the late 1980s. A penguin keeper set out red paper hearts for them around Valentine's Day -- penguin mating season -- and crowds packed the zoo to watch them waddle around with the hearts during what used to be the slowest time of year.

"It just ballooned," said Nancy Chan of the San Francisco Zoo, whose tour has spawned headlines and copycats worldwide. "It works because it's so tongue-in-cheek, so funny. But at the same time you're learning a lot."<