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Teach an Old Dinosaur New Tricks at the Santa Barbara Zoo
500 Ninos DrSanta Barbara, CA 93103-3798 Phone: (805) 962-5339About
Thanks to a bit of Hollywood magic, the Age of the Dinosaurs lives again. Watch as Duncan the Dinosaur transforms the Santa Barbara Zoo into Jurassic Park in a new 15-minute show. The adolescent, seven-foot-tall T. Rex snorts and roars his way through two daily demonstrations of “How to Train Your Dinosaur.” Measuring 15 feet from teeth to tail, Duncan interacts with the audience, and volunteers can help out as handlers show how they use positive reinforcement to train zoo animals. Duncan was created by Chiodo Bros. Productions Inc., a Hollywood “creature shop.” In addition to many film credits, the company has won Emmys for its television creations and a Grammy for a Gnarls Barkley video. Don’t tell the kids but most of Duncan’s movements are created by an operator inside a handcrafted foam dinosaur suit. And a computer program controls his eyes. So how realistic did they make Duncan Well, for what it’s worth, he even poops.
