With the force of an earthquake and ear-piercing roars of thunder, the one- time rulers of land are returning to �Dino Mountain� at the San Diego Zoo�s Wild Animal Park. The exhibit opens this Saturday.

The Wild Animal Park�s 4-acre conifer forest is being transformed into the land before time, crawling with creatures that roamed the Earth during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, 65 million to 150 million years ago. These life-size robotic dinosaurs will be at the Wild Animal Park beginning May 1 through Sept. 6. Dino Mountain, presented by Mervyn�s, features more than 20 meandering Mesozoic monsters including the Parasaurolophus, which grew to be about 40 feet long and nine feet tall; the largest meat-eater of the early Jurassic Period a Dilophosaurus, which means �double-crested lizard�; the primarily fish-eating Baryonyx, which possessed a huge hooked shaped claw on each of its thumbs; the tail-spiked Stegosaurus, which had a brain the size of a walnut; and the towering and terrorizing Tyrannosaurus rex, perhaps the most formidable predator that ever roamed the Earth.

Joining this crew of monsters for the first time at Dino Mountain will be the plant-eating dinosaur Brachiosaurus, which had a giraffe-like stance and may have lived in Earth-shaking herds. And for the first time ever in North America, dinosaur fans can view a robotic replica of the Giganotosaurus and the Megalosaurus, which was the first dinosaur fossil discovered in England in 1676.

Designed and built by Billings Productions, Inc. in Texas, these prehistoric creatures were developed by a team of scientists, artists, engineers and computer experts. Molds made from clay dinosaur sculptures are covered with liquid foam rubber to form skin, presenting a realistic look to these life-size predators. The 20 dinosaurs range in size from a 4-foot tall baby Parasaurolophus to a towering 19-foot Omeisaurus. Dino Mountain will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 1 through June 18, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 19 through Sept. 6. Admission to the Wild Animal Park is $29.50 for age 12 and older, $22.00 for ages 3 � 11 and free for age 2 and under.

The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo�s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 100-acre San Diego Zoo and the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas world wide.

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Media Contact: Paul Garcia +1 619-685-3291 pgarcia@sandiegozoo.org