When the CMC Alumni Association sponsored a Zoopendous outing at the Los Angeles Zoo last month, guests young and old were treated to a night under the stars, serenaded by the sounds of roaming peacocks and howling wolves. But that’s just half the story. Festivities actually started when 70 CMC guests (alumni and children, family and friends) arrived with tents and sleeping bags for an overnight camp out in the zoo’s grassy playground area. While docents shuffled gear into a waiting shuttle, CMCers were then divided into groups of 10 for guided, after-hours tours of the animal pens. The tours ended at the campsite, where guests assembled their tents by moonlight (and with the help of CMC-provided flashlights) before turning in. Following a continental breakfast the next day, the group was on its way again, this time getting a morning tour of the zoo before its opening to the public. When the zoo re-opened, CMC guests were welcome to reenter the park at no charge.

Elenor Taylor, director of alumni relations, says one of the alumni association's goals is to sponsor a family outing annually. The summer trip was coordinated by the CMC Office of Alumni Relations.

A mother Central American Tapir and her calf provided Zoopendous onlookers with morning entertainment. Adult tapirs will climb on each other's backs to reach edible leaves, and often wallow in mud baths to cool off. All tapirs are endangered due to hunting and habitat destruction.

CMC staff, alumni, and their families got an early morning guided tour through parts of the zoo, including an up-close look at a white cockatoo that had been donated to the animal park.

Late to bed, and early to rise: Camp Zoopendous, pre-disassembly. What you don't see are many, still-sleeping guests.