Pittsburgh Zoo Set To Debut Robotic Dinosaurs, Freaky Large Rodents

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium will celebrate Memorial Day weekend with two new attractions: a dinosaur exhibit and a Jungle Odyssey area whose animals will include the world’s largest rodents. Both will open May 26.

Dinosaurs at the Zoo Pittsburgh will enable people to see life-size replicas of long-extinct dinosaurs. Among those on display will be the Tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, suchominus, igunodon, coelophysis, pachyrhino, elophrosaurus and dimeterosaurus.

Unlike dinosaur exhibits in most museums, the zoo’s dinosaurs won’t stay stationary. Thanks to cutting-edge robotics and state-of-the-art software, zoo officials promise that each species will display detailed, lifelike movements. The technology is so sophisticated that zoo officials say the creatures' unique personalities will be evident.

Jungle Odyssey will replicate some of the world’s densest forest environments and will even include a zip line. The area will include Joining the capybaras in Jungle Odyssey will be animals such as a pygmy hippo, giant anteater, ocelots, fossas and the planet’s biggest rodent, the capybaras. Indigenous to South America, the capybaras bear a striking resemblance to guinea pigs - except these guinea pigs can weigh as much as 150 pounds. They look like this:

Dinosaur photo by Smabs Sputzer via Creative Commons. Capybaras photo by Tanya Durrant via Creative Commons.