Jungle Island

The birds at Parrot Jungle are not attracting the crowds like they used to. In an effort to increase park attendance, the Miami theme park plans to change their name to “Jungle Island” in the next few years.

Park executives say the changes reflect a quiet strategy to broaden the appeal of the 70-year-old tourist attraction—a plan that includes rebranding the park as ‘’ Island by the end of the decade.

‘’ It is a really hard decision to make. Locally, Parrot Jungle Island is embedded in this community,’’ said Bern Levine, the exotic bird dealer who bought the original Parrot Jungle almost 20 years ago, when it was still located in a Miami suburb.

‘‘We had a real conflict in the name,’’ said Ronald Krongold, Levine’s partner at the park. ‘We’re a lot more than just parrots. What we’re trying to do is slowly get away from `Parrot Jungle’ and get into ‘Jungle Island,’ which is really more descriptive of what we really have.’‘

JR Rickers, a local tour operator who organizes trips for European groups thinks otherwise:

‘‘Parrot Jungle’s biggest handicap is the $25 ticket price and limited things to do. You can call yourself Jungle Island, but you’re still a fairly small attraction with a lot of parrots.’’

Next month, the park will unveil a four-story water slide and a new private beach with 1,000 tons of white sand.

Still, after finishing 2004 with a $5 million loss, city officials warn there is ‘‘substantial doubt’’ the park can continue going as is.

The Herald is running a poll on weather or not Parrot Jungle should change its name.

Related:
• Parrot Jungle Tickets
• Pictures of Parrot Jungle Island

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