Let's say you're visiting the Buffalo Zoo for the first time in years and are searching for Candyann, the popular mule who resides in the new Delta Sonic Heritage Farm barn.

Your iPhone knows.

Or you're trying to find out what time the zookeeper will give the gorilla talk.

Your iPhone or Droid has the answer.

Smartphones are even coming to the rescue of panicked parents who ask the No. 1 question at the zoo:

"Excuse me. Can you point me to the nearest bathroom?"

The city's most popular tourist attraction has become one of the first zoos in the country to launch a new multimedia cell phone application, officials said Wednesday. People who have iPhones or Droids can download a free app that uses GPS technology to guide people around the zoo. There's an interactive map that lets visitors find out more information about exhibits and animals. They can watch videos, get schedules for talks and special events, and explore the history of the nation's third-oldest zoo.

For 99 cents, people can download a special feature that gives them access to about 20 "keeper chats" where experts share interesting tidbits and personal information about many animals.

Zoo President Donna M. Fernandes is confident the cell phone app will provide a more enriching experience for many visitors. She's hopeful that the high-tech twist will even help to attract the zoo's most elusive target audience: people who are between 15 and 25 years of age. During a "soft" launch of the new feature, many young people provided positive feedback.

"We've had incredible positive comments from people -- some people who only came to the zoo because they saw the app at the app store and thought it was cool," she said.

In hopes of making the zoo a destination for international tourists who visit the region, the app is available in six languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin and Japanese. County Executive Chris Collins said this feature lives up to a challenge he issued to local cultural groups to become more accommodating to foreign visitors by welcoming them in their native languages.

"The problem with Americans is we're very arrogant," Collins said at a news conference Wednesday. "We expect others to just speak our language."

Some people who were strolling through the zoo told The Buffalo News they think it's a wise move for the zoo to tap technology. Eric Jacobs of the Town of Tonawanda thinks the new app will help make a visit more interactive for tech-savvy youngsters.

"With the young kids, it will help it to be a little more of an educational experience at the zoo," Jacobs said.

Agnes Lee of Clarence said offering the multimedia information in different languages might help to attract many foreign visitors who trek to Niagara Falls each year.

bmeyer@buffnews.comnull