Animal Crackers Turn Hip

Wait just a minute, here. Is that a peregrine falcon I see in my box of animal crackers? Yup. And nestled right next to it is a giant panda and a hawksbill turtle.

The crumbly critters - billed as “Barnum’s Animals Endangered Collection Crackers” - are arriving on local shelves, the first time in 93 years that the familiar red circus-wagon packaging has been changed.

The new boxes, splashed with jungle designs and sporting ecochic green string handles, will be sold through Aug. 14. Then the circus wagons will be back.

During the promotion, Nabisco Foods Inc. will donate 5 cents for each box sold to the World Wildlife Fund.