Category — Night Hunters

All of the interpretive signage for Night Hunters is written, designed, and out to production. Woo hoo! See a sample below of the clouded leopard ID sign.

So now that the signage is at the printer, does this mean that my work here is done? Of course not! It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to get this big chunk of it out the door though.

Here are some other snapshots of Night Hunters progress this week:

Preparing a wall for another coat of dark blue paint

Preparing the walls for a fresh coat of paint

The fabricated tree for the Eurasian eagle owl exhibit is nearly complete.

The original artwork of a cat crouching above as you walk through the building was retained and given a fresh coat of paint for a new look.

Scanning a QR code on the "Night Hunters Coming Soon" sign that links to a video preview of the exhibit; QR codes within the exhibit building will provide opportunities to see videos of the animals in action to enhance the interpretive experience.

This morning, I met with Steve Foltz, Director of Horticulture, to talk about the landscaping plan along the paths that lead visitors from the main path to the Night Hunters building and then from the building towards the cougar exhibit (which will open later this year). I’ve been focused on the inside of Night Hunters so it was great to catch up with the outdoor plans.

Here's where the experience will begin off the main Zoo path

The interpretive experience begins before you actually enter the building. The picture above is taken from the perspective of a visitor walking along the main Zoo path coming from Monkey Island. Imagine the green fence is gone, of course. A waterfall cascading down the rock wall into a small pool on the left side draws your attention and invites you in. Passing the exhibit site sign (exact location to be determined), you’ll follow a curved path through a stand of conifers (to be planted).

Steve and Tim discuss plans for the waterfall.

As you approach the building entrance, you’ll walk underneath a trellis (yet to be constructed) that prepares you to enter into the dark building.

Night Hunters building entrance and exit

One of the challenges to renovating an existing landscape is to protect and save as many trees as you can. We often think of trees as inanimate structures and that they’ll be fine as long as we don’t cut them down or run them over. In fact, trees are sensitive to what’s going on around them and it’s especially important to consider how construction affects their root systems.

Tree here! Watch out for me!

You exit the building in the same space in which you entered. Once the cougar exhibit opens later this summer or fall, you’ll turn left out of the building and follow a short path to the viewing window.

Site of the future cougar exhibit

Here, native woodland trees such as maples, oaks, and maybe hemlocks will dominate the landscape. They provide shade as well as continue the feel of immersion in a wild place where wild beings are most certainly watching you from their hiding places.

Look up! Chances are you are being watched by the one who watches. Peshewa is one of the many different names cougars go by and it means “one who watches”. This Native American name accurately describes the cougar’s hunting strategy of watching and waiting for just the right opportunity to leap and pounce on prey passing by. Once the exhibit is ready, our two male cougar cubs, Joseph and Tecumseh, will be able to show off the leaping and pouncing skills they’ve been practicing here.

Joseph prepares to leap.

Joseph in mid-leap

Joseph after the leap

The race is on to get the Night Hunters interpretive signage out to production. It takes 4-6 weeks for the sign company to make the panels once they receive the files from us. Then we need about 2 weeks to install everything, which is one of the last things to do before opening a new building. If we count back from our targeted opening date of May 21, that means we need to get the signs out to production by the end of March. Yikes! It’s already mid-March!

Fortunately, I’ve written all of the content for the signs (though it’s still under review). Nikki, the lead graphic designer on this project, is now busy laying out all of the signs. Each animal ID sign has the same components so there’s a consistent template. The components include the common and scientific name, a photo, a fact file that includes the basic information such as diet, habitat, weight and so on, a range map, and a block of text. On our standard ID signs throughout the park, this block of text is usually an informational paragraph like you would read in a book. Since we’ve decided to take this interpretive exhibit in a more artistic direction, we’re going with a more poetic format.

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