Night Hunters Opens!

The Night Hunters exhibit opening was a success! We had great weather last Friday night for Members Night. The Zoo was packed and, judging from the line to get into the new exhibit, everyone was eager to walk through it. I even waited in line with my family so they could see it, even though I had just been in the building working on some last minute preparations just a couple of hours before. My kids loved it (they are 2 and 4 years old).

Night Hunters entrance sign
Night Hunters entrance sign
Shhh! sign leading to the entry door
Shhh! sign leading to the entry door

The Eurasian eagle owl exhibit seems to be a favorite among visitors.
The Eurasian eagle owl exhibit seems to be a favorite among visitors.
People seemed to enjoy the "Whooo goes there?" tree holes
People seemed to enjoy the "Whooo goes there?" tree holes
People seemed to enjoy making their own cat ID signs.
People seemed to enjoy making their own cat ID signs.

We still have a few things to tweak in the exhibit (e.g. sound, lighting, reorder a couple of signs), but overall I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out. Once the animals have acclimated to their new surroundings a bit more, they should become easier to see in the exhibits, too.

What’s next? Over the next month or so, we’ll collect general feedback from guests via Facebook and surveys and then do a more formal evaluation after it’s been open a few months.

And the construction continues now on the outdoor phase of Cat Canyon that links the Night Hunters building up with an outdoor trail to see cougars, Malayan tigers, and snow leopards. We’re pretty far along on the cougar exhibit already and hope to open that later this summer yet. The full and complete Cat Canyon is scheduled to open next spring/summer 2012. Stay tuned for updates!

Cat Canyon sign
Cat Canyon coming soon sign
Cougar exhibit construction
Cougar exhibit construction