Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo to break ground on new tiger and sloth bear complex
Sep 16, 2012, 11:36 AM | Updated: 3:03 pm
 The new exhibit will bring Asian small-clawed otters, like those pictured in the photo, to the Woodland Park Zoo. Asian tigers and sloth bears will also be a part of the new Asian tropical forest exhibit. (Photo: Cleveland Metro Parks/File) |
On Tuesday, September 18 the Woodland Park Zoo will break ground on its latest wildlife exhibit: an Asian tropical forest habitat. The zoo will celebrate the occasion with a ground-breaking ceremony for members and local students.
The complex is the biggest project the zoo has undertaken since the 1996 opening of its Trail of Vines exhibit and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2013. The complex, which will cost over $30 million, will span two full acres.
The new facility is designed to replace a 60-year-old exhibit with an updated and more realistic habitat for Asian small-clawed otters, Malayan tigers, and sloth bears.
Modeled after the theme “sharing the forest: people are the conservation solution,” the facility will include training stations at the front of the exhibit, where visitors can see keepers interact with the tigers and sloth bears. The site will also include a play area for children that will introduce them to the Asian tropical forest habitat, which will include a miniature zip line.
The ground-breaking ceremony, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, will be attended by Seattle City Council member Nick Licata, State Representative Jamie Pedersen, the Chair of the Woodland Park Zoo board of the directors Stuart Williams, zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen, as well as local students, donors, and members of the zoo.
