A Step Into Africa Layout

Taken from the 2012 Spring edition of ZooNooz.

Highlighted Areas (taken from the ZooNooz):

Ranger Station: Begin your safari by meeting your safari "guide" and his friend, Crowned Crane. They will greet you throughout the exhibit.

Maasai Hut Village: Explore various artifacts and videos that communicate what a day in the life of the Maasai people is like, their dependence on livestock and how it relates to the animals and the Earth.

Crater Canteen: A long day of exploring on safari is bound to make you hungry! Visitors can satisfy their appetite at the Crater Canteen, which will also be equipped with bathroom facilities.

Kopje Rock View: A pane of glass is all that separates you from our three roaming lions. This area is sure to be a favorite for picture taking enthusiasts.

Safari Bus: Like the Kopje Rock View, this one-of-a-kind component will be part of the actual barrier between our visitors and lions. Better yet, the bus is two stories giving you and your family distinctively different views.

Dig Zone: The Ngorongoro Conservation Area includes the arid Olduvai Gorge, a uniquely productive site for paleontological excavations. In this wheelchair accessible area, kids of all abilities can act like paleontologists to discover fossils of the past.

Primate Research Hut: Touch real skulls and casts of hands simulating that of humans, orangutans and chimpanzees. You can learn about the evolutionary history of primates.

Are lions the only actual animal exhibit in this new area?

nope African Elephants & Olive Baboons

Well the main exhibit is labelled as lion. The only other potential animal area I see is a small green are on bottom left, which I assume would be for the baboons. Where would the elephants go?

The baboon enclosure is at the lower right (you can read the labels on the full-size image).

I think that the elephant and baboon exhibits already exist. The lion exhibit here is tying them all together thematically.

Blospz's picture of the ele exhibit: http://www.zoochat.com/1047/elephant-exhibit-184713/

They must have enlarged the lion area because it cut off the elephant exhibit. They are on the right of the baboon exhibit. Baboons and elephants already existed, but lions and goats (in the Maasai village) are the new editions.

Their new map shows the whole area: http://www.senecaparkzoo.org/media/documents/2012 Map.pdf

Although I'm a bit confused why they decided to call the middle section of their zoo, "Backyard Animals." This area consist of Amur Ttgers, cougar, Mexican wolves, and spotted hyena.

In California there are mountain lions everywhere and probably are "backyard animals" for people, even though they would never know it. I've read stories of spotted hyenas coming into Ethiopian towns at night to feed on garbage dumps, so I guess that they could be "backyard animals". Mexican wolves and Amur tigers seem like they would only be backyard animals if you live in remote camps in Siberia or rural Mexico. This theme does seem like a stretch!