Predators- Exhibit Construction

November 24, 2012: This used to be one of the old Andean Bear exhibits.

They better tear this down before the Amur Leopards come. I don't know if I want to come and see it if it's in an exhibit that was too small for a single Andean Bear that's half a Leopard's size.

Actually, I'm pretty sure an Andean Bear is at least as big, if not bigger, than an Amur Leopard. However, I do hope they enlarge the exhibit size and tear down the chain-link fencing before bringing the female leopard in, though they probably won't. For those that don't know, this will become an Amur Leopard exhibit.

Amurleopard: Measurement of six males range from 107 to 136 cm (42 to 54 in) with a tail length of 82 to 90 cm (32 to 35 in) and a shoulder height of 64 to 78 cm (25 to 31 in). In weight males range from 32.2–48 kg (71–110 lb), and females from 25–42.5 kg (55–94 lb).

Andean bear: Males can weigh 100 – 200 kilograms (220 – 440 lb), and females 35 –82 kilograms (77 – 181 lb).[6] Length can range from 120 to 200 cm (47–79 in), with a tail length of a mere 7 cm (2.8 in), and shoulder height from 60 to 90 cm (24–30 in).

So either the bears in here were pretty small or the zoo is getting huge leopards (maybe crossed with tigers, for size? )

Yeah I don't know where I got that size difference from. My point is, an Amur Leopard needs a much bigger exhibit than what is currently standing.

Animal is right; Our male Andean Bear was pretty big, and we're supposed to be getting a female Amur Leopard, which is even smaller than the males. But Thylacine is also right with what he says about how the two connected exhibits are too small. This is just one of the two cages.

I know that it's hard to judge from a photo, especially one without any form of scale, but this seems at least adequate for a single leopard. Am I missing something?

That's what I thought when I first saw the photos but trust me, in person, these two exhibits are very small. I don't know why the photo makes it look so large but many people, including myself, think that this exhibit is just the right size for the zoos two Canada Lynx (and if Canada Lynx aren't smaller than an Amur Leopard, I don't know what is).

I feel that the exhibit space would be adequate at best for a single leopard. I feel that some climbing structures would be excellent and allow the cats to get some good height, but as the leopards are being brought in for conservation purposes primarily, a male leopard will probably follow soon after our female. Another complaint is if they don't tear down that ugly fence, as it seriously gets in the way for good photos.

Assuming normal construction standards, the bars on the fence are about four feet apart. This means that the enclosure is about 28 feet by 28 feet or roughly 784 sq. ft.