Snow Leopard Enclosure from Upper Viewing at Doué-la-Fontaine, 15/06/18

This has to be one of the most extraordinary zoos on the planet, with many exhibits built out of what was probably an old rock quarry. The enormous South American aviary, the Okapi 'aviary', the rhino and giraffe enclosures, etc., are all stunning in their own unique way. Is this Snow Leopard exhibit new? I don't recall ever seeing a photo of it before.

@snowleopard The site is indeed a former stone quarry, and visiting is a very odd experience. The parts of the 'upper' zoo that don't really make use of the topography are actually pretty standard 'good-but-forgettable' enclosures for the most part. The two-thirds or so of the zoo that use the caves, quarries and elevation changes as their inspiration are truly unlike any other zoo I've visited and are generally excellent - this includes the big okapi, South American and European aviaries, Leopard Canyon, Ghosts of the Himalayas and the giraffe/zebra and rhino/gazelle areas.

The Ghosts of the Himalayas section (Snow Leopards, Markhor, Alpine Marmot and vultures) is the newest section of the zoo - it opened in April 2017 - and one of the most stylistically unique!

Now this is an appropriate exhibit. Fantastic.