Snow Leopard Exhibit (under construction)

Not the best picture, but this in from the glass viewing which is under the black rocky structure. There will be at least one den for them to rest in.

This looks like an improvement over their old exhibit. The snow leopards will probably like climbing around on all the rocks. Even though the colour of the rocks isn't great (it will probably look more natural as time goes on), it is better than how they used to look. Also, I hope that once this exhibit gets closer to completion more plants will be placed in it. Thanks for sharing all of these pictures.

I like the looks of it. Naturally I want to see tons more planting but since work is still clearly being done I assume it will get more when everything is ready. Your right the rocks do look dark but even by next spring they may have faded just enough. They are really going to enjoy their space.

There will be more dens. The plans originally called for three yards. Maybe they arent all installed.

Yeah, Keepers mentioned that the rocks are started to fade as planned, so they hopefully won't be this dark by opening time.

And there are plan to add more plant life. There will be a lot of rocks on the ground, as that's how their natural environment.

Those plans sound good. In almost all of the zoo's exhibits with lots of rock work, they start out looking pretty ugly but as time goes on they begin to look more natural. I like that the zoo is going to make this exhibit seem like the snow leopard's natural habitat and the only plants I would want to see are maybe a couple large bushes to make it feel a little less barren.

Any idea when this will open?

Wont be open until spring 2015 Arizona Docent. We have been waiting for it since this spring when it was originally supposed to be done. At this point in the year even if it were done there isnt much point in opening it because no one will really go see it until spring anyway. At least next summer it can be part of the zoos summer ad campaign along with the African hoofstock additions.

No one would go in winter to see snow leopards in the snow?

Some would but not enough to make reopening such a big section of the zoo worthwhile. Most visitors come from about mid May to mid October. Then there is a huge dip in guests. If they are going to reopen a section of the zoo after reno then they want to get the biggest bang for their buck and thats a spring opening.

For those who want to see animals in the snow there are plenty of options when it comes to normal winter animals and several funny options of animals you dont expect to see in the snow. But basically the zoo is virtually empty all winter which is great for those who enjoy going without the crowds. You get prime viewing spots all to yourself and often keepers have time to chat with just you for a lot longer. Winter visits are usually delightful because no one is there.

This is going to look awesome with snow on the ground