Lisa the Amur Leopard has taken over the old vulture habitat. Her first day on exhibit was this Wednesday. She is currently waiting to be announced properly by the zoo.
I had been hoping that they would move the clouded leopards in here to give them more space, as this exhibit always felt small to me for a larger cat (and I do not love that row of smaller cat enclosures).
@HyenaHabit honestly, same. From what I know the exhibit went through a few candidates before settling on Amur Leopard. Red panda, behind the scenes birds and of course, clouded leopard. This would’ve left the clouded leopard exhibit open for the zoo to be able to give their third fossa a permanent exhibit too. But when brookfield decided they wanted to send Lisa to a new home to make room for a breeding pair, Houston jumped at that opportunity. If it were up to me I would’ve added more climbing structures and shade regardless of the species as well. Nevertheless, I love Lisa and having her at the zoo is an excellent opportunity to tell guest about her species and their conservation efforts. I hope that if the zoo plans to continue to have Amur leopards in the future, they get a better exhibit in the African Forest.
@TheImmigrant1 Aw, man, I would have loved for the red pandas to get an exhibit upgrade, too! I totally agree with you on the conservation message and hopes for a better exhibit. I wish I could snap my fingers and have the whole master plan be complete. All the amazing newer exhibits have made me want everything to be on that level!
@HyenaHabit could not agree more. The new exhibits are so amazing that when I visit I barely even spend time around the whole middle area of the zoo (carnivores, hoof run and world of primates) because the other exhibits are just so much better. Asian islands is most likely up next and I cannot wait for everyone to see what’s in store.
