Snow Leopard Exhibit

Client

Binder Park Zoo

Project Location

Battle Creek, MI

Construction Type

Renovation

Snow Leopard Exhibit

Conservation Construction Management Renovation

The snow leopards have a new and improved home at the Binder Park Zoo. This top quality exhibit includes an outdoor natural habitat, a viewing pagoda and a holding den.

The exhibit replicates the snow leopard’s natural habitat by providing them with rock piles to climb, and a greater distance to roam. Cooling rocks are positioned close to viewing areas to provide guests with more visibility of the snow leopards and children can crawl their way through logs to get a closer look from a protected glassed area inside the exhibit. Large rocks along with a geothermal-cooled boulder in the shadow of branches above serve to increase the comfort level for this cold climate cat.

Guests can view the snow leopards by entering through a shaded “viewing blind” structure. Through glass partitions visitors can watch the cats amble out and up along large tree trunks that have been cut and positioned up to 20 feet off the ground. Tall perches such as these give them a feeling of security providing a low stress environment and produce natural behaviors for zoo visitors to witness.

The snow leopard off-exhibit holding area was constructed with a high roof-line to provide an elevated platform area. Appropriate off-exhibit holding areas are used for behavioral management training, veterinary supervision, security and breeding