Snow leopards, meerkats part of new Binghamton Zoo exhibit

By George Basler • gbasler@gannett.com • Staff Writer • August 15, 2009

BINGHAMTON - The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park will open its biggest exhibit in recent memory today, with cougars, snow leopards and a variety of endangered species calling it home.

The nearly $400,000 Wonders of Nature Exhibit is the result of more than eight months of work to get it ready, said Sheila Green, assistant director and general curator.

"It means we're striving to improve the zoo and continue to grow," Green said.
The Wonders of Nature Exhibit will feature cougars and snow leopards in large outdoor exhibits, and various smaller animals in inside exhibits. Among the animals are meerkats, golden lion tamarins, and various species of snakes and endangered frogs from around the world.

The exhibit is being sponsored by the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, Time Warner Cable, the Broome County hotel/motel tax, Teddy Bear Artists International and the Southern Tier Zoological Society, zoo officials said. In addition, Frito Lay has sponsored a sitting area near the new exhibit as well as improvements to the Duck Pond.

The zoo is also looking to create other new exhibits, Green said. Next will be the creation of a Heritage Farm in the lower zoo as well as a new Lemur Exhibit.

The zoo will open at 10 a.m. today and stay open until 8 p.m., with the ticket booth closing at 7 p.m.

To celebrate the new exhibit, the zoo will offer free ice cream to visitors from 1 p.m. until it's gone.

The zoo drew about 59,000 visitors last year. Attendance is holding steady this year despite the sour economy, Green said.

"We're pleased considering the economy," she said.

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