Turtle Back Zoo to Get 'Big Cats,' Adventure Course

Big cats are coming to the Turtle Back Zoo.

Essex County plans to open an exhibit to showcase jaguars, cougars and a snow leopard as part of its new "Big Cat Country Complex."

The county filed its plans for the approximately $3 million project with West Orange Feb. 15. Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. is slated to present the plans during a March 2 courtesy hearing with the township's planning board. The 18-acre zoo is located on Northfield Avenue in West Orange.

"It will be a beautiful exhibit," said DiVincenzo. "It will be a great feature and people will love it because our exhibits are first class."

The new exhibit also will include an elk enclosure and an aerial adventure course. The elk enclosure is planned to open in 2012, while DiVincenzo said the zoo will break ground in April for a September opening of the cat exhibit and adventure course.

The plan also calls for an adobe-themed restroom facility that will prevent zoo-goers from having to leave the exhibit.

The cat country complex will feature cougars and jaguars in mesh netting and glass enclosures on display for zoo-goers. The exhibit also will include a hot rock, eight holding cages, safety mirrors and a seating area.

Essex County Turtle Back Zoo Director Dr. Jeremy Goodman said the exhibit, including the holding area, will be approximately 7,500-square-feet in size and will include two new jaguars and two of the zoo's existing cougars.

The cougars will be transferred from the zoo's Asian exhibit because the cats are not from Asia. Goodman said the zoo will replace the cougars with one new snow leopard, which is from Asia. All the cats are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan Programs, according to Goodman.

Goodman said the new cat exhibit will be the zoo's first that allows a rotation of the animals. "All previous exhibits are designed for one animal, but this will give us flexibility to move animals side to side," he said.

Goodman also said the new addition will accommodate breeding. "This will allow for future breeding and we'll have room for cubs," he said.

DiVincenzo said he got the idea of a big cat exhibit when he attended the Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference and returned with a large stuffed tiger. "I come back with a stuffed animal and this is what we built," he said.

The elk enclosure, which DiVincenzo said will open in 2012, will include four elks surrounded by a 10-foot high chain link fence and a wood pavilion with four stalls.

"We had elk here before and they are alternates on the plan," said Goodman. "If we have enough money to do it, we'll be bringing them back."

The aerial adventure course includes zip lines, a suspension bridge and a sales shed, according to the preliminary plans. Goodman said there will be roughly 30 different challenges in the course.

"What we're trying to do in addition to the exhibits is add education components and show and develop the appreciation for the reservation we have," he said. Goodman said one example of this is a "tree top exploration" activity.

DiVincenzo said the adventure area will have a separate admission fee similar to the area's Safari miniGOLF course. He said the facility will operate independently and have a separate entrance from the zoo to accommodate visitors who wanted to avoid the zoo altogether.

DiVincenzo said he hopes the new exhibit and adventure course will draw additional visitors in 2011 when it's completed in September. The zoo topped 550,000 visitors this past year and, DiVincenzo said, it likely will top 575,000 this year.

DiVincenzo said the expansion is part of the county's $4.8 million, 36-acre South Mountain Recreation Complex renovation, which includes Turtle Back Zoo, Richard J. Codey Arena, a three-story Park N Ride facility, a 300-space surface parking lot, which was built in conjunction with miniGOLF Safari, and a soon-to-be-built boathouse.

The zoo announced in November the creation of a sea lion exhibit that will open in 2013 for the zoo's 50th anniversary. To pay for that exhibit, DiVincenzo said $1 was added Jan. 1 to the zoo's admission price.

DiVincenzo said bids for the cat exhibit and the adventure course will be accepted on Thursday.