The NEW Zoological Society officially opened the new Lee & Kathy Anderson Snow Leopard Den and Steven & Bonnie (Farvour) Van Lannen Outdoor Yard with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, December 6. Gary Ehrbar, President of the NEW Zoological Society Board of Directors, along with NEW Zoo Director Carmen Murach and project lead donors Lee & Kathy Anderson and Steve & Bonnie Van Lannen participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by the introduction of snow leopard Ahava into her new space.

The new snow leopard habitat encompasses 912 square feet of indoor space including an indoor area for training and behind-the-scenes experiences, as well as over 1000 square feet of outdoor space featuring a new fourteen-foot-tall rock wall structure. The outdoor area is surrounded by galvanized steel to give it a finished, natural look which was integral to the aesthetic design. The new building will allow keepers the ability to move the snow leopards individually by including two indoor shifting systems. The outdoor area is surrounded by netting that is easy to see through to enhance the experience. The netting is supported by galvanized steel designed to control corrosion over the life of the enclosure and make it last for many generations of snow leopards to come. Combined, they are not your standard looking zoo enclosure. This is a highly creative system to provide the best experience that can be found today.

The new building will provide highly desirable behind-the-scenes “big cat” experiences for guests, which will increase the Education Department revenues and should draw in new visitors. Opportunities for these types of interactive encounters are high priorities within the zoo’s Master Plan and within the Association of Zoo & Aquarium’s standards. In addition to aligning with the interests of many zoo guests. The galvanized steel will also make an impact to the hot-dip galvanizing market as this highly visible attraction will be seen by hundreds of thousands of guests in its lifetime.

This new building will also better meet the needs of the snow leopards themselves by providing additional space that may encourage breeding behaviors in this critically endangered species. The snow leopard has been listed as threatened with extinction since 1985. The global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia, and it inhabits alpine and sub-alpine elevations (9,800–14,800 ft).

The NEW Zoological Society is an independent organization that supports a Northeastern Wisconsin educationally orientated, accredited zoological facility (NEW Zoo), which presents animals in natural settings and proceeds from this event will support its mission.