Woodland Park Zoo to bring guests closer to tigers than ever before when it opens its new Banyan Wilds on Saturday, May 2

SEATTLE, 2015-4-22 — /Travel PR News/ — Woodland Park Zoo to bring guests closer to tigers than ever before when it opens its new Banyan Wilds on Saturday, May 2

WHAT: Woodland Park Zoo will present its newest stripes-tigers!-when the new Banyan Wilds opens to the community Saturday, May 2. The community is invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening presented by U.S. Bank.

Banyan Wilds is a state-of-the-art transformation of the heart of the zoo and represents the zoo’s most ambitious new exhibit project in nearly two decades. The 2-acre exhibit complex marks the return of tigers to Woodland Park Zoo and will take zoo guests on a journey into the world of Malayan tigers and sloth bears. Phase one opened in 2013 with Asian small-clawed otters, a tropical aviary and a kids’ nature play area.

Designed by Studio Hanson/Roberts, Banyan Wilds will bring guests closer to tigers than ever before. Three Malayan tiger brothers will play and pounce, scratch trees, splash in a pool or nap under the shade of an impressive banyan tree. Monolithic rock formations evocative of Southern India will draw guests to sloth bears lounging on a log or searching for honey and insects. Scheduled summer programs will feature zookeepers engaging the tigers while discussing their daily care, and demonstrating why sloth bears are known as nature’s vacuum cleaners. Through hands-on activities and digital media, a conservation action center will bring to life stories of local communities and the zoo’s field conservation partners working together to help save wildlife and the forest.

Visit www.zoo.org/tigers for more information.

WHEN: Saturday, May 2
Ribbon-cutting ceremony: 9:45 a.m.
Exhibit opens: 10:00 a.m.
Grand opening activities: 10:00 a.m-3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Enter through the West Entrance at Phinney Ave. N. between N. 55th & N. 56th Sts. Park in the Penguin Lot at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. or Otter Lot off N. 59th St. & Phinney Ave. N.

INFO: Banyan Wilds is free with zoo admission or membership. Grand opening day activities will include the Show Your Stripes tiger art tour-nine of 10 tiger statues designed by prominent local artists to bring the plight of tigers into the heart of the region, the zoo’s new costumed tiger mascot, scheduled zookeeper programs on tigers and sloth bears, a bounce house/slide, tiger crafts, free tiger stickers, keeper talks, raptor programs, and activities throughout the zoo and in Zoomazium.

Show Your Stripes is a call to action to support tiger and habitat conservation. Activities throughout the summer will spotlight important issues such as certified sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil production, antipoaching measures and habitat preservation.

In 2012, Woodland Park Zoo and Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, established a 10-year, $1 million partnership to enhance tiger Page 2 conservation in Peninsular Malaysia as part of Panthera’s Tigers Forever Program. Working together with Malaysian government agencies, nonprofit organizations and scientists, this collaborative project supports the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan and aims to strengthen tiger survival by identifying and protecting breeding populations in core areas and mitigating threats including poaching and habitat fragmentation. For more information, visit: Woodland Park Zoo, international Partners for Wildlife; tiger conservation and Panthera, Leaders in Wild Cat Conservation; Tigers Forever Program.

May 1 to September 30, zoo hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. May 1 to September 30, zoo admission is: Adult (13-64) $19.95; Child (3-12) $12.25; Toddler (0-2) Free. Active, retired, and veteran U.S. military and their families, seniors and people with physical disabilities receive an admission discount. Zoo members receive free zoo admission year-round. Parking: $5.25.

For more information, visit www.zoo.org or call 206.548.2500.

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Media contact: Gigi Allianic, Alissa Wolken
206.548.2550 | woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org