Jacksonville Zoo’s Land of the Tiger exhibit named among the finest in U.S.
House to critically endangered Malayan and Sumatran tigers, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has earned countrywide recognition for its Land of the Tiger exhibit, which draws in as nicely as educates hundreds of zoo website visitors each individual calendar year.
Land of the Tiger is No. 5 on the United states of america Today Reader’s Choice 10 Best Zoo Displays in the United States for 2023. The recognition is for “special strategies to interact with animals.”
Debuting in 2014, the Land of the Tiger show is home to both Malayan and Sumatran tigers. The large cats “are no cost to roam via the zoo’s Asia Loop on a sequence of trails. Friends can see these animals from almost any angle whilst making the most of the 2.5-acre exhibit,” in accordance to the descriptions of the Jacksonville Zoo’s ranking. The exhibit features a exclusive walkover that allows the tigers to stroll on an enclosed bridge higher than website visitors.
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The zoos honored underwent a two-period course of action. Very first, a panel of zoo industry experts and family travel specialists ended up asked to nominate their beloved animal displays in the United States. Then visitors voted for the very best ones throughout the state.
“The very best zoo exhibits not only teach, but also interact guests by transporting them to a further area — regardless of whether it be the foothills of the Himalayas, a Florida swamp or the Australian Outback,” according to the collection conditions.
In addition to Jacksonville, other Florida zoos in the major 10 were being in Tampa and Melbourne.
The Land of the Tiger exhibit is positioned at the much finish of the zoo campus together the Trout River. The sprawling exhibit is an growth of the zoo’s Asia exhibit, which started in 2009 with the Asian Bamboo Gardens and the Komodo Dragon.
The Malayan and Sumatran tigers living in the exhibit are section of Jacksonville Zoo’s many species conservation attempts.
Previous May possibly, a 13-year-outdated, 300-pound Malayan tiger named Bashir came to zoo. Bashir joined the zoo by way of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Approach, which is designed “to increase genetic variety, appropriately manage the demographic distribution and extended-phrase sustainability” of specified animals,” according to the affiliation.
The program pairs associates of the identical endangered species at accredited zoos based mostly on the genetics of captive populations.
Started in 1914, the nonprofit Jacksonville zoo has about 2,000 unusual and unique animals including two Malayan tigers and two Sumatran tigers. The zoo also has 1,000 species of crops, Northeast Florida’s largest botanical back garden.
How to see Land of the Tiger show
The zoo is open up 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day-to-day. Progress on the web tickets are necessary. Tickets can be scanned from your mobile phone. Typical admission tickets array from $29.95 to $34.95 $24.95 to $29.95 for young children aged 3-12 and $27.95 to $32.95 for seniors aged 65 and more mature, in accordance to the zoo’s site.
United states Now Reader’s Selection 10 Finest Zoo Reveals
The other 9 on the Best 10 ideal zoo show listing had been:
- Asian Highlands at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb.
- Rocky Mountain Wild at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Evening Hunters at Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Yard in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Treatment Middle in Tampa.
- Oklahoma Trails at Oklahoma Town Zoo in Oklahoma Town, Okla.
- Kayaking tour at Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Fla.
- Boyd Household Asian Trek at Zoo Knoxville in Knoxville, Tenn.
- River’s Edge at Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Mo.
- California Path at Oakland Zoo in Oakland, Calif.