Donations Accepted for Upcoming New Exhibit
Wildwood Zoo mountain lions Thunder and Star are getting a special party May 5 in honor of their birthday.
The brother and sister mountain lions, also referred to as cougars, joined the zoo when they were 5 months old in the fall of 2008 and celebrated their 10th birthday on May 1. Born on Maple Lane Wildlife Farm in Indiana, they have spent most of their life at Wildwood Zoo.
The public is welcome to attend a special Cinco de Mayo-themed enrichment hour from 10-11am on May 5. There will be fun photo props for visitors and chips and salsa. The cougars will accept birthday gifts of spices, newspaper, boomer balls, phonebooks, pvc piping, or jolly balls.
Activities will focus on the cougars’ favorite enrichment, scents, which will get them to explore their den. The cats will be able to tear apart pinatas with meat in them, paper mache cactuses, and try out blood margaritas. High-grade cuts of meat will be offered as a special treat.
The cats are usually fed carnivore loafs, which is a hamburger mixture, and occasionally chicken or venison.
Even though they are around 160 pounds, the cougars are considered small. “They are classified as small cats because they can’t roar like a lion would,” explained Sarah Storandt, zoo employee. Nevertheless, the cougars are pretty vocal, and can hiss and even scream. “They usually save the screams for when we’re running a little late with their food,” she added.
Cash or check donations during the event are also welcome and will go toward the upcoming new exhibit for the cats. “We’re in the very early stages of finalizing some of plans for their new exhibit,” said Storandt. “We’re hoping to start quite soon.”
The building will be a combination of a new exhibit and zoo welcome center, the latter of which will be the current exhibit building, remodeled. The current exhibit is about 18 feet high and 30 feet wide, which Storandt said is actually the range the cats can leap.
Visit the cougar exhibit (located by the main entrance) this Cinco de Mayo to watch them explore their special treats and speak with zookeepers.
