For anyone who ever has wondered what the purr of a 450-pound cat sounds like, the Denver Zoo is bringing that up-close experience to visitors.
The zoo unveiled the name and official logo Wednesday morning for a tiger exhibit tentatively scheduled to open in late June.
The exhibit, called The Edge, will put visitors on the outskirts of a forest and on the front line of big-cat action. The new location will feature expansive new space for its inhabitants, three Amur tigers, as well as new ways for visitors to connect and interact with the animals unlike ever before.
“Can you imagine a striped face staring back at you through the pine needles of forest trees?” Denver Zoo CEO Shannon Block asked during a news conference Wednesday. “Imagine getting a whiff of the pork a tiger just ate, or hearing their huffing noises right in your ear.”
Almost 1 full acre, The Edge will be set on the southeastern edge of the park, between the Tropical Discovery and seal exhibits.
“The name signifies how close our visitors can be to these animals and reflects the appearance of the exhibit, which will look like the edge of a forest,” Block said. “It also serves as a reminder to guests that the species is on the edge of extinction — but that with continued conservation efforts they can be saved.”
Made possible by $2.2 million from Better Denver Bonds Funds from the city and county of Denver, The Edge will increase the outdoor space for the tigers by almost 50 percent.
It also will better mimic the tigers’ natural habitat, and the new area will incorporate more than a dozen 120-year-old pine trees scattered throughout the grounds.
“We’re most excited for a more dynamic exhibit for both the animals and the visitors,” said Brian Aucone, the vice president for animal care and conservation. “It’s much more naturalistic, with their forest environment, and there will even be dens for mothers having cubs.”
The staff also said the new features of the exhibit, such as giant catwalks and bridges standing just 12 feet over visitors heads, will display that cat’s athleticism and playful activity in a new way.
Guests will get to “smell and hear” the tigers through a perforated wall as a part of the viewing area inside of the exhibit, as well as watch zookeepers work with the animals in daily demonstrations.
“This new addition is a testament to how much we’ve grown as a zoo over the years — how to build better projects, how to better our visitors’ experience,” said George Pond, vice president for design and campus development. “And this exhibit hits on all of that.”
A new traveling exhibit, called Washed Ashore, also was announced Wednesday.
It will run from Sept. 24 through Jan. 16 and features 15 giant sculptures of sea life, made almost entirely from trash collected from beaches.
“Even though we’re far from the ocean ourselves, 80 percent of trash comes from land carried by our rivers into the oceans,” Block said.
Mayor Michael Hancock said Wednesday the zoo is a gift to Colorado.
“My favorite thing to do when I visit a new city is to visit a zoo, and I have yet to find one I like as much as Denver’s,” Hancock said.
“Also, thank you for not making this a panther exhibit — we’d be less inclined to give a panther a home ahead of the Super Bowl game this weekend.”
Natalie Munio: 303-954-1666, nmunio@denverpost.com or @nataliemunio
