A pride of lions sits atop a rock outcropping, watching as giraffe, rhinoceros and a herd of antelope mingle on the rolling hills of the East Africa plains. Cameras in hand, a group of people tiptoe closer to the �Lion Camp,� never having been this close to the big cats before. It�s an experience they�ll never forget at the San Diego Zoo�s Wild Animal Park. Lion Camp is the newest exhibit being built at the Wild Animal Park. Expected to open in August, this 1-acre naturalistic exhibit will immerse visitors within the lion pride�s territory. The first leg of the adventure is a stop at an observation station built into the crevice of a kopje, a rock outcropping where the lion pride might nestle among the boulders. The kopje is sure to be a popular lion lounging spot on cool days because heated rocks will be built near the window, and on warm days, the rocks will be cool while thorny acacia trees will provide shade for the big cats. The lions are separated from visitors by a 40-foot-long laminated, tempered glass panel, giving the exhibit a unique feeling of being in an African savanna. Visitors will wander into a tented research camp where they may chance an encounter with a lion occupying the other half of the tent. Guests will be happy to find there is a 12-foot long glass panel between them, offering the lions the opportunity to come inside the tent to station is outfitted with many of the trimmings that field researchers, who are following a pride of lions, might need at camp: stools, tables, kitchen gear, boxes, cots and a safari vehicle. The safari vehicle is on the lions� side of the viewing panel, set up so the cab is closed but the back is open and includes heating and cooling features to entice the lions into the vehicle. In conjunction with the creation of a new habitat, the old lion exhibit built in the early 1970s, will be refurbished to provide space for a breeding pride of lions. In Africa, wild lions are facing tremendous pressure with habitat destruction, hunting by poachers and death by disease threatening their existence. The Wild Animal Park is committed to raising awareness about the plight of the lion by showcasing the species in the new Lion Camp habitat, and is dedicated to rejuvenating the North American lion population through a breeding and conservation program sanctioned by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association�s Species Survival Plan.

The 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo�s Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe. The Zoological Society also manages the 100-acre San Diego Zoo and the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), and is working to establish field stations in five key ecological areas worldwide.

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Media Contact: Paul Garcia +1 619-685-3291 pgarcia@sandiegozoo.org