
By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – Miller Park Zoo has added two new exhibits in the Katthoefer Animal Building.
These two new exhibits will show off six species, five of which are new to the zoo.
One exhibit will show off a large snake called a reticulated python. The female is four years old and is over seventeen feet long.
The other exhibit will show a mix of five species that are all from rainforests of Asia. The fairy bluebird is a colorful bird that will utilize the upper part of the exhibit and will typically be the easiest to see. The crested wood partridge is a ground bird that will inhabit the lower level. A breeding pair of pygmy slow loris is a nocturnal primate that can be seen in the upper level. The critically endangered Indo-Chinese box turtle is colorful. The northern treeshrew is the only species that wasn’t added to the Miller Park Zoo collection this summer.
The goal is to pair up all the species and focus on breeding as most are part of a conservation breeding program.
The new exhibits were funded by the ‘Fund-A-Need’ part of last year’s Zoo Do which is the Miller Park Zoological Society’s largest fundraiser. Money was also donated by the Bloomington-Normal Area Home Builders Association. Lansing Construction completed the work of building the two exhibits.