New Jersey’s Turtle Back Zoo Opens Lion, Hyena Exhibit

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The Essex County Turtle Back Zoo may have lost one beloved member of its African Adventure exhibits, but it’s officially welcomed several other new faces to its facility in West Orange.

On Monday, the zoo officially opened the Ronald J. Mount Lion and Hyena Exhibit, a $3.6 million, half-acre habitat that includes a two-foot pool and exposed rock formation, a heated stone patio to attract the lions, three public viewing stations and a heated, one-story building that is “designed to resemble an old North African fortress,” officials said.

The new exhibit is located adjacent to the zoo’s Giraffe House, which recently suffered the loss of Hodari, an 18-foot tall Masai giraffe, who died after undergoing a medical procedure.

• See related article: NJ Turtle Back Zoo’s Beloved Giraffe Dies; Exhibited ‘Strange Behavior,’ Staff Says

French and Parrello from Wall received a $350,000 contract to design the lion and hyena exhibit. Shauger Property Services from East Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $3,660,214 to perform the construction work.

The exhibit was funded with a donation from Ian Mount, Ronald Mount’s son, and support from the Pooled Government Loan Program from the Essex County Improvement Authority, county officials stated.

Construction began in October 2016 and was finished in seven months, officials said.

• See related article: N.J.’s Turtle Back Zoo Will Get Lions, Hyenas

"Lions and Hyenas interact in the wild and that is what we have tried to re-create here," Turtle Back Zoo Director Michael Kerr said. "What is also important is that both of these species are part of the AZA's species survival plan so we can provide a genetically stable population for years to come.”

“The lion is the central figure on the Essex County Seal, so it’s only natural that we have real life versions at Turtle Back Zoo,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

For more information about the exhibit, call 973-731-5800 or visit www.essexcountynj.org/turtlebackzoo.

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Photo: Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, Facebook