Elmwood Park Zoo Gets $2 Million Donation For New Tiger Exhibit

NORRISTOWN, PA — Big news for fans of Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown.

A generous $2 million donation made by J.P. Mascaro will allow the zoo to build a brand new tiger exhibit.

“J. P. Mascaro & Sons Foundations has provided a tremendous amount of support to the community for many, many years. It’s truly inspiring,” Al Zone, Elmwood Park Zoo Executive Director and CEO, said in a statement. "They’ve also funded several of the zoo’s programs and services, which has benefited thousands of our guests and the people we meet in our community outreach. J. P. Mascaro & Sons Foundations has helped the zoo to grow and succeed, and their gift of a new tiger exhibit promises to take us to a whole new level."

The exhibit is slated to open in 2022. It will be the first time in the zoo's 95-year history that they have tigers as one of their many animals.

Specifically, the exhibit will host Amur (also known as Siberian) tigers. They are the largest cats in the world. Amur tigers are threatened, but wild cats still still in eastern Russia, parts of China, and possibly in North Korea.

The zoo currently houses jaguars and cougars in their impressive and growing big cat family.