Oregon Zoo Predators of the Serengeti Exhibit

Lions rest on warm rocks and prowl through open grassland. A cheetah drinks from a waterfall-fed pool, then lies down for a nap on the warm metal hood of a safari vehicle. Meanwhile, a pack of African wild dogs frolics in the grassland, their growls loud above the sound of a rippling stream. The Oregon Zoo's Predators of the Serengeti exhibit features nose-to-whisker views and expansive naturalistic environments for some of Africa's most endangered carnivores.

Animals:

Lions: Can grow up to 10 feet in length and weigh up to 530 pounds.
Cheetahs: The fastest land animals, capable of speeds up to 70 mph.
African wild dogs: Wolflike, with oversized ears and unique spotted patterns.
Caracals: Small cats with amazing jumping ability and large, black tufted ears.
Red-billed hornbills: Female hornbill birds stay with their chicks in tree nests while the male seals up the entrance and delivers food through a tiny hole.
Dwarf mongoose: Africa's smallest carnivore, similar in size to North America's red squirrel.
African rock python: The largest snake on the continent, reaching 20 to 30 feet in length and weighing up to 250 pounds.

Features
As visitors enter the open-air plaza, their eyes gaze up toward the giant limbs of a life-size replica baobab tree. Walking under its canopy, they discover a group of traditional African huts and hear the faint beating of drums in the distance. Around the corner, giant granite boulders, called kopjes, jut from the earth. At the foot of a huge kopje, cast in bronze, stands a life-size bronze rendition of a lion pride: an impressive male walking with two lionesses and three cubs - a beautiful tribute to these majestic creatures. Beyond them, visitors get their first unobstructed view of the real felines, as they roam the Serengeti plains.

Mongoose Zawadi Mungu, meaning "gift of God," is the male of the zoo's new lion pride. He was born in the summer of 2008, and accompanies Kya and Neka, two females of the same age, in the new exhibit. The majestic lions may be seen resting on warm rocks and prowling through open grasslands.

Further down the path, a mongoose is seen running through acrylic tunnels that cross the caracal exhibit, giving the caracal an exhilarating glimpse of possible prey and the mongoose new territory to safely explore. The tuft-eared cat prowls over a landscape of flat fields dotted with heated rocks, small trees, shrubs and grassy knolls.

Cheetah As visitors travel beyond the caracal, some of the Serengeti's most successful predators, African wild dogs, lie in wait. The dogs enjoy their heated dens just inches from the public, and visitors can hear the animals communicating with each other in squeaky, high-pitched yips.

An exciting encounter awaits visitors in the cheetah enclosure, where the world's fastest land animal resides. A real safari vehicle appears to have crashed into the exhibit, leaving the front half of the vehicle in the cheetah's space. Visitors can climb in and watch the cheetah lounge on the vehicle's warm metal hood. These experiences are complemented by the exhibit's naturalistic features, like heated dens, grassy knolls and waterfalls.

The nearly 2.5-acre Predators of the Serengeti exhibit is also home to red-billed hornbills, fierce invertebrates (insects, spiders and scorpions) and an African rock python.