THIS. IS. SO. COOL!
Not just for visitors, but for the animals!
Visitors to the Philadelphia Zoo might want to beware of stray cats: A new enclosed passageway allows lions and tigers to roam outside their exhibits.
Humans, though, can safely gawk at the predators traveling along Big Cat Crossing. The protected, open-air path snakes above the felines’ habitat to an archway over the zoo’s main promenade and ends at a viewing spot along a lake.
The concept for the catwalk unveiled Wednesday stems from the increasingly common practice of animal rotation, which lets animals take in new stimuli while visitors encounter them in unexpected places.
more via Philadelphia Zoo lets tigers stretch legs on trail – The Washington Post.
Big carnivores are roamers, and prefer to have lots of space to patrol. Being able to get a cat’s eye view of their zoo is so much healthier for them, and gives them the enrichment and psychological and physical space they need to stay healthy.
I had heard about the plans to create this space, so it’s really nice to see it implemented and in action.
Mental Flowers 
There was a good piece on Salon (last Friday, I think) on the Philadelphia Zoo’s innovative approach, written by someone who has worked work zoos quite a bit. Very good article; working checking out!
I meant…worth checking out. 🙂
🙂