Grand Opening Of "Mission Everglades" At Zoo Miami

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Zoo Miami is going wild and keepin' it local with its newest exhibits.

On Friday they unveiled their $33 million, 4.5 acre expansion "Florida: Mission Everglades."

The new addition features more than 40 species of wildlife native to Florida including a panther, black bears, bobcats, raccoons, wading birds, song birds and more.

"I think it sets the bar for the zoo from now on. It sets the bar for other zoos on what we should do. Not to exhibit animals but environments because the bottom line is that poaching, hunting is not the main threat to the animals today - it's the loss of habitats. It's the loss of environment," said Zoo Miami's Ron MaGill.

Visitors to the new exhibit will be able to crawl through a clear tunnel at the American crocodile exhibit, slide through the North American river otter exhibit and for the brave, cross an adventurous rope bridge suspended above alligators.

There'a also the Cypress Landing Playground complete with a colorful, giant, water spraying "cypress tree" and "cypress knees" as well as climbable play structures.

The new addition also features a special "Lostman's River ride" that allows the guest to float through the heart of the "Everglades" on a slow-moving boat with surprises around every bend.

County leaders including Mayor Carlos Gimenez who were on hand for the expansion's grand opening said they were proud of Zoo Miami and what it has accomplished.

"It's the largest attraction in South Florida, serving one million visitors a year and now that we've invested even more in the zoo I know that we're going to welcome even more than a million visitors. That's really our goal," said Gimenez.

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