PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia Zoo has opened Francis J. Carey Bear Country, a $25 million expansion featuring the zoo’s first overhead Zoo360 trail for bears, adding larger habitats and new breeding facilities as it expands its conservation and animal care programs.
The exhibit’s signature feature, the Gould & Potter Crossing, is a 60-foot-long elevated trail that stands 16 feet above guests, allowing visitors to watch bears move between habitats while giving the animals additional space to roam.
The project is the zoo’s largest new construction effort since the opening of KidZooU in 2013. Carey Bear Country houses Andean bears Turbo and Alba and sloth bear Bhalu, all species classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of threats including habitat loss, human conflict and poaching…