The Phoenix Zoo hopes to attract more tourists with the opening of a new $5.4 million Big Cats of Arizona exhibit.

Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 14 Apr 2025


The Phoenix Zoo hopes to attract more tourists with the opening of a new $5.4 million Big Cats of Arizona exhibit.
Financing for the habitat in the zoo’s Arizona Trail section began in 2021 with a $768,000 grant from the Arizona Office of Tourism’s Visit Arizona initiative. The program helps fund projects that directly support jobs in the travel and hospitality sectors and increases tourism in the state.
The zoo had to raise the remaining money for the exhibit, which houses two jaguars and one mountain lion, by September 2023.
“A lot of folks have never seen mountain lions or jaguars because they’re so few and far between in the state of Arizona,” said Linda Hardwick, vice president of marketing, communications and events at the zoo. “Getting to see them up close is definitely something that we hope people will want to take advantage of and … see in person.”
The exhibit opened earlier in April.
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