Plenty New At Hemker Park & Zoo For This Year

FREEPORT (WJON News) -- Another area zoo is set to open this week. Hemker Park and Zoo in Freeport will open for the season on Wednesday, May 1st. New attractions at the zoo include an American Flamingo habitat, the Zoo Beans Cafe, and a multi-level play system for kids.

Zoo Manager Jackie Poepping says they are excited about another new habitat coming later this summer:

"Our new Amur Leopard cat habitat that will be fully open and we are very excited on this. We have been very busy, hard-working at this throughout our close time here at the zoo but we can't wait to showcase that as well."

She says they only have one leopard right now but hope to add more soon as the zoo is part of a breeding program for the critically endangered cat species. Poepping says there is always something new at the zoo but their most important undertaking is education:

"And our biggest mission here is to educate our communities on these animals, why we have them, and their importance in our ecosystems and so forth to ensure that all animal species are able to thrive."

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She says they have some exciting events too like the after-hours "Brew at the Zoo" on June 13th, and the "Summer Party" day featuring their penguins on July 12th.

There are some new animals at the zoo as well such as Tio the Indian Rhino, Avery the Giant Anteater, and baby Pygmy Goats. The Hemker Park and Zoo features over 75 species of animals and is open 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily May through October.

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