The design for the new leopard habitat is being done by Anderson, Wade & Whitty of Minot.

Bidding is expected to be in the spring but no date has been set yet, said Jennifer Kleen, executive director of the Minot Zoo Crew.

The zoo’s original cat habitat will be renovated for the new leopard habitat. The zoo has two snow leopards named Marty and Ramani, and one Amur leopard named Clover.

In 2017 the zoo launched its Centennial Capital Campaign for new habitats for the African lions and Amur tigers. The capital campaign will be extended for the new habitat for the leopards.

Submitted Photo This is one of Roosevelt Park Zoo’s snow leopards. The snow leopards, named Marty and Ramani, along with the zoo’s Amur leopard will be getting a new habitat.

Currently, the capital campaign for the lions and tigers is at more than $4.8 million, according to Kleen. The goal for those two habitats is $5.8 million.

The fundraising goal for the new leopard habitat will be between $1 million and $2 million, Kleen said.

In September 2019 the zoo’s two African lions moved into their new habitat on the east loop of the zoo where other African species are located.

The new habitat for the tigers, located near the Visitors Center, is not quite complete, but Zoya, a 2-year-old tiger who arrived at the Minot zoo from the Oklahoma City Zoo this past August, is in the new habitat. The other two tigers remain for the winter in their original cat habitat. Those two tigers will be transitioned into their new habitat to join Zoya in the spring, Kleen said.

The three-phrase project is to be completed by the zoo’s celebration of its centennial year in 2021.

Submitted Photo This is the cat complex at Minot’s Roosevelt Park Zoo when it was new in 1974. It will be renovated for a new habitat for the zoo’s leopards.