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Cincinnati Zoo's New Roo Valley Is Hopping

The Cincinnati Zoo's newest outdoor exhibit is open. Roo Valley features two types of kangaroos and penguins in an environmentally efficient habitat.

More than 30 little blue penguins will be swimming through a tank filled with recovered rainwater heated and cooled with a geothermal well system. The zoo says visitors will be able to walk among the kangaroos as well.

Credit Courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

"The animal staff was instrumental during the design phase of Roo Valleyand, as a result, enrichment opportunities have been built into the habitats," the zoo writes in a release. "For the penguins, this includes fans, misters, sprinklers, underwater jets, heat lamps, heated rocks, multiple substrates, and underwater elements that create a complex environment.  All of these promote natural behaviors for overall optimal health and wellbeing."

Reservations are required to enter the zoo because of the pandemic.

The area includes a craft beer garden and an ADA-accessible ropes course will open in 2021. The new area was funded by the zoo's More Home to Roam campaign.

Credit Courtesy of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Kanga Klimb, a ropes course, is slated to open in 2021.

Click on the image at the top of the page to see additional pictures.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.
Bill Rinehart started his radio career as a disc jockey in 1990. In 1994, he made the jump into journalism and has been reporting and delivering news on the radio ever since.