Bruno will be coming to ZooMontana from the Knoxville Zoo in April. Here are some pictures of the brown bear at Knoxville Zoo.
The Donation of Bear Meadows
ZooMontana has received its largest corporate donation to date with a $1 million dollar gift from Norilsk Nickel through Stillwater Mining Company. This gift is a goodwill gesture and will be used to construct a state of the art brown bear exhibit.
The exhibit will house up two bears and will include large boulders and water features in its design. Construction began in late spring of 2007 with an anticipation completion date of December 2007. The exhibit will be complete with two viewing areas for the zoo visitors to enjoy.
In addition to Norilsk Nickel’s gift, Stillwater Mining will be contributing annually to supplement the operational costs of this exhibit.
This contribution is one of collaboration and a gift to the people of Montana. Senator Conrad Burns led the Montana Congressional delegation along with Senator Max Baucus and Representative Denny Rehberg in this cooperative effort. Norilsk Nickel and Stillwater Mining wished to express a “goodwill gesture” to the state of Montana and to the community of Billings. Frank McAllister, Chairman and CEO of Stillwater mining stated that it was important to note that this gift is a celebration of partnership between Norilsk, Stillwater, and the zoo. He also invited other corporations to join their effort in supporting the zoo. McAllister also hopes this gift will serve as a springboard for further growth and expansion of the Zoo.
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