Cougar Mountain Zoo 2009, Peter Rittler continued in the zoo's management. The zoo collection features 32 exhibits of animal habitats concentrating on endangered species such as tigers, lemurs, wolves, reindeer, cranes, wallabies, macaws, and cougars, among others. On June 16, 2007, the zoo acquired two male Bengal tiger cubs, a royal white and a golden, who were born eight weeks apart in a Florida tiger preserve. The zoo added an additional two cubs in 2009. A glass-walled tunnel called the "Tiger Tunnel" enables visitors to view tigers in close proximity. In 2011, a 370-pound (168 km) tiger was photographed holding his paw up
Indianapolis Zoo every two years to a conservationist who has made substantial contributions toward the sustainability of an animal species or group of species. The Indianapolis Zoo participates in the Species Survival Plans (SSPs) and conservation programs of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the national zoo membership organization of the United States. Under the auspices of the Polly H. Hix Institute for Conservation and Research, an initiative that supports the Society’s current and future research and conservation programs, the zoo conducts research projects both in situ and ex situ on selected species. The Indianapolis Zoo also participates in three conservation