The Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden is a zoo located in Evansville, Indiana. It is one of the oldest and largest zoos in the state. Set on a spacious 50-acre park, the zoo features 200 species and more than 625 animals roaming freely in natural habitats surrounded by exotic plants, wildflowers, and trees. Mesker Park was one of the first zoos in the United States to use a moat system to display animals in more natural exhibits. A major new project, Amazonia, is currently under construction and will open in 2008. The $11.44 million project includes a tropical rain forest exhibit and significant improvements and additions to the animal health services complex. The exhibit will add more than 150 animals to the zoo and will include a jaguar, tapirs, a toucan, macaws, bats, and iguanas. One of the two existing lakes had to be filled in to provide space for the exhibit.[4] A new $4.2 million main entry complex is also being built and will open along with the new exhibit.