Denver Zoo Opens $50M Elephant Exhibit

DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Zoo has opened its new $50 million exhibit for Asian elephants, Malayan tapirs and greater one-horned rhinos to the public.

The 10-acre Toyota Elephant Passage, with six outdoor yards for the animals to occupy, opened Friday. It includes a bridge over a zoo walkway that lets elephants cross over visitors' heads to the next yard, two miles of trails for the animals, and pools with more than 1.1 million gallons of water.

Other animals including cranes and gibbons also are in the exhibit.

Zoo CEO Craig Piper says zoo employees want people to fall in love with rhinos, elephants and tapirs every day. He says zoo wants to foster people's connection to wildlife and that if the zoo touches hearts first, then the minds will follow.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)