When the gates opened, Queenie and Kaos did not wait long to stick their heads out and into the summer sunshine in their new zoo enclosure.

The two cougars, halfsiblings who were raised by zoo staff, checked out their new digs for the first time on Tuesday morning.

Kaos and Queenie have moved from the big cat enclosure in the centre of the zoo to the North American Wilds exhibit at the back of the property.

They're now closer to animals they would realistically encounter in their natural habitat, including coyotes, Shadow the grizzly bear, black bears, and moose.

"I'm really happy with this," said animal care manager Phil Feenstra as he watched the cougars check out their new home.

The cats seem to have adapted to their move to their new enclosure well, he said.

"Calm, cool, relaxed," he said of their demeanour.

Queenie trotted around the perimeter of the cage first, casually ignoring excited noises made by children walking by.

Then she and Kaos both wandered around the middle of the space, walking along logs, under trees, and poking their noses into water dishes.

The new space will give them lots of stimulation, zoo staff hope, including some high points where they can check out their surroundings.

"Just sitting there looking is actually a lot of fun for them," Feenstra said.

The big move is part of a series of summer renovations and changes, big and small, that the Greater Vancouver Zoo has been making.

They've recently announced the arrivals of a new young giraffe and two Siberian tiger sisters from other zoos.

In addition, there's a new baby zebra that was introduced to an outdoor enclosure this week for the first time, and a new moose calf.

Zoo general manager Jody Henderson said the changes have been noticed by the animals.

Shadow the grizzly has been curious about the two coyotes that have moved in next to her pen over the past week. She's not as keen on the construction that's been going on, however.

The zebras have developed an interesting dynamic since the bottle-fed baby was put into the enclosure with his mom Sahara and father Sierra.

Sahara is skittish about letting Sierra too near the foal.

"She's very protective of him," Henderson said. Sahara is keeping the foal by her side as much as possible.

The foal remains unnamed, and a contest to choose a new name is now running on the zoo's Facebook page.

The changes and moves mean that some of the zoo's oldest cages are being torn down. They date back to the zoo's days as the Vancouver Game Farm. Only one animal, the zoo's Eurasian lynx, remains in the last of the older enclosures.

It's part of a series of upgrades the zoo is making, including the addition of a new veterinary medical centre that will start construction this year, and a new lemur house that is the next big project lined up.

mclaxton@langleyadvance.com