By Molly F. McGill

Lions and tigers and bears -- oh, my! Well, maybe not lions and tigers, but with over 30 native Maine species (and a few oddballs such as the peacock) the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray offers both state residents and visitors, young and old, the opportunity to learn about the habitats and lifestyles of Maine's animals.

This year's season, which opened on Thursday, will showcase new additions to the park including six new small mammal enclosures and a state-of-the-art audio tour.

''People that haven't been here in five and especially ten years, hardly recognize the place,'' said Park Superintendent Curt Johnson. ''There has been a lot of maintenance and we do try to build a new exhibit about every year to two years.''

In the past, the small mammals -- porcupines, raccoons, fishers, skunks -- were housed in small concrete enclosures in an out-dated building. With funding from the Friends of the Maine Wildlife Park, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, the park was able to create a more natural environment for the critters by providing small enclosures on the forest floor surrounded by fencing.

''This is a huge improvement and a big change for us, this is something we've wanted to do for many, many years,'' said Johnson.

Another improvement is the implementation of an ''intelligent'' audio tour, provided by the New York-based company OnCell Systems, which visitors can access from their cell phones. Instead of reading fading signage, patrons simply dial in a phone number from their cell phones, key in the corresponding number to the exhibit they want more information about and listen to a pre-recorded explanation of the animal, its habitat and life in the wild. It's considered ''intelligent'' because the tour remembers that you called and won't give you the welcome message every time.

According to Thomas Dunne, president of OnCell Systems, this is the first facility in Maine to utilize the cell-accessible audio tour. He explained that there is no additional charge to access the tour, but that it does use cell phone users' normal minute plans. However, most plans offer free weekend minutes, the time when families are most apt to frequent the park.

The park attracts about 100,000 visitors a season with about 50 percent state residents, 45 percent out-of-state and five percent out-of-country. Last year saw a 10 percent increase from 2008 in visitors and the park hopes the trend continues.

As outlined by a legislative mandate in 1992, the park has become a completely self-sufficient entity run by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. All monies received from the park are deposited into a dedicated account to cover annual expenses such as staffing, expansions and improvements.

This means the park needs to cover all of the expenses with generated revenue, something Johnson and park staff hope to increase with the new enclosures, audio tour and a summer series program featuring family-friendly activities like the moose-themed Moose Mania and a Native-American Pow-wow.

All the familiar exhibits people have come to know and love at the Maine Wildlife Park will continue, such as the popular fish-feeding at the hatchery and the feeding of bears and ground birds by inserting a quarter into a feed dispenser.

Popular attractions include mountain lions, bobcats and the park's moose, an older male and a female calf that arrived last year, as well as several rare albino raccoons, porcupines and a cinnamon-colored black bear.

The park offers a home to injured, orphaned or human dependant creatures that have been deemed unsafe to release back into the wild.

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