The Minnesota Zoo’s newest exhibit got off to a roaring start with help from a new campaign by Preston Kelly. But is it really safe to put thousands of people a day within inches of wild grizzly bears? So far, only the ticket takers are getting mauled.  The Star Tribune reports:

“Get closer than nature intended.” That’s the Minnesota Zoo’s playful come-on this summer, drawing swarms of people to a new exhibit designed to bring your nose to within inches of a massive grizzly with horror-movie claws.

The $30 million Russia’s Grizzly Coast addition has fast-forwarded the Apple Valley zoo into a 21st-century world of barrier-free immersive exhibits, aimed at creating the feeling of entering the animals’ own habitat.

What the crowds don’t see, however, is a parallel world of enhanced security — prompted in part by a heightened sensitivity to the dangers zoos can present.