A new observation theater at a zoo in northern New Jersey lets visitors see animals get live medical treatments.

Veterinarians at the Turtle Back Zoo hope the new installation educates people on the care that animals receive at the zoo while inspiring kids to pursue medicine as a profession.

On a recent morning, spectators watched through a plate-glass window into a new spacious, publicly visible treatment room as an arthritic middle-aged female turkey vulture underwent a 30-minute wellness check that included being anesthetized, X-rayed, given an eye and wing exam, having blood drawn and being microchipped.

The raptor wound up at the zoo after breaking its wing in the wild.

The experience was new not only for the turkey vulture but also a novelty for many of the onlookers, because few zoos offer a window on veterinary care.

The Turtle Back Zoo this year joined the relatively few U.S. zoos that routinely give the public a view of veterinary care. While there's no exact count, it's perhaps a dozen or fewer of the 250 animal parks accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

In an era when social media campaigns and lawsuits have questioned the well-being of captive animals, some zoos see putting vets on view as a form of transparency.

The compact, suburban Turtle Back Zoo is recognized for its contributions to conserving clouded leopards and caring for ailing wild sea turtles. More whimsically, it's known for fostering a friendship between a cheetah and Labrador retriever that had a social media moment.

Opened in 1963, the county-owned zoo was threatened with closure amid financial problems and poor attendance in the mid-1990s. A steady march of renovations and additions in the 2000s turned things around, and it now draws nearly 1 million visitors per year.

In recent years, a need to upgrade the animal hospital evolved into a plan for a multi-million dollar new building. Financed with county, state and federal grants, it opened in April and lets visitors see into areas including the treatment and surgical room. The Barry H. Ostrowsky Animal Wellness Center also includes rooms for quarantine, nursery and data research.

AP video shot by Ted Shaffrey