Images of a snow leopard, a manta ray, and other imperilled creatures were projected on the Empire State Building last night, in a union of art and activism that was designed to call attention to the plight of endangered species. Two artists illuminated the plight of endangered species by projecting images onto the Empire State Building on Saturday night.
Empire State Building lit up with endangered animals.
Illuminated images of endangered animals swam and crawled across the Empire State Building on Saturday night in the wake of outrage sparked by the killing of a well-known lion in Zimbabwe.

The iconic New York City building is often lit in varying colors for holidays and events, but the movie-like projections of birds, snakes and whales on the south side of the building was the first display of its kind for the landmark, according to NBC New York.
The Empire State Building played host to a snow leopard, a manta ray and even a cousin of King Kong Saturday night as part of an epic video display designed to draw attention to the plight of endangered animals.

The extraordinary nature scenes were beamed across 33 floors of the iconic tower’s southern face — drawing oohs and aahs from a crowd of awed onlookers.

“It blows me away,” said Virginia tourist Karen Convey, 64, as she snapped pictures of a tiger craning its neck toward the building’s spire.

Standing on the corner of W. 32nd St. and Fifth Ave., Iliana Marquez, 60, got a front-row view of the looping video created by Ocean Preservation Society founder Louis Psihoyos.

The moving images were generated by 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors perched on the roof of a building opposite the skyscraper.
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STEPHANIE KEITH FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
The moving images were generated by 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors perched on the roof of a building opposite the skyscraper.

“Really incredible,” said Marquez, who lives in Manhattan. “So beautiful to see it on such a grand scale.”

The moving images were generated by 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors perched on the roof of a building opposite the skyscraper.

The project cost more than $1 million — with funding from private donors, and Psihoyos covering the rest, according to the New York Times.