Does anybody know what the Audubon Zoo's elephant plan is? Will they build a larger exhibit and expand their herd, or are they planning on shutting down their elephant program like Bronx and Santa Barbara Zoos once these elephants pass and/or move?
Update: I started looking at the pictures at the back of the gallery, and then found the sign saying that a new elephant barn and exhibit are planned, but is this still current? The signs are from 2010 and it seems like there is still no actual development of the plans portrayed in the signs.
Audubon Zoo is probably one of the 20 best zoos in the nation, and yet the elephant exhibit there is one of the worst found at any major zoo. Even if a new barn is built, the zoo really needs to incorporate not only the small, crappy current elephant area into the habitat but the space that is behind the barn. There is a separate yard that could possibly be joined to make a decent exhibit, but in truth even if that happens the overall enclosure will still be small by modern standards. Unless there is the space and financial backing to construct a 3-acre (or more!) habitat then my advice would be to abandon the notion of keeping elephants. The AZA-imposed, September 2016 deadline is on the horizon!
The new elephant barn is essentially finished and land has been cleared out for the new exhibit. They've demolished the 1979 lion and leopard exhibits, the 1938 giraffe/camel house, the Indian hornbill aviary, the 2 hoofed stock/bird yards across from the tigers as well as the contact yard for the children's zoo.
Hopefully, everything will be completed within a year or so. After that, the old elephant exhibit will be completely overhauled as a home for the zoo's Sumatran orangutans.
