This 3.5 acre exhibit is scheduled to open in May 2013.Although thats seems a bit ambitious to us considering the delay in breaking ground.Now that construction has begun we'll have to see how well it progresses.As far as the small mammal area goes the original plans called for a raccoon exhibit,but it was dropped from the plans perhaps its back in.
I anticipate that it will open Memorial Day weekend of 2013 because the zoo has opened exhibits in the past then. The slideshow had a drawing of the Cabin Porch for the Woodland Creature Encounters and it included a photo of a possum. The zoo does have a male porcupine named Willow who has lived off-exhibit the last several years. I also expect the zoo may get several more smaller animals from 1850s Ohio because that is the theme of the exhibit. Early plans included a show clock that listed times that keepers would be out with a species. The species on-exhibit would rotate throughout the day. I believe they are doing this instead of building multiple smaller exhibits. I will see if I can find out more.
I asked the zoo about the Small Mammal/Woodland Creature Encounters area that will be in Grizzly Ridge for some clarification. Below is there response:
That area will be an exhibit that rotates that is usually a small woodland creature. So one day it may be a skunk and the next day it could be an opossum. Across from that are there will be a presentation area that the education dept. will use to do animal presentations.
