One thing that I really applaud Como Park Zoo for is the fact that they took two marquee species and built expensive new exhibits for them in the last few years. Importantly, the two species were already at the zoo and their new habitats are a significant improvement on what was previously there. Polar Bear Odyssey (2010) cost $15 million and Gorilla Forest (2013) cost $11 million but instead of building new exhibits for new species and allowing the old animals to languish in substandard conditions the zoo was proactive in creating modern, spacious enclosures by overhauling already existing areas. Next up is the $14 million California Sea Lion zone (possibly by 2017 at the earliest) and for a completely free zoo the amount of money being splashed around is nothing short of astonishing.
