That’s great they were able to retain a historically significant exhibit. Auckland Zoo have done similar with one of their old bear pits now housing Nepalese red panda. Looking at either by today’s standards, it’s hard to imagine bears once lived there.
@Zoofan15 Yeah I love historical architecture incorporated with the new too, this was obviously very small for bears. I hope they don't demolish all of it in the new Africa expansion which will be in this area of the zoo.
@Swanson02 I similarly hope it will be retained in some form or another. It’s great how many of the Australasian zoos can find a balance between preserving architecture, but remodelling it so it’s fit for purpose. I loved the heritage listed exhibits at London, but none of the staff seemed to due to the restrictions around repurposing them.
Taronga display their Red Pandas in the old Bear enclosures (which are decent sized to today’s standards). They also allow access into the former dens for the bears which are extremely dark and cramped. I went in there and it’s hard to imagine bears were ever kept in there overnight (there were two dens both equivalent in size to a bathroom).
