It will be interesting to see if Calgary can come close to its all-time record for attendance (set in 1988 with visiting giant pandas) as this year has been an enormously popular one for the zoo. On a side note, notice the glass viewing area in the floor that allows the penguins to swim from one habitat to the other in their chilly environment. This $25 million new addition to the zoo was modeled on Penguin & Puffin Coast at Saint Louis Zoo (a slightly superior complex).
The city of Calgary has 1.2 million inhabitants and yet the zoo has hit the 1.3 million annual visitor mark...due in no small part to its fantastic penguin complex. The addition of Giant Pandas (4 of them!) in 2018 will see the zoo possibly reach the total of 1.6 million annual visitors as there will be a lot of tourists lining up to see the black-and-white bears. Hopefully the establishment builds extra washrooms, drinking fountains and other visitor amenities to cope with the immense crush of people that will be exploring the zoo.
