From all of the plans posted online over the years I have high hopes that this exhibit complex will be spectacular. Asian Highlands opened in 2006 and it is very impressive, and so if Rocky Shores is just as good then Hogle Zoo could really be elevated in status. To make way for the new complex there has been the demolition of a number of exhibits (bobcat, llama, red panda, penguin, Aldabra tortoise, African Savanna) but in all honesty none of the enclosures were any good to begin with. According to the current zoo map the llamas and bobcat have been transferred to different sections but can still be viewed, while some of the other species have left the zoo. After Asian Highlands opened there was a period of 4 consecutive years when the zoo continually broke its all-time attendance record, and Hogle now regularly receives around 1 million annual visitors.
The $18 million project opened on June 1st and I'll tentatively be there around August 15th. Expect a full review! I was not a big fan of this zoo and I toured (and reviewed) it in 2010 but Asian Highlands is brilliant and Rocky Shores seems to be another great addition. The zoo is already going full steam ahead with its plans for its African Savanna so I'm expecting that attendance will easily remain over a million annually and improvements have come thick and fast in recent years. It was long overdue as before the elephant/white rhino complex opened in 2005 the zoo had gone 20 years with not many major changes, which they even declared on their website and used as an intelligent marketing tool.
