Edmonton Valley Zoo Edmonton Valley Zoo

In following with provincial guidelines as of Sep 20th the zoo will require all guests 12 and over to provide proof of vaccination or a negative covid test no longer than 72 hours old or proof a medical exemption in order to enter. Single shot guest will be allowed until Oct 25th thereafter you need two doses, the negative test or exemption. Masks will be required for all guests over 2 unless medically exempt.
 
The zoo recently welcomed a new red panda female, Kiki. She will be a mate for Tango. I have no idea if her transfer in impacts the impending arrival of Toronto's young female Adira who is to be paired with Kalden.
 
I honestly think Valley Zoo should have a niche, like polar artic zoo. Market it as a tourist attraction.
 
They attempted this, sort of, with their arctic shores complex. Originally intended to feature arctic ground squirrels, northern fur seals, harbour seals, and arctic foxes, with a possible expansion including arctic wolves and more, it has instead flopped and is purely the zoos pinniped area now. Feedback from the keepers was not taken into consideration when the exhibit complex was being designed, and the exhibits are generally unsuitable (read: very easily escapable) for their intended inhabitants barring the marine mammals.

While Valley zoo is making progress with exhibit re-designs, and there is definitely a slightly shifted focus to cold weather animals, it will fundamentally remain a mixed collection with a gradual homogenization of their species mix despite increasing exhibit quality. After the last phase of their master plan is instituted (which is happening as we speak) The zoo is going to be extremely strapped for funds, and there likely won’t be any notable changes to either exhibit complexes or species roster for the foreseeable future.
 
A male Bactrian camel was recently born to parents Marshmallow and Genghis. Mom wouldnt feed him so he's being bottle fed by keeper who have named him Guimauve.

Also 330 Northern Leopard Frog tadpoles were shipped to British Columbia to be released as part of the BC Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Program.
 
I visited Edmonton Valley Zoo today with my family and it was our first visit in 5 years. It was as surreal as ever to see Lucy the Asian Elephant out for a stroll in several sections of the park, at times extremely close to larger numbers of the public. The new Amur Tiger exhibit is a simple chain-link yard, but it's well vegetated and a nice addition that will allow the zoo to breed its pair of cats. A number of LEGO animals spread throughout the zoo was very popular.

The Urban Farm area is impressive, with a range of domestic animals that can be seen both indoors and outside. The goats can access a significant portion of the roof and were a highlight, plus the addition of a nice new restaurant is always welcome. The Red Panda complex is fantastic and I made some more detailed comments on one of the 50+ photos I uploaded in the gallery. What was once an ancient and badly outdated section of the zoo now has Makira Outpost (3 lemur species), Red Pandas and the Urban Farm...with primates due in 2025 high up in real trees. The zoo continues to slowly improve, although Lucy's small yards and the chain-link carnivore cages are still eyesores.
 
In the past 10 years over 80 million has been invested in the Edmonton Valley Zoo and another 50 million plus has been approved for new renovations (see the link TZFan provided earlier in this thread). Where does that rank amongst all North American zoos? What makes that even more notable is that the Edmonton Valley Zoo had undergone only very minimal facility upgrades for many years, perhaps decades.

Major Project References: https://www.buildingourzoo.com/revitalization/

Arctic Shores: opened in 2012
16.5 Million
Harbor seals and northern fur seals

Entry and Wander: opened in 2013
34 Million
Otters are the only living animals displayed here

Nature's Wild Backyard Phase 1 (Urban Farm and Red Pandas): opened 2019
30 Million
Red pandas, various domestic animals, others? (see Snowleopard's photo of housing for striped skunks)

Nature's Wild Backyard Phase 2: tenders will probably be released in 2023-2024
50.3 Million+
Meercats, gibbons, tamarin, wallabies, emus, lemurs, and exotic birds
Some exhibit improvements for Lucy the Elephant


I'm sure that some Zoochatters from the UK would have very interesting reactions to those renovation costs
 
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DevinL said:
In the past 10 years over 80 million has been invested in the Edmonton Valley Zoo and another 50 million plus has been approved for new renovations (see the link TZFan provided earlier in this thread). Where does that rank amongst all North American zoos? What makes that even more notable is that the Edmonton Valley Zoo had undergone only very minimal facility upgrades for many years, perhaps decades.

Major Project References: https://www.buildingourzoo.com/revitalization/

Arctic Shores: opened in 2012
16.5 Million
Harbor seals and northern fur seals

Entry and Wander: opened in 2013
34 Million
Otters are the only living animals displayed here

Nature's Wild Backyard Phase 1 (Urban Farm and Red Pandas): opened 2019
30 Million
Red pandas, various domestic animals, others? (see Snowleopard's photo of housing for striped skunks)

Nature's Wild Backyard Phase 2: tenders will probably be released in 2023-2024
50.3 Million+
Meercats, gibbons, tamarin, wallabies, emus, lemurs, and exotic birds
Some exhibit improvements for Lucy the Elephant


I'm sure that some Zoochatters from the UK would have very interesting reactions to those renovation costs
Click to expand...

It's been amazing (and almost unbelievable) to see all the changes that have taken place at Edmonton Valley Zoo. I visited all the time as a kid (1975-1986) and when I returned after a long absence (2001) I was shocked at how seemingly nothing had changed. Sea lions in a bathtub, the zoo on the brink of being permanently closed, etc. It was brutally stark how the zoo had sunk into oblivion. To come back several times (2012, 2017, 2022) and witness great changes has been heartwarming.

On the flip side, the zoo has spent $80 million on 4 main exotic species (Harbour Seal, Northern Fur Seal, North American River Otter, Red Panda), plus the Amur Tiger exhibit expansion, and just about all the animals were already at the zoo. Practically all the money has gone on the entrance set of various buildings, a new restaurant, visitor pathways, etc. The entire zoo can still be seen in probably an hour and a half if one doesn't have children with them.

Another $50 million in improvements is fantastic, but again there will likely be zero new species and the zoo really needs a 'game-changer' exhibit other than meerkats and wallabies if annual attendance numbers are going to shoot skywards. The initial plan as part of the Arctic Shores complex was to bring in Polar Bears, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. Calgary Zoo is spending $31 million on its new Polar Bear complex and it's a real pity that Edmonton (a colder environment 3 hours farther north) couldn't have been the zoo in Alberta to have those iconic Arctic bears.

As it stands, Edmonton Valley Zoo has around 400,000 annual visitors and Calgary Zoo has 1.2 million annual visitors, even though there's not a huge difference in the population of the two cities. Edmonton needs to spend its millions on something like Polar Bears, or even Grizzly Bears, or perhaps build a massive penguin complex, etc. New exhibits for small, common animals is not going to boost visitor numbers in any significant form.
 
snowleopard said:
It's been amazing (and almost unbelievable) to see all the changes that have taken place at Edmonton Valley Zoo. I visited all the time as a kid (1975-1986) and when I returned after a long absence (2001) I was shocked at how seemingly nothing had changed. Sea lions in a bathtub, the zoo on the brink of being permanently closed, etc. It was brutally stark how the zoo had sunk into oblivion. To come back several times (2012, 2017, 2022) and witness great changes has been heartwarming.

On the flip side, the zoo has spent $80 million on 4 main exotic species (Harbour Seal, Northern Fur Seal, North American River Otter, Red Panda), plus the Amur Tiger exhibit expansion, and just about all the animals were already at the zoo. Practically all the money has gone on the entrance set of various buildings, a new restaurant, visitor pathways, etc. The entire zoo can still be seen in probably an hour and a half if one doesn't have children with them.

Another $50 million in improvements is fantastic, but again there will likely be zero new species and the zoo really needs a 'game-changer' exhibit other than meerkats and wallabies if annual attendance numbers are going to shoot skywards. The initial plan as part of the Arctic Shores complex was to bring in Polar Bears, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. Calgary Zoo is spending $31 million on its new Polar Bear complex and it's a real pity that Edmonton (a colder environment 3 hours farther north) couldn't have been the zoo in Alberta to have those iconic Arctic bears.

As it stands, Edmonton Valley Zoo has around 400,000 annual visitors and Calgary Zoo has 1.2 million annual visitors, even though there's not a huge difference in the population of the two cities. Edmonton needs to spend its millions on something like Polar Bears, or even Grizzly Bears, or perhaps build a massive penguin complex, etc. New exhibits for small, common animals is not going to boost visitor numbers in any significant form.
Click to expand...

I think we should have a niche and make it a tourist attractions not just for kids. I think we should focus on cold weather animals.
 
Creating exceptionally popular major-draw penguin, polar bear, or grizzly bear exhibits would be challenging for the Edmonton Valley Zoo because of competition with current and upcoming projects at the nearby (by Canadian standards of travel distance) Calgary Zoo. Penguin Plunge is still incredibly popular at the Calgary Zoo, and I'm sure many Edmontonians have visited it. The upcoming polar bear exhibit at the Calgary Zoo looks like it will be exceptional, vast, and make great use of some preexisting site features. It will have some underwater viewing, although not as dramatic as Journey to Churchill at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Sure, the Edmonton Valley Zoo could go all out and have underwater tunnels and more, but how much would all that cost? The Calgary Zoo also has exciting plans for grizzly bear exhibit expansions and bear rotations through exhibits.

That being said, I still think that the Edmonton Valley Zoo should have at least one Canadian bear species. They don't have many animal species and the bears could be displayed outside in Edmonton's cold climate. This will help attract visitors and provide them with richer visits. I consider it more of a builder for them than a game changer. If they can think of creative and affordable exhibit concepts than they might be able to compete with the Calgary Zoo.

Likewise, I think penguins could work and help build attendance at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. They're expensive though, and I think it would be challenge to break through Calgary's hold and make it a game changer for the less visited Edmonton zoo.
 
Edmonton Valley Zoo's niche or priority, both in the past and with the new developments, has been a children's zoo. I can sympathize with the desires by some, like @premierfong for it to be much more or something different, like a cold climate animal zoo, but the course of developments would have to be changed for that to happen. That is not to say that adults can't enjoy the EV Zoo too. I enjoyed my last visit there! However, I am not their focus audience.

The Edmonton Valley Zoo opened as the Storyland Valley Zoo in 1959 and had prominent children's fantasy story elements until 2009. The focus of the original collection was animals that appeared in such stories. There was also an effort to showcase small animals that could coexist peacefully with humans (Storyland Valley Zoo).

The first major redevelopment, Arctic Shores, was created to improve the home for the Zoo's South American sea lion (who died shortly after the exhibit opened). I do not know the story behind the sea lions original inclusion at the Zoo, but I imagine that it helped that pinnipeds are active and seen as playful and appealing to children. The big thematic shift for the Edmonton Valley Zoo was changing from fantasy story elements to stories inspired by nature and animals and human interactions with them. There are whale bones to sit and play on, frozen meat caches, a research station and other thematic elements (Edmonton Valley Zoo - Pinniped Exhibit - F&D Scene Changes).

The next big redevelopment was the Entry and Wander. In addition to improving the Zoo's infrastructure and guest amenities, a major part of this development was creating nature play areas embedded within both the entrance and the major pedestrian circulation route. It tells the story of the North Saskatchewan River and that river's journey from its birth at the foot of alpine glaciers to Edmonton. The only animal displayed is river otters and it's no coincidence that those small carnivores are very popular with children.

Nature's Wild Backyard is a redevelopment of the core children's zoo area at the Zoo. Urban Farm and the red pandas are part of this zone. The other announced renovations (50 Million plus) are also a part of this redeveloped children's zoo. The theme of Nature's Wild Backyard is getting children to empathize and connect with animals by using parallel play and parallel levels of activity. Urban Farm has domestic animals, so that guests can more closely interact with the animals without causing as much stress to them. The other animals chosen for Nature's Wild Backyard are active animals that are appealing to children and that use a variety of living zones and movement strategies (under, on, between, and above). It's interesting how many animals chosen can adopt a bipedal stance. Gibbons, meerkats, prairie dogs, wallabies, emus, birds, raccoons (earlier plans), and beavers (earlier plans) have all been chosen at some design stage and may yet all be part of the final exhibition. They are purposefully picking animals that have a stance like humans so that children can more easily connect with them! The choice of smaller animals is no coincidence either because children are smaller than adults and can connect well with small animals. Many common animals were chosen because it was thought that rarity is less of a desired trait in animals for children than for adults.

The history and new developments of the Edmonton Valley Zoo exhibit a clear direction for their animal collection: animals that are appealing to children and that are already held by the Zoo.

At this point, it is unclear at what point the Edmonton Valley Zoo would add other exhibits designed for a wider demographic. Earlier in this thread, Hyak_II suggested that the Zoo will be hard-pressed to develop exhibits after Nature's Wild Backyard for quite some time.
 
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