I visited for the first time since the summer, and noted a lot of changes!
I saw Raptor Ridge, and enjoyed it. The water feature and landscaping are improvements, and the visitor walkway is taller. The whole exhibit feels much more polished than it did before, especially the mesh that encloses the whole structure. Some of the new rockwork isn’t quite as natural as I would like, but it is still fine, and I am looking forward to seeing how the plantings grow in more in the spring.
There is also some construction work going on around the exit of the tropical forest, around the folly (castle tower). Many of the plants on the hillside have been removed. I am not sure what this construction is for, but it might involve restoration of the folly's historic structure which predates the founding of Franklin Park itself. A new photo booth has also been put up outside the Tropical Forest exit.
There was also a sign saying that the zoo has some new fledgling finches in the Scrubland part of Bird’s World, but I didn’t see them so I assume they were in their nestboxes. The exhibit has multiple finch species, but the sign didn’t say which species of finches the fledglings were.
The last piece of big news is that Franklin Park (in which the zoo resides) recently unveiled a $28 million action plan, with the goal of revitalizing the park. The plan is mostly focused on parts of the park outside of the zoo itself, but if actualized the plan could still affect the zoo in several ways: the plan calls for restoring the abandoned 1912 bear cages (which are now located outside of zoo grounds), expanding zoo parking, improving roads and infrastructure around the park to help people better access the zoo, and altering the zoo's perimeter fence. If anyone is curious, you can read more about the action plan here:
Franklin Park Action Plan
