Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History Great Plains Zoo News

On June 7th, the zoo announced they have opened a new building named the Americas, which focuses on animals from North and South America. In the exhibits there are:

- (0.1) Gila monster named Chomper
- (0.1) Argentine black-and-white tegu named Zilla
- (0.0.20) Seba's short-tailed bats
- (0.1) three-banded armadillo (there is a name but its hard to hear it)
- (0.2) red-tailed boa named Jemma and Sid (both have adjacent exhibits)

We... - Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History| By Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History
 
Neat, it looks like this could be one of the smaller buildings near Asian Cats and the flamingo exhibit, but not sure. When I visited here in 2020, the building I'm thinking of was closed and had some bird exhibits outside along the back.

But since it looks like their website is down, I can't confirm if they updated their map or not.
 
On June 9th, it was reported that the zoo has acquired a (1.0) bobcat named Bobby and will be constructing a new exhibit in the former anteater exhibit, as well as finishing construction on the American black bear exhibit, which should be opened to the public in late June. There is also mention of a komodo dragon exhibit that will also open in June.

It was also reported that the zoo is going to renovate the children's zoo area, called the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face Farm, as well as the new lion area, which will include an exhibit for meerkats, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=386234706867155&set=a.356588363165123
Great Plains Zoo CEO details what’s new for the season and what could be ahead
 
Smaggledagle said:
On June 9th, it was reported that the zoo has acquired a (1.0) bobcat named Bobby and will be constructing a new exhibit in the former anteater exhibit, as well as finishing construction on the American black bear exhibit, which should be opened to the public in late June. There is also mention of a komodo dragon exhibit that will also open in June.

It was also reported that the zoo is going to renovate the children's zoo area, called the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face Farm, as well as the new lion area, which will include an exhibit for meerkats, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=386234706867155&set=a.356588363165123
Great Plains Zoo CEO details what’s new for the season and what could be ahead
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On June 17th, it was reported that the zoo opened a new exhibit for their (0.1) Komodo dragon on June 11th. It also announced that the grand opening of the American black bear exhibit is set for early July.

Also on June 17th, the zoo announced they have acquired a (1.0) common squirrel monkey named Buster.

Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls opens 2 new exhibits, more coming soon
Sa... - Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History | By Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History | Say hello to Buster!! You can visit this new squirrel monkey in our primate building at GPZoo . . . #GPZoo #Zoo #Monkey #New #SiouxFalls
 
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Smaggledagle said:
On June 9th, it was reported that the zoo has acquired a (1.0) bobcat named Bobby and will be constructing a new exhibit in the former anteater exhibit, as well as finishing construction on the American black bear exhibit, which should be opened to the public in late June. There is also mention of a komodo dragon exhibit that will also open in June.

It was also reported that the zoo is going to renovate the children's zoo area, called the Hy-Vee Face-to-Face Farm, as well as the new lion area, which will include an exhibit for meerkats, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=386234706867155&set=a.356588363165123
Great Plains Zoo CEO details what’s new for the season and what could be ahead
Click to expand...

Looks like the CEO also confirmed that the GPZ and Butterfly House and Aquarium are in fact negotiating a "partnership" at this point . . . interestingly, the BHA has been noticeably quiet about their Dakota Aquarium Capital Campaign since updated concept plans were released in Oct. 2020, and while an ad for their fundraising gala for this year noted that it would support "expansion of the Butterfly House & Aquarium’s exhibits and programming," it didn't mention the project by name and there really hasn't been any other press releases about it since. If I may speculate, with the announcement of a partnership exploration 7 months ago and now negotiations between the two orgs where "everything's on the table," I wouldn't be too surprised if those expansion plans are being postponed or replaced altogether in light of something bigger on the horizon.
 
SharkFinatic said:
There will be a merger between the Great Plains Zoo and the Butterfly House and Aquarium, with the latter moving its location to the grounds of the former.

Great Plains Zoo, Butterfly House & Aquarium announce merger
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According to this press conference, the two organizations want to merge campuses ASAP and seek to do so before the end of 2025.

Oct. 6 Press Conference @ GPZ

Exciting times!

Plus they'll be opening the new lion exhibit and giraffe habitat in 2024, so a lot of change is coming to this facility in the coming years.
 
Skipper6302 said:
According to this press conference, the two organizations want to merge campuses ASAP and seek to do so before the end of 2025.

Oct. 6 Press Conference @ GPZ

Exciting times!

Plus they'll be opening the new lion exhibit and giraffe habitat in 2024, so a lot of change is coming to this facility in the coming years.
Click to expand...
I personally have never visited this zoo before, but once its campus merges with the Butterfly House and Aquarium, perhaps I’ll have to come see for myself what it’ll be like.
 
Skipper6302 said:
According to this press conference, the two organizations want to merge campuses ASAP and seek to do so before the end of 2025.

Oct. 6 Press Conference @ GPZ

Exciting times!

Plus they'll be opening the new lion exhibit and giraffe habitat in 2024, so a lot of change is coming to this facility in the coming years.
Click to expand...
Exciting to see so many new developments coming out of the zoo recently! I can’t wait to see what they do next!
 
A recent article about the GPZ/BHA merger highlighted that the new aquarium will incorporate “the planned elements from the initial aquarium design into our larger project," according to the zoo CEO Becky Dewitz.

The Scouting Report: A weekly digest

This was also in the article: "When The Dakota Scout asked whether the zoo’s Humboldt penguins might move to the new aquarium building, Dewitz had this to say: “We have some serious conversations occurring about our penguin exhibit – more to share in good time!”

Looks like something might be happening on that front :)
 
Skipper6302 said:
A recent article about the GPZ/BHA merger highlighted that the new aquarium will incorporate “the planned elements from the initial aquarium design into our larger project," according to the zoo CEO Becky Dewitz.

The Scouting Report: A weekly digest

This was also in the article: "When The Dakota Scout asked whether the zoo’s Humboldt penguins might move to the new aquarium building, Dewitz had this to say: “We have some serious conversations occurring about our penguin exhibit – more to share in good time!”

Looks like something might be happening on that front :)
Click to expand...

This is the original BHA aquarium expansion design that would be incorporated:
full
 
On November 10th, the zoo announced that they acquired (0.2) slender-tailed meerkats named Mojito and Clementine in October which are now on exhibit.

Great Plains Zoo has some new residents! Mojito and Clementine are female meerkats that came to us in October. They finished their quarantine period and... | By Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History | Facebook

Zoofan15 said:
A pair of red wolves have arrived from facilities in Washington and Texas:

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Just to add onto this, their names are Uyosi and Camellia, and come from The Texas Zoo in Texas and the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Washington respectively.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=5127586667345634
 
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During an October city council meeting, GPZ CEO Becky Dewitz presented a possible timeline for the next ten years of the zoo's developments.

Bringing the Ocean to the Prairie with a Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium

She added during a November Parks Board meeting that the timeline had placeholders and "are likely to change," saying that the penguins, for example, may be included in the aquarium and would not require a renovation later on.

Dewitz also added that the lion exhibit and africa expansion would be open for construction bidding starting in late November, and that the campus would assume the name of "Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium" upon completion of the aquarium addition.

Sioux Falls Parks and Rec Board Meetings

On December 5, she addressed the Sioux Falls Rotary Club and said that the zoo would move into a CEO-COO leadership structure, with Dewitz taking on the CEO role and Audrey Otto-Pepper, CEO of the Butterfly House & Aquarium, taking the role of COO following the Jan. 1 merger.

Collaboration: Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House & Aquarium Merger
 
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