El Paso Zoo New African Exhibits

This small zoo is doubling in size (from 18 to 36 acres) by this summer, and has anyone on ZooChat actually visited the establishment? A short review would be nice, as I'm seeing if I can fit it into my 30 zoo/aquarium road trip this summer.

The first phase of the African section is now open:

Welcome to the El Paso Zoo
 
Anyone on this forum live near El Paso (probably not)? Anyone know when phase 2 will open? I just checked both the zoo website and the zoological society website, today is June 9, and all they say is "opening early summer." Well, it is early summer now, so what is the deal?

I am tentatively planning to go out for a couple days on 4th of July holiday, but I sure hope it will all be open if I go.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Anyone on this forum live near El Paso (probably not)? Anyone know when phase 2 will open? I just checked both the zoo website and the zoological society website, today is June 9, and all they say is "opening early summer." Well, it is early summer now, so what is the deal?

I am tentatively planning to go out for a couple days on 4th of July holiday, but I sure hope it will all be open if I go.
Click to expand...

Their website certainly doesn't encourage you to plan for the opening! There's hardly a mention of it.

Why not call your docent colleagues and see if you can arrange something? :D
 
mweb08 said:
It's actually not summer yet.
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Ok, Mr Technical, yes the summer solstice is still two weeks away. But for all practical purposes (including major zoo and them park openings), everyone in the U.S. understands that Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer season.
 
Here in New York it is 60 degrees F one day and 90 the next... Summer as a concept is soooooo pre-21st Century
 
Yes, but perhaps they're talking about it in a literal sense, or perhaps they're just giving themselves some leeway regarding the opening day. Just saying it's possible.
 
snowleopard said:
This small zoo is doubling in size (from 18 to 36 acres) by this summer, and has anyone on ZooChat actually visited the establishment?
Click to expand...

I was there over a decade ago, back when they were a tiny 5-acre zoo. Amazingly, this "doubling in size" has already happened in El Paso. When they added there Asian exhibits, they tripled in size from 5 to 18 acres. Now Africa will have them doubling again. We covered this zoo, and its future plans, in our "Best of the Rest" section in America's Best Zoos.
 
Hotel booked. Watch for a firsthand report on or about July 7th. (I just hope the hoofstock exhibit opens before I visit).
 
Ok, I just got an email reply from the zoo stating that phase II opens July 2nd - three days before my visit. :)
 
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