New Exhibits in 2008

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okapikpr

Well-Known Member
Since AZA announced that 2008 is "The Year of the Frog" many zoos/aquariums are or have already opened some sort of frog exhibit including:

Jacksonville Zoo
John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, MI
San Diego Zoo
Vancouver Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
and many more....

But here are some other exciting developements that should open this year:

Bronx Zoo - Madagascar
Buffalo Zoo - South American Rainforest
Busch Gardens, Tampa - Jungala (Asian wildlife)
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - Rocky Mountain Wild
Columbus Zoo - Polar Frontier
Houston Zoo - Phase I of new Elephant exhibit
John Ball Zoo - African Lions
Kansas City Zoo - Tropics Building and new Entry
Los Angeles Zoo - Golden Monkeys
Louisville Zoo - Amur Tiger Encounter
Mesker Park Zoo - Amazonia
Miami Metrozoo - Amazon and Beyond
Minnesota Zoo - Russia's Grizzly Coast
Monterey Bay Aquarium - Splash Zone expansion
North Carolina Zoo - Watasi Grasslands
Oregon Zoo - Red Ape Reserve
Palm Beach Zoo - Florida Pioneer Trail Reptile House
St Augustine Alligator Farm - Herpetarium/Komodo Dragons
San Antonio Zoo - African Live
Santa Barbara Zoo - Condor Country
SeaLife LEGOLAND - Grand Opening
Steinhart Aquarium - Grand Re-opening
Tanganyika Wildlife Park - Grand Opening
Zoo Boise - African Plains
Zoo Montana - Grizzly Bears
 
What a great thread Okapikpr! I'm impressed by the long list of noteworthy exhibits that are opening in 2008, and hopefully some of the more prominent enclosures live up to their hype. This summer I should hopefully visit several of the listed exhibits, and this is a great thread to use as a reference point for what is happening in the zoo world within North America.

I was at the Vancouver Aquarium today and the amphibian section there is very well done. There are 26 species, and probably 22 of those are different types of frogs.

Interesting that when I visited Monterey Bay Aquarium two years ago they had 3 species of penguins in their splash zone, and now after that exhibit's reopening they are down to the single species.
 
2008 is one of the more exciting years of zoo history in terms of new exhibits. North America hasnt seen a year like this in three years.

And in 2005, Monterey Bay took in Audubon's penguins after Hurricane Katrina. If you went there after August 2005, you might have seen those penguins also.
 
Toronto Zoo is also participating in the year of the Frog, and they have a new special behind the scenes exhibit that the visitors can view through a window. Amphibian Ark, if I remember. It is located in the America's pavilion. It's really good. They are working hard on breeding the Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Golden Mantella, etc and have some tadpoles on display.

Great to hear about all the new exhibits opening!

TZ's Australasian Pavillion is also reopening this May (16th, if all goes well). New Canadian Domain is opening in 2009, which will feature a brand new exhibits for Polar Bears, Musk Ox, etc. I's a HUGE project but one that will worth the wait, no doubt.
 
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I'm glad to see the inclusion of Zoo Boise's African Plains exhibit on your list. The community is VERY excited about this. Currently it is a 5 hour drive to the nearest giraffes and lions. Zoo Boise is a small zoo (11 acres) and a lot of it is aging pretty poorly, but this exhibit will go along way in increasing their stature. The plans I've seen look like a lot of fun, especially for a small zoo in a relatively small town. Currently the species list appears to be as follows, giraffes (probably generics or retic hybrids), Grevy's zebras, lions, servals, rock hyrax, De Brazza's guenons and some African birds likely weavers and maybe some others. The fund raising effort for this project has been monumental, as a small zoo with a tiny budget getting the community to raise the necessary $2.8 million hasn't been as easy as a zoo in a larger market. I have been very impressed with the support the zoo is getting from the community.

There are also several other exhibits in that list I'm excited about, but certainly won't be able to visit any of those nearly as often. Oregon Zoo's orang/gibbon exhibit sounds nice.
 
Okapikpr, Any new on the National zoos elephant exhibit, sounds like its going to be quite large
 
MARK said:
Okapikpr, Any new on the National zoos elephant exhibit, sounds like its going to be quite large
Click to expand...

The elephant exhibit is slated to open in 2010, more likely it will open 2011/12. The link snowleopard posted is the most current design they have, but there have been several different designs over the last 10 years. The design before it had cushioned the elephant trail on a ridge between the upper and lower yards, maybe the terrain couldn't support it? Also there were two smaller yards adjacent to the west of the lower yard and below the current Asia Trail visitor path, but I think the National Zoo plans to put Indian Rhinos in this area.

The National Zoo also intends to build a breeding facility at their conservation center in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but there is no timeline for this.
 
They sent their Indian Rhinos to White Oak a few years back. I dont know when they intend to build a new exhibit for Indian Rhinos, but they still participate in the SSP and intend to have the species again. They will probably only keep a few, though.
 
okapikpr said:
Since AZA announced that 2008 is "The Year of the Frog" many zoos/aquariums are or have already opened some sort of frog exhibit including:

Jacksonville Zoo
John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids, MI
San Diego Zoo
Vancouver Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
and many more....
Click to expand...

Phoenix Zoo has also opened up an amphibian display and this summer Zoo Boise will be getting new amphibian exhibits spread across the zoo
 
Add to the list Pt Defiance Zoo & Aquarium will be opening Phase II of the Kid's Zone area this year. Rather than a play area, this phase will include more animal exhibits that are active, excite children, and have some interation aspect.

Pt Defiance also intends to renovate the popular Rocky Shores area (Polar Bear, Beluga, Walrus) by 2011 and the North Pacific Aquarium by 2013.
 
Interesting article on the Buffalo Zoo, which is an establishment that one never really hears about. The only noteworthy news to come out of that zoo is the controversy over the fairly recent polar bear deaths. If I'm not mistaken there were 3 bears that died within a year or two of each other.

It must be frustrating for design teams to be constantly hampered by financial constraints, and having to change things on the fly. The article kept stating that "maybe this would happen" or something "might be incorporated into the design", and I wonder how many items in the original plans will actually be completed.
 
snowleopard said:
It must be frustrating for design teams to be constantly hampered by financial constraints, and having to change things on the fly. The article kept stating that "maybe this would happen" or something "might be incorporated into the design", and I wonder how many items in the original plans will actually be completed.
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yes, exactly! And that is - I believe - why we so often look at new exhibits and are disappointed, or astounded at the "mistakes." Not all the failures can be accounted for this way, of course, but many can be. Almost every project I have been involved with starts out as a wonder and ends up as either "just another zoo exhibit" or slightly better (Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo being an exeception)
 
http://www.jonesandjones.com/pdfs/tropicalamerica.pdf

Here is a 160-page link to the Miami Metrozoo's "Amazon and Beyond" exhibit that opens later this year. In the document it provides several scenarios for the building of the set of enclosures, so does anyone know in which direction the zoo went? How much is the final product going to cost, and how large is it? (The zoo's website was down earlier today and so I couldn't locate the information)

CBIRS Request 941

This link mentions the total area as being 27 acres, and costing $50 million!
 
That document was from rather early in the design process..before anyone started to put a price on it.
I know the Cloud Forest building got axed.
Last time I heard, there were:
tapirs
black howlers with squirrel monkey
hummingbirds with butterflies
jaguar
anaconda
assorted marmosets and tamarins
several aviaries
giant river otter
harpy eagle
capybara (I think the capybara stayed and the giant anteater was cut, but maybe it was the other way around)
assorted Amazon fish
and a large number of smaller species (snakes, lizards, insects, etc.)

The project was a long time in the designing and costs kept escalating.
I am not sure what survived the last cut.
 
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