Lions And Tigers And Bears, Oh My!
Zoo Atlanta, under the leadership of new President and CEO Raymond King, has began construction for the second phase of the yearlong construction project surrounding the vacated tiger enclosure, with exhibits devoted to small carnivores, such as bush dogs, opening in the spring.
Zoo Atlanta’s Trader’s Alley: Wildlife’s Fading Footprints, featuring the zoo’s Sumatran tigers and pair of Malayan sun bears, opened for the first time on Friday, June 11 as phase one of the project. Lynn Peisner with The Atlanta Journal Constitution has that story here.
Constructing four new animal exhibits to feature small carnivores and renovating the existing tiger and leopard viewing buildings, will complete phase two. Phase one alone cost $1 million, according to Dwight Lawson, Zoo Atlanta’s senior vice president of collections, education and conservation. That’s no monkey business!
Slated for a fall start, phase two of the project is ahead of the pack as permits to begin construction were filed with the city in July. Expect a spring completion at the latest.
Zoo Atlanta
800 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30315
Honestly just moving the whole zoo to a new location closer to Downtown/Midtown would make so much more sense, other than pandas (that we don’t even own), there’s no real draw for the zoo, nothing that makes it stand out. Yes, it’s expensive, but I’m betting the Coca-Cola Museum has no regrets about moving. Come on, a bush dog exhibit… seriously?