The city of Lafayette, Indiana has one of the oldest—and best—small zoos in the country. Recent renovations, thoughtful and modern designs, and focusing on providing for their local guests as top priority are a few reasons they are successful.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm: What’s in a Name?
St. Augustine Alligator Farm, located in beautiful and historic tourism destination, St. Augustine, Florida, holds the honor of being the only zoo in the world to care for every species of crocodilian known to man. In addition to the alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans, the zoo is also a showcase for native Floridian birds, especially during nesting season in spring and early summer. The nine-acre zoo itself is beautiful. It’s all old-growth live oaks, dripping in Spanish moss, but one of the greatest attributes of the Farm is its preponderance of demonstrations, shows, and keeper chats. Does the Zoo’s name hinder its success due to its reliance on often first-time visitors?
Utica Zoo: Oktoberfest All Year-Round!
The iconic Bavarian building at the heart of the 40 acre, AZA accredited Utica Zoo, perfectly personifies the character and soul of the small zoo itself—a reflection of the dominant German population in Utica at the time of its opening in 1920. Utica Zoo is an adorable regional gem, but improvements in service access efficiency, upgrades to older areas of the zoo, and deeper thinking related to the selection of animals are needed.
Historic Renovation to House Monkeys at KC Zoo
Kansas City Zoo has been workly lately to give itself a face-lift. The Zoo, considered by locals to be the "red-headed step kid" to the world-famous St. Louis Zoo (a mere 3 hours' drive away), has seen less and less support in recent decades. To counter this, the Zoo has set about new construction and renovations projects throughout the facilty.
On the heels of the recently re-opened front entry plaza, including streamlined ticketing, parking, and otters as soon as you walk in, the Zoo is currently working on a renovation of its historic 1909 building. This building, which started its life as the sole animal habitat for the Zoo, has been through several iterations, most recently as an education building.
Now, however, construction is reclaiming its primary use, and inside the building a rainforest exhibit is being created. Tropical plants are being flown in from Florida to make as realistic a home as possible for the monkey species, anteaters, tropical birds, and capybara which will call this place home.
The relatively small budget of $5.1 million will allow for nearly 8000 square feet of exhibit space and 5000 square feet of support. The highlight of the exhibit is a glass enclosed bridge through the trees, where guests should be able to view monkeys playing in the branches, up close.
This exhibit is due to open in May, coinciding with the Zoo's Centennial celebration. Other upcoming plans include new homes for polar bears and penguins.