Calling it “the biggest project we’ve ever done,” Cincinnati Zoo officials detailed plans Monday for an ambitious new elephant habitat.A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday morning for a massive new elephant habitat, one of the final phases in the zoo's $150 million More Home to Roam capital campaign. The elephant portion of the project is the most ambitious, zoo officials said, creating a complex habitat for a multigenerational herd.Plans for Cincinnati's new habitat include natural elements like trees, mud wallows, grasses, pools, streams and plenty of room for the elephants to explore. "They are going to have a huge space, and we’re hoping to add more elephants to the herd. We’re hoping to have babies, eventually, so we’ll have this multigenerational herd of eight to 10 elephants roaming around in this beautiful natural habitat," said Michelle Curley, communications director for the zoo. Expansion has always been a challenge for the land-locked zoo, as it is located in a populous portion of the city. To create more room, the new elephant habitat will take over the existing Safari Parking Lot. Curley said the newest habitat will be five times larger than the current one. “We’re committing to elephants. They’re going to be a part of our future. Future generations of zoo-goers will get to see these amazing creatures,” she said.The zoo really studied its current elephant population, researching their movements and behaviors for years. The new habitat was custom-built for the elephants, she said, considering their social, emotional and physical needs. “It’s really going to be a fantastic space for the elephants. We’ve done a lot of research, and studied how they used the space that they have," Curley said. "We put something like an elephant-sized Fitbit on them to see where they travel and to see how we could get them to use more of the space they currently have. We’re building some of those things into the habitat.”The new habitat will be echo-friendly too, fitting into Cincinnati's current title as "greenest zoo in America." "We’ll have a million gallons of water stored underneath the habitat in stormwater retention tanks. Every bit of water that we use in the habitat will be from those tanks. There are all sort of sustainability features like that built-in," Curley said.People have also been considered in the plans. Zoo visitors will enjoy watching the elephant herd roam their 4-acre habitat from a shaded gazebo or while having a snack on the patio of a new café.A major portion of the More Home to Roam campaign also included adding in a new entrance to better allow the flow of people through its grounds.A timeline for the completion of the project has not been released.
Calling it “the biggest project we’ve ever done,” Cincinnati Zoo officials detailed plans Monday for an ambitious new elephant habitat.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday morning for a massive new elephant habitat, one of the final phases in the zoo's $150 million More Home to Roam capital campaign.
The elephant portion of the project is the most ambitious, zoo officials said, creating a complex habitat for a multigenerational herd.
Plans for Cincinnati's new habitat include natural elements like trees, mud wallows, grasses, pools, streams and plenty of room for the elephants to explore.
"They are going to have a huge space, and we’re hoping to add more elephants to the herd. We’re hoping to have babies, eventually, so we’ll have this multigenerational herd of eight to 10 elephants roaming around in this beautiful natural habitat," said Michelle Curley, communications director for the zoo.
Expansion has always been a challenge for the land-locked zoo, as it is located in a populous portion of the city. To create more room, the new elephant habitat will take over the existing Safari Parking Lot.
Curley said the newest habitat will be five times larger than the current one.
“We’re committing to elephants. They’re going to be a part of our future. Future generations of zoo-goers will get to see these amazing creatures,” she said.
The zoo really studied its current elephant population, researching their movements and behaviors for years. The new habitat was custom-built for the elephants, she said, considering their social, emotional and physical needs.
“It’s really going to be a fantastic space for the elephants. We’ve done a lot of research, and studied how they used the space that they have," Curley said. "We put something like an elephant-sized Fitbit on them to see where they travel and to see how we could get them to use more of the space they currently have. We’re building some of those things into the habitat.”
The new habitat will be echo-friendly too, fitting into Cincinnati's current title as "greenest zoo in America."
"We’ll have a million gallons of water stored underneath the habitat in stormwater retention tanks. Every bit of water that we use in the habitat will be from those tanks. There are all sort of sustainability features like that built-in," Curley said.
People have also been considered in the plans. Zoo visitors will enjoy watching the elephant herd roam their 4-acre habitat from a shaded gazebo or while having a snack on the patio of a new café.
A major portion of the More Home to Roam campaign also included adding in a new entrance to better allow the flow of people through its grounds.
A timeline for the completion of the project has not been released.
Source link
