Zoo New England is planning a $53million expansion. Zoos plan $53 million expansion - BostonHerald.com Apologies if this has already been posted.
It is about time that zoo invested some cash into its infrastructure, as apart from its small rainforest building I never hear anything notable about the place.
Well, what I got out of it was that they wanted to have something the public would like FAST while they develop the other exhibit ideas. This is a big cheap fast Wow!. A good gorilla exhibit takes longer to plan and build. Just how I see it.
Let's hope that what they build is better than the rain forest thing they did a few years back. This has to rank as one of the worst zoo exhibits I have ever seen - just an absolute mess of awful viewing and inadequate housing. And I believe it cost a small fortune.
I spoke to a keeper at Stone Zoo not long ago about the up coming renovations to both Stone and Franklin Park Zoo and was told large exhibits are part of their masterplan as well as short term plans. A Sawmill Creek exhibit featuring grizzly bears and possibly moose is part of the renovations at Stone Zoo as well as a new kids area. Franklin Park Zoo is redoing their Africa section adding new species like Nile crocs as well as a restaurant looking into the lion exhibit. Also a new asia exhibit is being planned and the gibbons going to Stone zoo may end up going to Franklin to join orangs, tigers, red panda and komodo dragons. Also after just redoing the indoor part of the gorilla exhibit there are plans to redo the outside part.
Some more detailed news from the Zoo New England about the new exhibits: http://www.zoonewengland.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/2009 Budgie Gibbon Exhibit Annoucements.doc
One question: Should the muntjac, crested porcupines, river otters, and colobus monkeys be on exhibit again once the gibbon exhibit opens?
The gibbon exhibit is going to take over the porcupine exhibit so I doubt they will come back but I don't understand what you mean by "should they come back once the exhibit is open"?
You're right, but I hope they'll probably move the African porcupine in Franklin Park Zoo...somehow... Besides, a simple "I'm not sure if the Colobus monkeys, muntjac, and river otter will return once the exhibit is open" would've been enough.
I can tell you that they probably will come back. The muntjac and colobus got moved due to construction noise and the otters got moved because they are in back of the new gibbon exhibit and their nite house is being reconfigured to have both gibbons and otters. I didn't understand what you ment by "should" they come back. They have exhibits and were only moved for the reasons mentioned above. Did you mean that should they come back to Stone or move to Franklin to be part of the african/asia collection? I would bet the crested porcupine would be moved to Franklin to join their African collection especially since Franklin is expanding their African section in their preliminary masterplan.
Okay, so I was wrong. The colobus monkeys, muntjac, and otters should come back once they've finished construction of the gibbon exhibit, but not the African porcupine.