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snowleopard

American Beaver Exhibit - New in 2012

July 14th, 2015.

American Beaver Exhibit - New in 2012
snowleopard, 15 Jul 2015
    • snowleopard
      July 14th, 2015.
    • snowleopard
      Since my 2010 visit the zoo came perilously close to closing as it lost its AZA-accreditation in 2011 and thankfully the local community helped raise $500,000 to keep the facility afloat. I revisited the zoo today, 5 years after my previous visit, and I was pleased to see a new beaver exhibit (it reportedly cost only $18,000 to construct) as well as all new signs for the major outdoor exhibits. The new zoo map is terrific and was donated by a firm, and several of the indoor exhibits in the Discovery Center were renovated.

      I'm not sure what else this small zoo can do to pull people through its gates, but it is certainly not open many hours. All summer long the zoo is open for only 6 hours per day, then 4 hours each day in the winter. There are many acres of space to build new exhibits but who would pay for such endeavours? With a cold-weather theme it would make sense for the zoo to consider species such as Sichuan Takin or Snow Leopard if additions are in the establishment's future.
    • Wild wolverine
      In the photo of the map it says that the zoo is open from 10am-4pm which is indeed only 6 hours, but then it says that the grounds close at 5pm, as well in the winter hours closing at 2pm (VERY early in my opinion) and the grounds close at 3pm. Maybe the zoo stops letting people in an hour before the zoo actually closes? I know at the Milwaukee County Zoo and probably several others, the entrance gates close about an hour before the zoo officially closes. This is still only 7 hours in summer, 5 hours in winter. A very short operation time indeed!
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  • Category:
    ZooMontana
    Uploaded By:
    snowleopard
    Date:
    15 Jul 2015
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    Comment Count:
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