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snowleopard

Greater One-Horned Rhino Exhibit (old elephant complex)

August 1st, 2016.

Greater One-Horned Rhino Exhibit (old elephant complex)
snowleopard, 1 Aug 2016
DelacoursLangur likes this.
    • snowleopard
      August 1st, 2016.
    • DavidBrown
      Are they still turning this into a panda exhibit?
    • snowleopard
      Yes. It should be interesting to see how it all turns out, as the zoo spent $10 million on expanding its Asian Elephant complex...then the elephants were sent away and the enclosure is now a Greater One-Horned Rhino exhibit. From 2018-2023 the habitat will be home to Giant Pandas (4 of them from Toronto Zoo) and lastly there will be orangutans as the tenants. That is a lot of changes! The zoo is already working on its West Entrance area (which is currently closed) as when the pandas arrive then record-breaking attendance will occur and the zoo is already hugely popular and the #1 attraction in Calgary.
    • DavidBrown
      I can't really imagine how this becomes a panda exhibit in its current form.

      Do you think that they will maintain the building as the panda house and then build all-new panda yards with some kind of new barrier around them (e.g., glass walls) where the current rhino yards are?
    • snowleopard
      Just to the left of this photo is a series of stadium-style tiered cement rows that allow visitors to sit and watch the animals. The long row of seating can be seen at the back of this photo:

      http://www.zoochat.com/525/greater-one-horned-rhino-exhibit-old-456412/

      Anyway, that seating area was built when the zoo had elephants but assuming the zoo maintains the tiered seating then it will be perfect for when the giant pandas arrive and I think that having a section for people to sit and watch will work out well for the zoo and help ease congestion.

      The Master Plan clearly states that the rhino yard will become a giant panda exhibit and I'm guessing that the rhino will be shifted next year so that construction can begin on turning the indoor and outdoor areas into something for pandas. It will surely cost a lot of money to install glass viewing panels but the zoo will recoup the cash in no time at all. Calgary citizens still talk about the time the zoo briefly had giant pandas in 1988 (in time for the Winter Olympics) and there were line-ups that stretched halfway through the zoo.

      There has already been $10 million given to the zoo from the Alberta government for the $16.3 million exhibit renovation. The link below contains a design for the new habitat...and also surprisingly has a small aviary attached as well as an outdoor area for the zoo's Komodo dragons.

      Calgary Zoo panda exhibit gets $10M from Alberta government - Calgary - CBC News
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  • Category:
    Calgary Zoo
    Uploaded By:
    snowleopard
    Date:
    1 Aug 2016
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    Comment Count:
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