This is very early in development, but it's very interesting. A group called the Las Vegas Zoological Society wants to build a new zoo in the city. According to its website the zoo will be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, be 100 acres in size, and have 300 species of animals. This is very early in development, but it's very interesting. News article:Nonprofit wants to build new zoo in Las Vegas Blooloop:Group plans to bring ‘world class’ zoo to Las Vegas | blooloop Website: Home
They seem to intend to have feral horses, which I am unsure about.It can act as a sanctuary for the horses but cover up valuable space. And they seem to wish for pandas a bit too early.
The zoo looks decent enough, though I too doubt having pandas so early. Maybe substitute them with sloth or asiatic black bears? On the feral mustangs, i'm rather open to them; they're a part of north american (both indigenous and cplonial) heritage and they could provide some education on invasive species and pleistocene horses. On a final note, I would rather have the Nevada and American exhibits directly bordering one another and the cats in both the African and Asian exhibits.
Very ambitious! A bit too ambitious if i say so myself. I mean do they seriously believe they’ll get Giant Pandas?
The Zoo based on the plans certainly looks ambitious and good. I feel the African, Australian, and American areas will work the best, especially with Vegas' arid, hot climate adding to the experience. My two biggest questions are one: isn't asking for polar bears too much especially in such a hot region? I know that Reid Park had them for a while, but is it worth it now especially with the shortage of bears? Two: isn't Resorts World Las Vegas, the Chinese-themed resort opening in a couple years, already planning to get giant pandas?
Giant pandas, polar bears, sea otters, gorillas, wombats, etc. Where are the narwhals, unicorns and griffons? All the best to those individuals attempting to obtain funding for a Las Vegas facility, but their ambitions seem a tad lofty! It seems as if every few years someone else comes along wanting to build a world-class zoo in 'Sin City' but it never happens...
Saying this is overly ambitious would be an understatement. They have to be kidding themselves if they seriously think they can get elephants, pandas, wombats and some others as soon as they intend. If it ever comes to fruition, then great. However, unless the plans are severally dumbed down I can't see this happening any time soon. Also polar bears, in a Nevada zoo, need I say more?
Actually, i heard that the opening was pushed back to 2020, to redesign the hotel for younger chinese gamblers. I haven’t heard if they’re still going to have the panda exhibit, or the forbidden city for that matter.(hope so!)
This comes at an interesting time, I think. I'd heard Las Vegas as a whole may be on the decline, with its "first annual decline since 2013 and first large-scale drop since 2009". I'd probably be rather surprised if this project came to fruition whatsoever.
I don't think a zoo will happen in Las Vegas. It is - to be blunt - a place to party. Years ago they tried becoming more family friendly, with some small scale theme parks (like the now demolished one at MGM Hotel) and free child care at casinos. It failed and they returned to their roots as an adult entertainment capitol where people go to gamble and see shows. The newest HUGE development - which is under construction and likely will come to fruition - is a complex inside the world's largest sphere with the world's highest resolution big screen: Las Vegas is Building the World’s Largest Sphere - YouTube Interestingly, the renderings show the images on the big screen to be of nature (rainforest, cave opening, etc). What I think would be a best solution for a zoo-type facility, is for the existing Springs Preserve Springs Preserve Homepage to add more animal exhibits beyond the couple they have now. Though I have not visited, it seems to have the potential to become Nevada's version of Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
You're probably right. Although I think a 24 hour zoo would be pretty neat there. But then again, you would probably have to do a breathalyzer on half of the visitors after midnight.
I honestly don't think it would be too hard for a individual to start a private zoo just outside the city. They would have to start small but could grow fairly quickly, I think. I think this would be the only chance of Las Vegas getting a zoo, there's no way the city is opening one up.
There was one like that (Southern Nevada Zoo) for many years and I even visited it back in 1993. It was terrible and finally got shut down by government authorities. There was another one that was shut down more recently - I forget the name - but it had wallabies and other small animals run out of the home of (I think) a veterinarian. I stand by my previous comment that the city's best hope is for Springs Preserve to expand their animal holdings.
Idk, polar bears might not adapt well to that climate. An indoor climate controlled area would be awesome, but that's just speculation. Either way, I'd love to see this happen, but I doubt it will.
I doubt it will. To be successful, a zoo in Las Vegas would have to be able to compete with the multiple other attractions already there. The zoo would have to open with multiple expensive mega exhibits that attract visitors (lions, tigers, great apes, elephants, other African species, etc.). Otherwise, it just won't be likely to draw a crowd to sustain the operating costs. So the initial investment would be astronomical without any guarantees of success. The animal exhibits on the strip are disappearing as well, which may be an indication that the visitors to Las Vegas just are not that interested in seeing animal exhibits.
I still think a desert themed zoo could do well. A few ABC species could be kept and could start small. I wouldn't bother trying to house anything cold weather adapted.
People are thinking about Vegas wrong. It has loads of tourists, yes, but it’s also a major metropolitan area in its own right. My guess it the zoo would be better geared towards residents than tourists since the latter are unlikely to visit unless it’s on par with San Diego, Bronx, DAK, etc.
I'd keep my mouth shut but a close friend of mine lives in Vegas, and accompanied me to a zoo during a trip (not to Vegas): based on our conversations, the lion, tiger and dolphin exhibits at the Mirage sound to have functioned informally as a zoo to some local residents, in the broad sense that it is where they came to see animals and in nothing higher than that, and the removal is creating a local sense of loss. It may spur more interest in a zoo than previously existed in the area, especially since it represents something locals feel they previously had access to and lost.
