The elephant area is finally moving forward. The elephants are still being walked around the zoo grounds prior to opening-and have become accustomed the the new barn (which is FINALLY COMPLETE). Work on the new elephant yard is set to begin very shortly. Once the elephants are moved into their new exhibit the old elephant house will become the new home of the Sumatran Orangutans and Amur Leopards will also receive a renovated enclosure. The old lion enclosure, which will ultimately house elephants
How big if an outdoor exhibit will there be and is the zoo looking into getting additional elephants?
Sorry all, I thought that the thread was started in the Audubon zoo section... Yes, the zoo will be seeking additional elephants. I'm unsure of sourcing however. All I know if the barn is capable of holding a bull- which is standard AZA policy now... So it doesn't mean anything. Both the girls currently at the zoo are Late 40's-mid 50's.
Looking on google maps you can see the construction of the new barn I believe. Its shocking that the new barn is larger than the entire old outdoor exhibit. i wonder where will the outdoor yards go?
OK, now I'm laughing! I recognized those 4 photos of the new barn and construction area as my own. I had posted them on Facebook the other day and I was just coming here to repost them when I thought, "Wait a minute! What the hell...". Don't worry loxadontaafrica, I'm not looking for credit or anything and I really don't mind. I just think it's funny that you beat me to it! LOL.
I was talking to some of the keepers a few days ago on a behind the scenes tour. The new elephant house is essentially finished but the rest of the exhibit may take as long as a year to complete. Audubon Zoo is located near the Mississippi River and since the river is a bit high right now, the Army Corp of Engineers won't let them drive pilings until the water level comes down. No one here in New Orleans wants the levees to vibrate these days. Trust me. The area that has been cleared out used to contain the 1979 lion and leopard exhibits as well as 2 former hoofed stock/bird yards, the 1938 giraffe/camel house, Indian hornbill aviary and the Embraceable Zoo (Children's Zoo). The zoo is currently planning on housing 4 Asian elephants in the new exhibit and the old exhibit is scheduled to be completely overhauled as a new home for the zoo's Sumatran orangutans.
Here is the site plan of the new Asian Domain at the zoo: [ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audubonimages/9034996289/sizes/l/"]All sizes | Zoo-AD and CZ Plan | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame] And new elephant barn: [ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audubonimages/9037203400/in/photostream/"]New Elephant Barn | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame] Is the new barn a replica of the old one?
Using google maps I found the rough area of the outdoor exhibit to be 1.6 acres in total which is about average size and a big improvement for this zoo. The only thing is there seems like another acre in extra space which could have been used for the elephants. On the other side the orangutans will have a very large exhibit on the site of the old elephant exhibit.
It's more of a "Homage" to the old barn. The bricks, slate roof etc. are only a facade to a much larger concrete and steel building. The old barn was built by the WPA in 1937-38 and is considered a local landmark so the zoo decided on keeping the local preservationists happy as well as the elephants.
The area that's labeled as "Embraceable Zoo Animals-temporary" was previously a hoofed stock yard and is now holding the sheep, goats etc. from the children's zoo that was demolished to make room for the new elephant exhibit. Once the goats etc. are moved to their new contact yard (I was told, possibly by Fall), the area is reportedly to be used as an elephant "Playground" where they can browse among the trees. The area labeled "Cool Zoo" is a splash park which has been a cash cow for the zoo so I don't see that going anywhere and the "Lazy River" area is a planned expansion. The winding path that leads to the new exhibit is the "Discovery Walk" where docents have animal presentations but part of it could possibly be used as an aviary for the rhinoceros hornbill that was displaced by the construction. One thing about the plan that I wasn't aware of, it looks like the "Cool Zoo" will be adding a wading pool for the kids and it apparently is going to be adjoining the elephants bathing pool. If they build this, I wonder what kind of divider they plan on using to prevent elephant water from being trunk-sprayed on the children?
More info about the elephant exhibit. New Orleans' Audubon Zoo elephants packing their trunks for new home | NOLA.com
