Two cougar siblings kept offshow will get a new exhibit, opening today as of this writing. Puma exhibit opens Saturday at the Lake Superior Zoo
The Zoo had its first reopening phase with “Walk on the Wild Side,” an outdoor social distancing experience. Indoor sections are planned to reopen next weekend, and a few new additions are planned for the near future too. Lake Superior Zoo welcomes public to "Walk on the Wild Side"
I thought that I would mention some news from a 2016-2020 that haven’t been mentioned on this forum so 2016 :new silver fox exhibit constructed by nocturnal building :new turkey vulture exhibit constructed out of old goral/crane viewing shelter :Northern Territory slowly closes :new parrot aviaries in Griggs learning center 2017 New Great Barrier Reef fish aquarium built in main building Old reef fish aquarium converted into exhibit for budgerigar and brush tailed bettong :new reeves muntjac exhibit built next to tiger exhibit 2018 :New Burmese python and Bali python exhibits built in main building :Temporary butterfly garden built on sledding hill 2019: : new middle exhibits constructed in Griggs learning center :new outdoor black crested mangabey exhibit built next to tiger exhibit ld skunk and North American porcupine exhibits combined for new Eurasian eagle owl exhibit . Now in more recent news on June 12th of this year the new brown bear (soon to be black bear) exhibit was finished and it’s not as bad as we feared. They filled in the moat, added natural substrates added new viewing panels, sealed of the tunnel area, and added a tree (which the bear immediately toke down) so over all a lot of changes where made but sadly the cougar exhibit didn’t change at all. All of the zoos bald eagle and great horned owl exhibits where damaged in a snowstorm last year, so there re-meshing the a aviaries and when they open again the great horned owl exhibit will be home to a red tailed hawk, and the great horned owl will move into an empty aviary with the zoos North American porcupine in between the bear and cougar exhibits, and finally the wolf exhibit re-opens on July seconded. That’s all the extra news from the last four years not posted on this forum
On August 7th, it was reported that the zoo's Marketing Director, Haley Cope, has recently been named as the new CEO of the zoo after the former CEO left to get an administrative role at Lake Superior College. New CEO named at Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth
Some updates from yesterday’s visit. -the new bald eagle exhibit is going along well -the new great horned owl exhibit is finished -the common snapping turtle is temporarily in the golden coin turtle exhibit in the Australia & Oceania building while its exhibit undergoes Maintenance -the black-headed caique & double yellow headed Amazon parrot cages where temporarily moved just outside the Griggs learning center -Pygmy slow lorises(which I’m guessing where transferred from Minnesota zoo) now live in the former kinkajou/Hoffman’s 2 toed sloth/six banded armadillo exhibit, they moved into the former Pallas cat exhibit while the Pallas cats moved into the old swift fox exhibit, and swift foxes moved into the old red fox exhibit, and red foxes are being moved to there renovated exhibit in bear country Phase 2 That’s all I have for now.
A male black bear has been transferred from a Minnesota Zoo: Getting Syke'd: Lake Superior Zoo introduces new black bear
I assume this means the new brown bear exhibit has opened as well! Great news to see more new species being added to the zoo
here are some updates from my visit today, .The old chinchilla & dove enclosures in Griggs learning center were tapped up, with signs saying “new animals coming soon” on both .Red footed tortoises have replaced the desert tortoises. .One of the bearded dragons have moved into the old rat enclosure in Griggs learning center. Hopefully this is temporary, as the zoo seems to have a problem of multiple exhibits for one species. .A third brush-tailed bettong has moved into the old game chicken enclosure in Griggs learning center .The southern flying squirrels were unsigned & unseen. .The cape porcupine is no longer mixed with the Angolan colobusses .The gopher tortoises were not in the turkey vulture exhibit. .The second phase Alaskan brown bear exhibit has opened, and I will post photos later today. .Construction on the new bald eagle exhibit is going along well, and the exhibit is quite large for only 2 bald eagles.
A lioness named Lilly had a root canal done a few days ago. Lake Superior Zoo's Lilly The Lion Undergoes Root Canal
Also should be noted, in November 2020 the zoo acquired (0.3) grey wolves named Shasta, Sierra, and Tehama from the California Wolf Center in San Diego County, California. Other news in 2021: On February 9th, the zoo announced that they have acquired a (1.0) axolotl named Eugene and he is located in the Amphibians of the World exhibit. Log into Facebook On February 18th, the zoo announced that the zoo has opened its North American river otter exhibit. Log into Facebook On June 10th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) black-crested mangabey named Táami was born on May 15th. Log into Facebook On June 11th, the zoo announced that they have received a loan for thermal imaging equipment from a company in Florida. Log into Facebook On June 25th, the zoo announced that the underwater viewing area in the bear country exhibit will be opening on June 26th. Log into Facebook On August 6th, the zoo announced the opening of their new bald eagle exhibit. Log into Facebook On August 17th, the zoo announced that they have acquired (0.2) Kunekune pigs named Charlotte and Fern. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=362045388740162 On October 27th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) African straw-colored fruit bat has passed away at age 16 due to a sudden health decline. Log into Facebook On November 21st, the zoo announced that its common ravens have moved into a new exhibit next to the North American porcupine. Log into Facebook On December 3rd, the zoo announced that another (1.0) black-crested mangabey named Jujube was born on November 11th. Log into Facebook
On March 16th, 2022, the zoo announced that (0.0.2) pygmy slow lorises were born on March 1st. Log into Facebook
I wonder how much of the masterplan is still current for the zoo? https://duluthmn.gov/media/7232/final-zoo-plan.pdf
The zoo did convert Polar Shores, which formerly housed Polar Bear, Seal, and Penguin but was heavily damaged by flooding, into a Brown Bear exhibit as depicted in the master plan. However, the overall master plan, which would have removed all the exhibits on the far side of the creek, is defunct. I believe a new administration realized that it made more financial sense to renovate existing infrastructure rather than demolish and rebuild elsewhere. Within the last couple of years the zoo completed some minor renovations on the far side of the creek and is again holding Black Bears, Wolves, and Puma over there. If the zoo were to raise a large amount of money I believe the top priority would be to replace the main building.
Do you actually think they would replace the building or just gut/renovate and maybe expand it? I agree, what they currently have is not very functional (lots of unused space/things being very tight, which is a weird combination), but I don't think I can ever see that building going away completely due to the costs of starting from scratch.
My guess would be renovation for the cost reasons that you mention. They did receive a bit of state money for design work in 2020, but the bill text just says "renovate or replace" so I suppose either outcome would be possible. I'm sure they would need a lot more money to actually do construction work. See bill text here: Chapter 3 - MN Laws
