Zoo Boise is Open during expansion!
During construction Zoo Boise will remain open and accessible to the public. Come by and see how the construction is progressing and follow us on FACEBOOK to see what fun surprises we will have available for guests during construction.
Also, don’t forget to follow along with construction updates on our CONSTRUCTION BLOG.
What's Coming To Zoo Boise?
8 years ago, Zoo Boise reinvented itself. We made it part of our mission to protect animals in the wild. We turned the act of visiting the zoo into a conservation action. With the creation of a conservation fee and a series of fee-based animal interactions, Zoo Boise has generated more than $2 million so far for wildlife conservation projects around the world.
Now it’s time to take our commitment to wildlife conservation to the next level. Zoo Boise has completed a $8.9 million Zoo with a New View Capital Campaign. The project will construct a new 2.5 acre Gorongosa National Park exhibit, including an expansion of the size of the zoo by 1 acre. Gorongosa, once one of the greatest parks in Africa, was destroyed during 25 years of war in Mozambique. Zoo Boise is part of a partnership to rebuild the park, increasing animal populations while also addressing the needs of the very poor people who live nearby. The Gorongosa National Park exhibit in Boise will generate $2 million towards the efforts in Mozambique to protect elephants, lions, zebras and more!
The Zoo Boise exhibit will feature a variety of animals that can be seen in Gorongosa National Park, including wild African dogs, baboons, Nile crocodiles, vervet monkeys, otters, hyenas, saddle-billed storks, warthogs, nyala and southern ground hornbills. The exhibit will also tell the story of the agricultural, medical and education programs that are in place to partner with the local people. The exhibit will be a way for visitors to learn about all the components of a real life conservation project as it unfolds.
Learn more about the new exhibits or purchase a commemorative tile HERE.
We’ll strive to keep as much of the zoo accessible to the public as possible. The Primate House, Wallaby Walkabout, and aviaries will be demolished and the front part of the zoo will be under construction. To access the African Plains Exhibit, a gate will be opened next to the Penguin Pavilion which will provide access to the lions, giraffes, and other animals in that area of the zoo. The zoo’s grassy event area, will be under construction and closed to the public, because it will become part of the new Gorongosa National Park exhibit. There will still be plenty of picnic tables available around the zoo and inside Julia Davis Park. During construction, some animals will be temporarily housed in different exhibits, relocated to non-public areas, or moved to other zoos.
The construction is planned to begin in April of 2018 and be finished in summer of 2019. You can stay updated by following along with construction updates on our CONSTRUCTION BLOG.