Entry Village and parking: The parking lot movessouth of Vine Street at Erkenbecher Ave., opening up11 new acres of green space for exhibits. A pedestrian

bridge leading to the new entrance and ticketbooths will be elevated to provide visitors

with a panoramic view of the facilityas they approach.

Elephant expansion:This will include expanded

exhibits for both elephants andgiraffes as part of the Vanishing Giants

exhibit. The extra will the Zoo to keep amale elephant for the first time in about 10

years and begin a breeding program.

Rhino expansion: Includes a new indoor atrium where the animalscan be viewed year-round in an in-door setting. the extra space will allow the zoo to addmore rhinos which is important for it’s breeding program. The zoo was the first in the worldto develop a scientific method for getting the animals to reproduce in captivity, and havetwice successfully impregnated the resident female at the zoo – a first.

The zoo’s expansion will create newexperiences and animal encounters forvisitors, and is intended to make theattractions easier to navigate andprovide a more balanceddistribution of exhibits. Here’sa look at some of the $40million inchangesplannedfor thezoo.

A look at the Zoo’s plans for expansion

Cat Canyon:New exhibit spacefor a handful of smalland large cats that willbe housed separatelybut linked with theboardwalk. It will be anindoor-outdoor exibit withwaterfalls and lush vegatation,that will be a major increasein space for the animals.

Source: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The Enquirer/Randy Mazzola

Gorilla Forest: This will expand on the exhibit and holding buildingthat were built in the 1970s. A semi-enclosed exibit area with heatedfloor will allow the animals to outside on chilly days, while a 5,500

square-foot atrium will double the animals space in the winter andallow year-round viewing. Designers have also dedicated an acre

of land leading to the exibit for a tropical rainforest. the exibitwill also have a satellite education building.

The Cheetah Encounter: A new exhibit that will feature a 120-yard strip thatwill allow these sleek cats to reach top running speedof 60 mph, along with play trees for them to show offtheir jumping and climbing abilities. another featurewill be a virtual reality experience that will allow peopleto feel what it’s like to be a cheetah chasing prey.

Gorilla Forest

Cat Canyon

The CheetahEncounter

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