Zoo maps out its future

A re-imagining of the now-shuttered nocturnal exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley is one important element of a plan being considered to maintain the facility's momentum by opening new attractions every year through 2014 and beyond.

The nocturnal space would be transformed from a "dark tunnel with boxes," in the words of zoo director Lee Ehmke, to a much more entertaining space featuring reptiles and amphibians.

"We've never had many of those in our collection," he said, "and they're interesting to people. Snakes and crocs are much more showy and engaging."

Change will be visible this year, as a major portion of the Tropics Trail building is being recast for a new exhibit called "Faces of the African Forest." That exhibit, opening Memorial Day weekend, will feature new species of monkeys, dwarf crocodiles and other animals.

Officials emphasized that the strategic plan shared with members of the zoo's board of directors late last week is only a draft.

That said, this is the timeline envisioned:

• 2011: Move aggressively to finish a new bird show theater in the space now occupied by the empty beluga whale tank.

• 2013: Open a black bear exhibit as a new ingredient to the Minnesota Trail, which has been thoroughly overhauled in recent years.

• 2014: Open a reptile exhibit in the old nocturnal space. At the same time, enhance the coral reef exhibit.

Unlike a lot of what he inherited when he became the zoo's new chief about a decade back, Ehmke admires the coral reef space as is. "But it's almost 20 years old," he said, and it needs an overhaul.

"We need major changes to the filtration and coral," he said, "and we need to make it better: certainly better interpretive graphics, redo the coral to make it more colorful, add new fish. In a sense, it's pretty great as it is, but we need to replace a lot of stuff. Anything with water deteriorates with time."

The zoo is a state-owned facility, and financing for these kinds of projects comes mainly from the state. The 2013 and 2014 projects, for instance, would come from $6 million in so-called "asset preservation" monies approved as part of a $21 million allotment in this year's bonding bill, which also dished money out to the Como Zoo for its gorilla exhibit. Private donors are helping as well.

Animals for the new African exhibit have been arriving in recent weeks, and "as always," Ehmke told board members, "they immediately start showing us what we didn't do right. Within 10 minutes, two baby De Brazza's monkeys had gotten under the gap beneath the door of the holding area and were visiting the Colobus monkeys next door."