ZOO EXHIBITS
The lion and meerkat exhibit is a new exhibit added to the African expansion at the Great Plains Zoo. The lions have two large exterior yards of 10,000 square feet each and two exterior backyard holding areas of 6,000 square feet each. Along the large yards is an African hut made of shotcrete with glass viewing, a large glass viewing area made of heavy timbers, and a shotcrete tunnel with horizontal and vertical glass viewing that allows the guests to view the lions in the yard and above on top of the tunnel. One yard has a large shotcrete structure for lion perching and the other yard has smaller shotcrete structures with a pond feature. The guests have access to the interior of the building and have glass views of the large yards and of the two large dayrooms that are 1,000 square feet each. The dayrooms have training doors for the keepers to have a training demonstration for the guests. The meerkat exhibit can be viewed from within the building, along with an exterior viewing as the guests approach the building. The lion holding at the back of house is set up to hold 6 lions, round robin capabilities, set up for breeding, and can hold 2 prides.
african lion & meerkat exhibit
GREAT PLAIN ZOO
SIOUX FALLS, SD
The African Lion Savannah is a habitat that will help create a year around experience for the lions and the visitors at Roosevelt Park Zoo. The new lion holding building features in floor heat throughout the entire building along with glass viewing into the new “dayroom” which allows the visitors the see the lions during the winter season. The outdoor exhibit features in floor heat in the concrete patio to accommodate for the colder days in the spring and fall allowing the lions to still enjoy some time outside. Some of the exhibit features for the visitor’s experience include a little lion’s den which allows children to get face to face with a small cave like glass viewing area and a safari vehicle that has been cut in half with the front hood of the vehicle on the exhibit side for the lions to lay on and the cab of the vehicle is on the visitor’s side so children can pretend to be driving a safari vehicle. The exterior of the building and barrier between the exhibit and patrons has been naturalized with shotcrete to look like kopje rock, which mimics the rock formations that can be found in the lion’s natural habitat. “Pride Rock” is a feature in the middle of the exhibit that includes carefully placed boulders to create a natural perch to get the lions elevated so they can look over their kingdom. The exterior yard has a total square footage of 12750 square feet compared to their 1900 square foot old yard. Extensive training and planning goes into all of the facilities we create at Roosevelt Park Zoo to ensure animal and patron safety and create an environment that promotes education conservation and a personal connection to nature.
AFRICAN LION EXHIBIT
ROOSEVELT PARK ZOO
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
The Amur Tiger River Valley is one of the newest exhibits at Roosevelt Park Zoo housing three Amur Tigers and cubs. The holding are in the building’s design allows for potential breeding and is setup with four separate dens, a medical suite, and a dayroom with glass viewing. Visitors take the Amur Tiger River Valley pathway, which winds through the three separate yards and under two catwalks, allowing the visitor to stop at glass viewing structures at every angle getting the opportunity of an up-close view of the animals. Two of the yards have streams flowing from the building into ponds for tigers to cool off in and enjoy a swim. At one trails end is a glass viewing structure with a training door and mesh panel, allowing the keeper to continue training exercises with the tigers as visitors look on. Within the training door is a tiger tug of war feature, giving the visitors the opportunity to test their strength against the tigers in a tug of war match. The total square footage of the three yards is 19,200 square feet compared to their old yard of 1,900 square feet.
AMUR TIGER EXHIBIT
ROOSEVELT PARK ZOO
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
The was a remodel of the building and exhibit, which formally housed lions, tigers and leopards in the same footprint. The new interior layout of the building allows for potential breeding, with two birthing dens and six additional dens. One den being a larger suit for mom and cubs with glass viewing for VIP experiences. Skylights and a freshly white painted den space allows for a bright room with a lot of natural daylight for leopards when they are off exhibit. The exterior of the building is wrapped in a natural stone helping the building disappear in the background. The exterior exhibit space has been broken into two large yards with two smaller nodes connected by a catwalk, also included is a backyard holding area off the larger den. There are two glass viewing structures which are connected to the two large yards and two smaller shotcrete glass viewing structures. These were designed to look like a tree and a pile of boulders, adding to the natural landscape. Additionally two large shotcrete mountains protruding from the building in the large yards, helping cats get up for a better view looking down on their visitors.
AMUR LEOPARD EXHIBIT
ROOSEVELT PARK ZOO
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
As the focal point for any visitor to the Roosevelt Park Zoo, the Zoo Entrance Building provides a drastic change from the previous entrance. Originally a small ticketing booth with no indoor experience for visitors, the new entrance building is now a vital anchor to the zoo landscape. When entering the 6,812 square foot building, guests are welcomed with an atrium space that features a sloth exhibit, terrariums, and displays of animal facts. As the guest makes their way to the front desk to purchase a zoo pass, they pass through the gift shop, giving them a chance to pick up a souvenir and support the vision of the zoo. In the back-of-house, zoo administration offices were added as well as staff breakroom for all of the employees. There is also an auditorium space that is used for hosting events, meetings, and educational classes. The space can be divided into two separate areas to allow educational programs to take place throughout the day on one side while meetings can take place on the other side. The building has a basement the same size as the main floor, giving the zoo a large amount of storage space. This building serves as the introduction of every visitor to the zoo an sets the stage for an amazing experience throughout the rest of the zoo.