BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo has provided engaging and educational experiences that connect people with wildlife and the natural world since 1970. With a multimillion-dollar, multiphase reinvestment underway, BREC is deepening that connection with improvements for the experience of visitors, staff and animals.
“This is a reinvestment in the zoo that will transform it into a 21st century world-class institution,” says Zoo Director Jim Fleshman. Phase One, funded by BREC, will be completed next year and focuses on providing improved infrastructure, new exhibits, a new entrance and other impactful advancements.
The first upgraded exhibit available features pygmy hippos. A new underwater viewing structure provides visitors a different perspective on the animals in their natural habitat. Colorful African cichlids will live in the water alongside the hippos, while black and white Colobus monkeys, which are historically native to the same African region as the hippos, will be visible in the exhibit’s trees and ropes. An African aviary featuring a variety of exotic and endangered birds from the region connect to the exhibit, as well.
Additionally, a state-of-the-art barn will vastly advance the giraffe exhibit. Some of the barn’s features include hurricane shutters, elevated waterers, and heated and cooled flooring for the animals’ augmented comfort. The larger barn will also enable future expansion of the giraffe herd.
