10/28/2022 0 Comments Pueblo milksnakeIncluded in the renovation were new brick and cement floors, wood paneling, plumbing and windows. The building has been closed for the past week as zoo artist Richard Montano and the staff have mounted the graphic panels and put the finishing touches on the new exhibits. And at one point, we had tortoises stolen out of there, so we had to put a glass barricade on top." the climate, the temperature and humidity, were hard to control. It just never worked well for the animals "And I was involved with that from the start, so I can say that. "Frankly, we just didn't do it right in the first place," McFarland says of the diorama space. Built in ’86, the diorama provided a home for various reptiles, but was problematic for a number of reasons. The two new exhibits replace the large diorama-style enclosure at the building's east end. "Instead of building a huge, new exhibit, we're trying to utilize the indoor space we have to the maximum." "Really, it's a continuation of what we've been trying to do the past few years," she says. Although it's not as glamorous, large or costly as some recent projects (Islands of Life, river otter exhibit, etc.), the Herpetarium's makeover was deemed manageable in challenging economic times. … We do as much as we can with live programs, docents with kids, keepers talking to people, but we also need to have static information that people can read."įor McFarland and the zoo staff, the World of Color project represents another positive step in their continuing quest to improve the zoo, one corner or building or garden at a time. "I don't think you can justify keeping animals in captivity otherwise. "The primary function of a small zoo like ours just about has to be education," she says. It's no coincidence that the revamped building's theme is education-heavy, says McFarland. colors that warn, colors that change quickly, colors that conceal or trick or mimic "There's so much to do with animal colors out there "We've had a lot of fun putting this together," McFarland says. Among the revelations: There's a lizard with lime-green blood, an Antarctic fish with white blood and a horseshoe crab with blue blood. One informational graphic focuses on blood - and the curious fact that it's not always red in the animal kingdom. and answered - on the panels: How do butterflies get their color? Why does this lizard have a blue tongue? Why do beavers' teeth look rusty? all designed to educate the public and brighten up the interior. There also will be more than 20 colorful panels mounted on the walls The building's face lift involves much more than just adding a few feathered and scaled residents in brand-new enclosures. but there will still be mostly reptiles over there," says McFarland. In 1986, it reopened as the Herpetarium, which was home to an assortment of reptiles and amphibians. When the rides moved to a different area of City Park, the grand old building stood empty for years. either they got some sort of disease or all got old and died or something, we don't know for sureĪt that point, the building was turned into the concession stand for the adjacent kiddie rides and housed public restrooms. "I guess there were a lot of birds that people had never seen here before, and it was really magnificent," says Jonnie McFarland, the zoo's executive director. When it was built as a public works project in 1936 (it was the first WPA building on the grounds), the rugged-looking edifice on the zoo's north side was the Tropical Bird House and housed a multitude of exotic species. When the Pueblo Zoo unveils its renovated and re-themed World of Color building Thursday, it will represent a return to the old stone structure's avian roots.
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