2/15/2002 6:00:00 PM
Reptile pavilion takes Heritage Park Zoo forward
| |
|
Courtesy photo
Neptuna, a water monitor, will be one of the first residents of the Heritage Park Zoo's planned reptile pavilion.
To date, many reptiles have found sanctuary at their new home at the Heritage Park Zoo.
Now, the zoo will see a new Reptile Pavilion toward the end of this year.
Zoo Director Dan Mazur explained that the new 2,500-square-foot reptile exhibit is "the most ambitious" project for the zoo, and that architect Jeffrey Zucker will volunteer his time to help with the project.
Zucker, with the Prescott-based Browning, Moore, Zucker and Ackerman (BMZA) architectural firm, will design the pavilion.
"Right now, we are in the phase of finishing the paperwork," Mazur said.
He said he hopes that groundbreaking will take place by the end of February.
Zucker explained that the existing reptile building "is a square, pre-fab trailer … this (project) will be several leaps forward from that."
The new pavilion will include exhibits, visible from both inside and out, for caimens (similar to crocodiles), monitors, snakes, tortoises, iguanas, chameleons, and other species of reptile.
The pavilion will include an educational component, Zucker said, where the zookeepers will allow the public to touch the animals.
In addition to the hands-on, educational room, an additional workroom for zoo staff members will feature space for additional animals not ready for exhibit, cleaning, feeding and meal preparation.
"You will feel like you're in the belly of a snake," Zucker said as he described the pavilion's snake-like shape.
Visitors will notice a tropical ambience complete with waterfalls, rock facades and landscaping.
"We are trying to mimic their natural environment," Mazur said.
Because of Prescott's dry climate, the new Pavilion will maintain plenty of water and humidity for the animals, Mazur said.
"It's going to be quite attractive," he added.
The animal enclosures will provide water and a "shoreline" in addition to an outside, dry area.
The pavilion's four large indoor/outdoor enclosures will house a variety of large reptiles – which visitors can also see from the outside trail.
The approximately 30 terrariums for smaller animals will remain accessible from the zookeeper's work area.
"It is very, very challenging," Mazur explained, because every animal needs specific heating and cooling requirements, and those specialized conditions cost a lot of money.
"This is a building that is commercial, so the zoo must hire commercial contractors and (Zucker) is really helping us … it's a challenge," Mazur said.
Thanks to a generous, anonymous donation, this project will see completion, Mazur noted.
The zoo does not purchase its animals, rather, it takes in abandoned animals and those in need of rehabilitation for release into the wild or for adoption into a specialized environment that suits the needs of that species, Mazur explained.
The Heritage Park Zoo also includes such animals as raccoons, lemurs, an American black bear, goats, ravens, emus, and tigers, to name a few.
The Heritage Park Zoo offers children's summer camps, fundraisers, an annual Jaguar raffle and gift shop.
For more information about the zoo call 778-4242.
Contact Briana Lonas at blonas@prescottaz.com
|
|
|
