Calgary Zoo set to relaunch Wild Canada zone — with polar bears

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Whereas the long-awaited return of polar bears would be the apparent draw, Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo COO Jamie Dorgan mentioned there are different issues to be enthusiastic about because the zoo launches the newly improved Wild Canada zone this week.

Previously generally known as Canadian Wilds, the all-Canadian exhibit at Calgary’s zoo is reopening to the general public Friday after present process a $42-million overhaul prior to now two years.

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“It’s a fully wonderful product we’re about to share with all people who comes to go to us,” Dorgan advised Postmedia on Wednesday.

Wild Canada will home 15 Canadian species, together with renovated habitats for the zoo’s river otters, muskoxen, bighorn sheep, woodland caribou and whooping cranes. The revamped part additionally features a renovated aviary for a choice of Canadian owls and hawks.

That’s together with the high-profile addition of two polar bears, Baffin and Siku, which will likely be a focus of the 21-acre exhibit.

“Canadian Wilds is a type of areas that, even once I began right here, we had been trying ahead to upgrading it in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later,” Dorgan mentioned.

The intent of Wild Canada is to teach guests about Canada’s biodiversity, with a particular deal with wildlife from the Arctic area. The displays will spotlight local weather change’s ongoing results on the Arctic, how these results are harming Canadian wildlife and the challenges these animals face to outlive.

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In complete, the renovations included 14 capital initiatives spanning 26 months. Greater than 1,000 donors contributed to financing the initiatives, with the provincial authorities offering $15.5 million and the Taylor Household Basis kicking in a further $8.5 million.

“It’s tremendous thrilling for us to have the ability to (spruce up) a few of these areas and make some fairly important adjustments,” Dorgan mentioned. “There are a couple of areas within the area that work rather well and simply wanted a couple of minor tweaks.

“In fact, we made some fairly important adjustments to some areas of what we’re now calling Wild Canada, to get the polar bears in there.”

Polar bears return for first time since 1999

The zone’s largest sights will likely be six-year-old Baffin and seven-year-old Siku. The polar bears arrived at their new, $11.5-million habitat in Calgary earlier this fall after spending most of their lives on the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.

Baffin and Siku’s arrival marks the primary time polar bears have been completely housed on the Calgary Zoo since 1999. The zoo’s earlier polar bear enclosure — constructed within the Nineteen Seventies — shut down after the controversial loss of life of Misty. The 24-year-old polar bear was put down after she was prescribed Prozac to deal with her fixed pacing, which zoo officers mentioned resulted from arthritis and different age-related accidents.

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Dorgan mentioned the will to carry polar bears again to Calgary was a dialog he’d heard shortly after becoming a member of the zoo’s workforce greater than 13 years in the past. In 2013, zoo officers introduced a brand new 20-year grasp plan, which hinted on the eventual return of polar bears as a part of a long-term overhaul of the power.

“We talked about it for over a decade and mentioned, if we’re going to have polar bears on the Calgary zoo . . . what we want is a world-class habitat that basically meets all their wants,” Dorgan mentioned.

“It’s a fancy species they usually do have advanced wants. Nothing we are able to’t obtain right here, however we want to ensure we’re arrange for it. So, we spent that point excited about it and ready for the proper alternative.”

Pandemic impacts: ‘We needed to utterly revisit the price range’

That chance emerged in 2019, in accordance with Dorgan, when discussions began in earnest about re-envisioning the Canadian Wilds part. Lobbying their plans to assemble a brand new polar bear habitat as a part of the new-look exhibit, the Calgary Zoo was in a position to safe financing from all three ranges of presidency, in addition to the Taylor Household Basis.

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However the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 practically delayed the zoo’s plans. Dorgan mentioned the price range for renovations elevated from roughly $30 million to greater than $40 million, principally attributable to provide chain points.

“We had a plan with monetary projections by way of what it could price,” he mentioned. “In fact, once we began saying, ‘Let’s execute this in 2020,’ we needed to utterly revisit the price range.”

Inflated renovation prices weren’t the one manner the zoo was affected by the pandemic. Like different vacationer sights, the zoo needed to pivot its operations to adjust to public well being restrictions in the course of the practically two-year well being disaster.

The zoo’s visitation plummeted in 2020 and 2021, Dorgan mentioned, earlier than attendance rebounded in 2022 as soon as restrictions had been lifted.

He famous visitation has remained excessive all through 2023, thanks partially to beneficial climate.

“However we additionally know that individuals are tremendous enthusiastic about all of the issues which are occurring right here they usually’re eager to get out,” he mentioned.

“We made loads of robust choices via these years however we had been fairly centered on what we would have liked to do to ensure we stayed useful and viable, as a result of we’ve some necessary conservation work that we’re actually centered on.”

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Latest rebranding

Within the midst of renovating the Canadian Wilds part and rebounding from the pandemic, the zoo additionally introduced a rebrand in November 2021, when the Calgary Zoo Basis was formally renamed because the Wilder Institute.

The brand new moniker meant to mirror the group’s rising deal with conservation, in accordance with Dorgan, which incorporates nationwide and worldwide biodiversity safety and species reintroduction packages.

Whereas many of the Wilder Institute’s conservation efforts are centralized in Western Canada, Dorgan famous the zoo is concerned in initiatives throughout the nation and as distant as Africa.

“Individuals are intrigued to listen to in regards to the Wilder Institute and what it really means,” he mentioned. “In fact, it’s one and the identical with the Calgary Zoo, however it additionally offers us the flexibility to have these conversations across the nation.”

The group goals to double the variety of packages it’s concerned in by 2030. In a 2021 information launch, the zoo mentioned it’ll lead 16 world conservation packages in group conservation and conservation translocations alongside accomplice organizations. These packages search to guard all kinds of animal and plant species, together with hippos, lemurs, sitatungas, Vancouver Island marmots and burrowing owls, amongst others.

“What we’re most excited for with it’s it offers us the chance to attach with individuals and for individuals to affix us on that mission to save lots of wildlife of their yard and around the globe,” Dorgan mentioned.

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