Some zoo animals temporarily moved during rebuild of Canadian Wilds - Calgary Herald

The Wilder Institute and Calgary Zoo's bison, woodland caribou and whooping cranes are temporarily moving out to make room for a revitalization of the Canadian Wilds zone.

The three species will join the North American river otters and muskox at an offsite location on April 19 until construction of the space is completed in the fall of 2023. The project includes a redevelopment of the river otter, caribou and whooping crane habitats and the construction of a new polar bear sanctuary.

The zoo will be welcoming polar bears for the first time in two decades sometime after the habitat is finished.

The zoo first announced the redevelopment and approaching return of polar bears last summer, and construction of the $31-million project started by the end of the year. The redevelopment is part of a pivot by the Wilder Institute and Calgary Zoo to focus more attention on Canadian Arctic species conservation, according to a news release.

The project received $15.5 million in funds from the provincial government and $8.5 million from the Taylor Family Foundation.

"The redeveloped Canadian Wilds will offer more engaging experiences and proactively use storytelling to inspire and educate visitors about the importance of biodiversity, the complex survival challenges facing iconic Canadian wildlife and wild spaces, and more importantly how they can help save these animals from extinction," Dr. Clément Lanthier, president and CEO of the Wilder Institute and Calgary Zoo, said in a news release Monday.

Moving the animals out while their habitats are under construction is no small task but zoo officials have plenty of experience, said Jamie Dorgan, director of animal care, health and welfare.

Some of the animals have already been moved to the zoo's conservation centre outside the city and most of the animals that will be transported in a couple of weeks will also be taken there.

"We have a few animals that have gone to other zoos, as well," said Dorgan. "Every animal has its own challenges with transportation but we do this all the time, so we have plans in place."

The zoo uses travel crates to move the otters, while reinforced trailers are used for the bison, caribou and muskox.

"For the whooping cranes, we do transport a lot of whooping cranes as part of our conservation release programs, so we're pretty used to getting them into boxes that are custom made for whooping cranes," said Dorgan.

Starting April 19, pathways in the Canadian Wilds zone will be temporarily shifted. There will be two viewing routes, north and south paths, that will take visitors through the area.

The north path will show visitors the bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goats and the aviary species, while the south path will take them to the cougars, black bears, grizzly bears, North American porcupine, moose and grey wolves.

sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie

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