Construction of the new lion exhibition at Taronga Western Plains Zoo is continuing to progress.
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The open plain exhibit has been designed to feel like an African village, from the statue of a Masai warrior to the landscaping. When it’s finished visitors to the zoo will be able to drive through the 3.5 hectare exhibit in a safari vehicle, to get close and personal with the lions.
Project manager Bruce Murdock said the $9 million exhibit was the largest project in the zoo’s 40 year history.
At the moment the exhibit was in the finishing off stage, Mr Murdock said. The next big milestones were final fencing work, road works and the landscaping. Contractor David Payne constructions has already put almost 39,300 man hours into the project.
Construction is expected to finished by the end of the year, early next year the lions will be moved into their new home and by March it’s planned to be open to the public.
The eight lions currently at the zoo would all move into the pridelands, Mr Murdock said.
“It’s going to be a big move for us to try and move all the pride all at the one time. Normally you’d move one at a time or two at a time so eight’s going to be a major mission. There’s going to be a lot of logistical planing going into that one,” he said.
The lions will share their new home with steel wildebeests.
“They’re cut out, they’re not real ones but it’s going to be great just to see the story of the wildebeests in their natural habitat. We’re definitely excited to see how the lions interact with the five wildebeest that are on display… They can be scaredycats some times,” Mr Murdock said.
While the exhibit will be a unique experience for visitors, there’s also a hope it will help raise awareness of the declining numbers of wild lions, as well as the realities of life in an African village.
“One of the things that people in Africa have to deal with all the time is their livelihood. Their livelihood might be goats or cattle and they have to deal with the issues that come with having major predators in their environment,” Mr Murdock said.
“We want people to get that message when they come here so they’ll get that chance to walk through the goat corral and interact with the goats and learn a little bit about what the solutions are in Africa for dealing with conflict situations.”