Dorchester News:
http://www.dotnews.com/Zoo buying budgies.html
from a zoo blog:
Boston Herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1150546
http://www.dotnews.com/Zoo buying budgies.html
master plan, scheduled for public release on Memorial Day.
Features of the plan will include expanding the lion holding area to allow enough space for an entire pride of lions, remaking the outdoor western lowlands gorilla exhibit, building a new gift shop closer to the exit, removing toxic lead from the giant outdoor bird cage where the Andean condors are now kept - so small birds can roost there again - and several other improvements.
To pay for it all, the zoo is hoping to raise $10 million from private donors in five years to add to a $50 million infusion currently earmarked for the zoo by the state legislature
from a zoo blog:
http://www.zoonewengland.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/2009 Budgie Gibbon Exhibit Annoucements.docI spoke to a keeper at Stone Zoo not long ago about the up coming renovations to both Stone and Franklin Park Zoo and was told large exhibits are part of their masterplan as well as short term plans. A Sawmill Creek exhibit featuring grizzly bears and possibly moose is part of the renovations at Stone Zoo as well as a new kids area. Franklin Park Zoo is redoing their Africa section adding new species like Nile crocs as well as a restaurant looking into the lion exhibit. Also a new asia exhibit is being planned and the gibbons going to Stone zoo may end up going to Franklin to join orangs, tigers, red panda and komodo dragons. Also after just redoing the indoor part of the gorilla exhibit there are plans to redo the outside part.
Budgies and gibbons will debut this summer at the Zoos
Construction will begin soon on new free-flight budgie exhibit at Franklin Park Zoo; construction already underway on new gibbon exhibit at Stone Zoo
Boston; January 14, 2009 ? John Linehan, President and CEO of Zoo New England, today announced the construction of a new free-flight budgerigar (budgies) exhibit at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and a new gibbon exhibit at Stone Zoo in Stoneham. Both exhibits are expected to open by early summer.
At Franklin Park Zoo, the new budgie exhibit will provide a memorable, interactive experience for zoo guests who will be able to stroll through this exhibit space among 400 brightly-colored budgies. As part of the experience, guests will have the opportunity to purchase seed sticks and feed the birds as they walk through the free-flight exhibit.
?One of the things that I?ve observed is an intense craving for people to interact with animals and this is a positive way for them to do this,? said Linehan. ?It?s a great way to introduce people, especially children, to birds. You?ll never see them more closely.?
Budgerigars, affectionately called budgies, are also known as grass parakeets and are a variety of small slender parrots with long, tapering tails. Budgies are mostly ground-dwelling birds native to central Australia and, because of their popularity within the pet trade, can be found in nearly every country. In the wild, these birds are greenish in color and have black and yellow markings but, because of their popularity as home pets, they have been bred for a variety of color variations beyond their traditional colors seen in the wild. The new budgie exhibit, currently being built in the zoo?s Outback Trail, will measure about 30 feet wide by 50 feet long and approximately 25 feet tall.
?With the new budgie exhibit, the people of Massachusetts will have the opportunity to interact with animals in an incredibly fun, educational and memorable way. People do not have to travel far from home to experience and learn about far-away places. Franklin Park Zoo is a unique and invaluable resource and we are right here in everyone?s backyard,? Linehan said.
On the heels of last year?s wildly popular black bear exhibit, the progress continues at Stone Zoo with the new gibbon exhibit. Construction is currently underway.
Gibbons are endangered animals native to Southeast Asia. They typically weigh between 12 and 16 pounds, are monogamous (pair bonded) and are considered extremely active animals. Stone Zoo has not exhibited apes since the early 1990s. All members of the family Hylobatidae, which includes gibbons and siamangs, are collectively called lesser apes.
?Gibbons are a fun animal to watch and we are going to provide opportunities for them to move and swing throughout the exhibit,? Linehan said. ?They?re really characters and I think our visitors will really relate to them.?
The new gibbon exhibit will use the same footprint as the current African crested porcupine exhibit. While the gibbon exhibit is under construction, the North American river otters, African crested porcupines, muntjac and colobus monkey will be off exhibit. The new space will occupy an area measuring 30 feet by 40 feet. Because gibbons are arboreal, or tree dwellers, the exhibit will be 20 feet tall to allow them to climb high as in their natural environment.
The budgie exhibit will cost about $120,000, while the gibbon exhibit will cost about $215,000.
?We selected these new exhibits in these tough economic times because they?re high quality and comparatively inexpensive. These new additions will not only attract visitors from throughout the Commonwealth, but will also draw tourists. Thus, these two exhibits should positively impact the revenues of both the zoos and the Commonwealth,? said Linehan, who added, ?We?re excited to continue building on the zoos? incredible progress and enhance our guests? experience.?
Boston Herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1150546
Zoo New England is planning a $53 million reconfiguration intended to appeal to a growing number of visitors and donors, develop new exhibits and create solid jobs even amid the bleak economy.
?There aren?t better investments that you can make than invest in the zoo,? said John Linehan, president and chief executive officer of Zoo New England, which runs the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. ?These are long-term jobs that stay in the community and enhance the quality of life and enhance our education.?
Among the planned improvements are a 30-foot-by-50-foot walk-in bird cage at Franklin Park that will allow visitors to interact with hundreds of parakeets, and a Stone Zoo gibbon exhibit - the zoo?s first ape exhibit since the early 1990s.
The new exhibits are part of a long-term improvement plan, details of which will be announced this spring.
?They?re good zoos at this point, and they?re going to be tremendous,? Linehan said. ?They are going to, in my humble opinion, transform the cultural landscape of the city.?
The improvements will be paid for in part by capital funds from the commonwealth?s General Obligation Bond, passed last summer, which authorized Zoo New England to receive up to $30 million over a five-year period. The remainder of the funding will come from private donations and other public funding sources.
Linehan said the zoos have outpaced fund-raising expectations and are above budget at this point in the fiscal year. The state is matching up to $750,000 in donations, and the zoo?s general operating fund received $600,000 in the first half of the fiscal year, Linehan said.
While sloppy weather kept zoogoers away during December and January, attendance has otherwise been on the rise. During the 2008 fiscal year, 524,000 people visited the two zoos, up from 521,000 in 2007 and 456,000 in 2006.
That?s in keeping with a national trend: The 216 accredited members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums saw the number of visitors jump from 160 million in 2006 to 175 million in 2007, spokesman Steve Feldman said. Feldman said 2008 was a record-breaking year, and the same is expected for 2009.
?A lot of our members saw record attendance due to that ?staycation? phenomenon,? Feldman said.
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