New Asian Forest Exhibit to Open Soon
at the Cameron Park Zoo
The new exhibit includes a children’s play area
with gongs, a floor chime and a life size bronze of a orangutan
( Photo by Mark Randolph).
After 10 years of planning, fund-raising and working
with zoo experts around the world, the new $3.5 million Asian
Forest exhibit at the Cameron Park Zoo is almost ready to open
to visitors. The exhibit is expected to open in mid-August depending
on how the animals adjust to their new home.
The exhibit is home to three orangutans and one
female Komodo dragon. The orangutans include Mei, an 11 year-old
female from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago; Mukah, a 21 year-old
male from the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin; and Kerajaan, a 20
year-old male from Zoo Atlanta. The Komodo dragon came from the
San Antonio Zoo
. The exhibit was made possible through a generous
gift from Jim and Nell Hawkins along with many of their friends,
funds from the Cameron Park Zoological and Botanical Society,
grants from the Waco, Cooper, Meadows and Allergan foundations,
as well as funding from the City of Waco’s Tax Increment Financing
program.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Jim Fleshman,
Director of the Cameron Park Zoo. “From the original idea to now,
we’re looking at 10 years to get it here, but I think the public
is going to be wowed!”
The exhibit includes a children’s play area where
they can mimic the behaviors of the orangutans, along with musical
elements such as gongs and a floor chime. As visitors walk along
the board walk, they will see life size bronzes of both an orangutan
and Komodo dragon. These additional art elements will provide
zoo guests an up close, almost realistic look at these endangered
animals.
The inspiration for the exhibit design was a children’s
storybook and images from ancient temples in Cambodia.
“The idea started with the design process of sort
of the old jungle book thing of King Louis and an orangutan around
a crumbing and ruined Asian temple,” Fleshman said. “We looked
at some designs of temples from Angkor Wat and obviously orangutans
aren’t found in that area, but they had these wonderful fig trees
and the roots would kind of takeover the building and move between
some of the masonry. And I think we were able to perpetuate that
with this display.”
The outdoor exhibit for the orangutans is more than
8,700 square feet and the animals will be able to climb up to
25 feet in the air.
One of the interactive features is a button inside
the outdoor exhibit that the orangutans can use to soak their
visitors on a hot day.
“Inside the exhibit, we have an actuator button
and then there’s a special place where the public can step off
the main walkway and the orangutan can push a button and a shower
will fall down on them,” Fleshman said. “The animals are going
to enjoy that once they figure it out.”
For more information on the grand opening of the
exhibit, visit www.cameronparkzoo.com
or call 750-8400.
Employee Health Fair & Open Enrollment
An Employee Health Fair & Open Enrollment meetings
will be held at the Waco Convention Center on Thursday, Aug. 13,
starting at 7:30 a.m.
A variety of vendors will be available for employees
to visit with and door prizes will be given away. This is a come-and-go
event that is designed to promote good health as part of the City’s
overall wellness program.
The City is providing free health screenings to
all benefit eligible employees again this year. The City will
not see your individual screening results; your health screening
is completely confidential. Please consider taking a screening
at one of the designated locations and times. More information
regarding how to sign-up and the incentive to participate will
be available soon.
