POCATELLO -- Zoo Idaho’s opening day for the 2021 season is set for April 3.
The new season will mark the debut of the Zoo Connections Entrance and Gift Shop. Scheduled to be completed in June, the new structure will be 1,200 square feet and be the home of ticketing and concession areas, a gift shop, and restrooms. The new building was made possible through donations by Connections Credit Union and the Zoo Idaho Zoological Society (ZIZS).
“The Zoo Connections Entrance and Gift Shop is the centerpiece of the direction we are taking Zoo Idaho,” said Peter Pruett, Zoo Idaho Superintendent. “The log cabin design screams Idaho and the outdoors.”
Starting in May, work will begin on a pollinator garden thanks to funding from ZIZS and a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The garden will be located near the bighorn sheep and elk exhibits and feature native plants that attract bumblebees, butterflies, and insects. For the two-legged animals, there will be a picnic area and event space.
“Zoo Idaho allows you to see much of the wildlife that Idaho has to offer and is a great way for children and adults to connect - or reconnect - with the outdoors,” Pruett said. “Admission is affordable and we’re easy to get to, so we encourage everyone to stop by, get outside, and get inspired.”
Established in 1932, Zoo Idaho is an indigenous species zoo and is home to orphaned or injured animals from the region that would have likely not survived in the wild.
For more information on Zoo Idaho, visit zooidaho.org.
Zoo Idaho is accessible to persons with disabilities. Program access accommodations may be provided with three (3) days’ advance notice by contacting Skyler Beebe at sbeebe@pocatello.us; 208.234.6248; or 5815 South 5th Avenue, Pocatello, ID.