×

A New Year to look forward to

With a new year upon us, it is natural to look forward on how to make this next year better than the previous. But just because the calendar ‘s page has turned; life is not a fresh slate. Uncompleted projects, unfinished documents, and unresolved issues can suck the wind from your sails of optimism, as baggage is carried from one year to the next. Not trying to sound like a Negative Nellie but making sure to keep priorities front and center as we march into 2023.

The list of goals for 2022 was long and we were able to chip away at them. Now there are a list of goals set for 2023. The Zoo will continue to chip away at last year’s list, even as it embarks on the new. The new year brings a new budget and new opportunities to meet those goals set before us. The staff is excited about the year ahead and is eager to share that excitement with the community as change is in the air.

This upcoming year will see the completion of the Amur leopard project and the arrival of new animals to fill it. We will see new lions, new primates, and new ambassador animals added to the collection. We are working on new furniture for the animals and adding structures to protect them from the summer heat. And we are working on ways to develop our staff to make them better in their roles and more creative in their areas. The list of goals for 2023 are long once again, but a year is also a long time to work on getting them done.

Besides the new animals coming in and finishing up pieces remaining from 2022, the zoo’s biggest goal has been prioritized for several reasons. It’s been on the long-term plans for several years; it should be completed before flood wall construction starts; and it is an addition that will serve both animals and guests equally. This goal is a new indoor space for the giraffe exhibit.

This new climate-controlled space will offer the giraffes year-round space to run & play during these cold winter months or on stormy summer days when the yard becomes too slippery for them to be outside. The space will include public viewing and even a feeding station. Current plans are to include space that separates the guests from the giraffes designed to hold large tortoises during the winter. It will have built-in chutes designed to improve husbandry practices enabling staff to better manage them physically and medically. Finally, as construction of the flood wall and changes to the enclosures moves forward, the giraffes will not have to be relocated but can remain in Minot and managed safely in this new building. Plans are still in the early stages, but we hope to share the design early this year and get the ball rolling forward on making it a reality.

Each new year brings new challenges and opportunities. Yes, 2022 is gone but pieces still linger, as we look ahead to what this next year will bring.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today