SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Hogle Zoo is about to get bigger with a new exhibit focused on animals that are native to the state.
The expansion will also feature a new educational center and an extension of the "Zoofari" train ride.
In celebration of Utah's vast and varied wildlife, the Hogle Zoo plans to expand the eastern portion of its park to host an exhibit called "Alyne W. Skaggs Wild Utah," which will feature wildlife native to Utah.
“They will vary in size from a bighorn sheep and a cougar, a badger, bobcat, porcupine, down to ants and bees, and we'll have colonies in there," said Doug Lund, the zoo's president and CEO.
The new exhibit will serve as an educational tool, especially for those who live in Utah and never get to see these animals."
“We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful state and be surrounded by amazing wildlife," Lund said. "Much of that wildlife we never encounter, we never see. Very few people will see a cougar in their lifetime, or a badger, but they're right here in the foothills."
There is another reason for bringing the presence of these creatures to the public's attention.
“We want to bring this exhibit forward and help our guests and help our community, help our state know how to act around these wild animals and how to act so they can be safe and so humans can be safe," Lund added.
the new expansion will also feature the Norma W. Matheson Education Animal Center.
“These animals [with the center] come out and they go around the zoo, they go out and they visit second graders throughout the state," Lund said. "In the past, they've gone over to Primary Children's and Ronald McDonald's Houses and other engagements around to just bring the zoo beyond its fence line."
The exhibit and the educational center are scheduled to open next year. More information can be found on the zoo's website.
