Calgary Zoo asks city for $2.7M for 'Land of Lemurs' exhibit
Project would be newest since Penguin Plunge
The Calgary Zoo's proposed $8-million lemur exhibit is one step closer to reality after a city committee approved the request for $2.7 million in funding on Wednesday.
The money comes out of the city's Municipal Sustainability Initiative, and would go towards building the "Land of Lemurs" exhibit slated to open in 2017 on the east end of St. George's Island.
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The lemurs would be the newest exhibit since Penguin Plunge in 2012.
The zoo estimates the exhibit will boost attendance by 40,000 people and bring in $2.6 million in the first year, said CEO Clement Lanthier.
In its proposal to the city, the zoo said the exhibit would also uphold its role in educating the public and reinforce the zoo's role as a leader in conservation and species reintroduction.
Lanthier said visitors to the exhibit would get a chance to interact with curious lemurs.
Lanthier says no reason to keep animals in zoos just for tourists. Conservation is their focus, particularly for endangered species <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyccc?src=hash">#yyccc</a>
—@CBCScottSteig Johnson is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Calgary who studies Madagascar lemurs exclusively.
He said lemurs are considered the most threatened mammal species in the world.
There are 100 species and 90 per cent are endangered, Johnson said.
