Cincinnati Zoo breaks ground on new five-acre elephant habitat

CINCINNATI — Construction began today on a new, five acre elephant habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, tabbed as the largest construction project in the history of the zoo.

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Elephant Trek, which is scheduled to open in 2024, will house a herd of Asian elephants, as part of the zoo’s $150 million More Home to Roam expansion program, our news partners at WCPO-TV report.

The habitat will be “a spectacular five-acre landscape of habitat and gardens with engaging features for humans and animals alike,” the station reported, citing press materials released by the zoo. The five-acre area will make the habitat five times the size of the current elephant enclosure, and zoo leaders hope to fill it with a multi-generational herd of Asian elephants.

“Elephant Trek will provide a 24-hour experience that meets the Asian elephant’s complex, daily needs — mentally, socially, behaviorally and physically — supporting a global conservation effort to save this endangered species,” a zoo spokesperson said in an update posted on the project’s website.

The expansion will overtake a parking lot on the zoo’s property. A separate planned project of a new guest parking garage, that will compensate for the lost parking spots, has been postponed until the zoo reaches pre-pandemic attendance numbers, the news station reports.

Zoo leaders called the project exceptional because many major zoo programs are phasing out their elephant habitats. The Cincinnati Zoo wants to invest in, rather than divest from, its elephant population.

“By creating a bigger space for a bigger herd of elephants to thrive, we are making a big commitment to Asian elephant breeding and conservation that will demonstrate to our visitors the power and beauty of co-existence for animals and humans,” said zoo chair Francie Hilz at the groundbreaking Tuesday.

Additionally, the habitat plans to be eco-friendly, a zoo spokesperson told the station.

“Elements built into Elephant Trek, including stormwater tanks that will hold 1 million gallons of water, will actually help the Zoo reduce expenses and achieve its goal to be Net Zero by 2025! It also has plans to convert elephant poop, and the rest of the Zoo’s organic waste, to a soil supplement that will help it grow the food that the elephants eat!”

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