Como Zoo seeking state money to replace Depression-era sea lion exhibit
The Como Zoo has proposed a $14.8 million face-lift to one of its most popular attractions: the sea lion exhibit that hosts Sparky shows, a fixture at the zoo for more than 50 years.
Zoo officials are seeking taxpayer support for most of the project, largely through general obligation bonds. They plan to raise $1 million from private sources.
The overhaul would take about a year and a half to design and another 18 months to build once the zoo obtains funding. It would tear out the existing outdoor display and replace it with a pair of salt water pools for sea lions that would be open year round.
Some of the sea lions at the Como Zoo now live in a pool that isn't much bigger than a good sized living room when their outdoor display is closed and emptied for the winter.
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"This is kind of sad that these seals and sea lions only have this small space to play in all winter long and even in the summer when they're not out on display," said Nancy Nelson, a board member of the Como Friends, a non-profit that helps support the zoo and conservatory.
The zoo draws about 2 million visitors a year and during the warmer months, the sea lion programs draw tens of thousands.
Upgrading the marine mammal display would allow the zoo to remove a Depression-era pool and meet expected new federal standards for keeping marine mammals, Como Friends members say.
Zoo Director Michelle Furrer said the seal display is a hand-me-down from other animals.
"Our seal island, which was originally Monkey Island, built in the 1930s as a WPA project, for most of the year is dry," she said. "There's no water in it. It's full of snow because it's not equipped for Minnesota weather."
When there is water, it's fresh water, not the salt water of the sea lions' native habitat.
"Right now, the regulations don't require salt water, but that is something that the regulatory agencies are trying to change,," senior zookeeper Alllison Jungheim said. "So we're just trying to get ahead of the game, and make sure that the animals can have the best environment that they can, and we can follow all the regulations."
If the project is built, visitors could watch the sea lions from viewing areas above and below the water. There would also be a new water filtration facility and expanded amphitheater for the zoo's traditional Sparky shows.
However, funding isn't on Gov. Mark Dayton's list of proposed bonding projects, and zoo expenditures have stirred controversy in the past, particularly at the larger Minnesota Zoo.
Potentially weighing in the zoo's favor is its proximity to the district of state Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul, chair of the House Capital Investment Committee.
Zoo supporters say it's a worthy investment because Como draws visitors from all over Minnesota and only asks for donations at the gate. It doesn't charge admission and opens every single day of the year.
The new exhibit would be just the latest in a major makeover at the zoo, one of Minnesota's most popular attractions.
The zoo rebuilt its polar bear exhibit in a $15 million, privately financed upgrade that opened in 2010. Last summer, the zoo added a new outdoor "Gorilla Forest" exhibit for its primates. That won $11 million in state bonding.
