FaunaClassifieds - El Paso Zoo also getting new reptile house

The small stone building that housed rattlesnakes, turtles and other reptiles at the El Paso Zoo was demolished Tuesday morning to make way for ambitious growth under way at the park.A new Reptile House will be built as part of an expansion of the El Paso Zoo, which in the coming years is scheduled to double in size, zoo spokeswoman Liz Kern said. The zoo remained open Tuesday despite the snowy weather.

"The next two or three years will be very busy," Kern said. "You are seeing something done in the Americas area at the same time something is done in the Africa area."

The Reptile House was the oldest building at the zoo, which got its start in the 1940s as a reptile house and roadside attraction, said the zoo education curator, Rick LoBello.

The $1.2 million Reptile House project, which is in the Americas section, is expected to be completed in about a year and will house dozens of species that are temporarily in a quarantine barn, Kern said.

The project is part of the $33.4 million quality-of-life bond approved by voters in 2000. The bond will also pay for the new Africa section to be built on the site of Dudley Field. A groundbreaking ceremony took place last month.The Africa section will expand the park from its current 18 acres to 36 acres, Kern said. The section will have lions, zebras and other new animals. The parking lot will also be enlarged, and there will be a new entrance where Dudley Field used to be.

For zoo hours, admission and other information, visit the El Paso Zoo Web site at www.elpasozoo.org.

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