Lions will again be among the feature attractions at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls.
“Lions have not been at our zoo in 30 years, so this is exciting for us to bring them back,” said Great Plains Zoo President and CEO Becky Dewitz at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new lion and meerkat exhibit Monday.
“At over 27,000 square feet, this is one of the largest African Lion exhibits in our northern climate,” Dewitz said. “So we need to take pride in the fact that we are building a habitat that is going to meet the year-round needs of these animals.”
TSP is assisting Ackerman-Estvold with the design of the new exhibit, which is scheduled to open in summer 2024. Click here for more details.
TSP’s history of collaboration with the Great Plains Zoo dates to the early 1960s, when a long-range plan was completed before the zoo opened in June 1963. Since then, we have continued to partner with the zoo for various attractions, including the Delbridge Museum, the Asian cat exhibit, penguin habitat, giraffe habitat, and animal nursery. Some designs involved only TSP. Other projects, like the Fortress of the Bears exhibit, were completed in conjunction with partner organization CLR Design.
Above: Ryan Anderson and Jeremy Bickel of Ackerman-Estvold and TSP’s Michelle Klobassa at Monday’s groundbreaking.