We’re proud to announce that our renovations are almost complete!

We’ve been working around the clock to get the renovations completed at the zoo for the Christmas holidays. We opened in November 2000 on a shoe string budget, and after 11 years in business our dream of a long overdue overhaul has come to fruition. Now Ottawa will not just be home to a zoo with incredible programming but a zoo that has world class exhibits to boot.

Here’s what visitors and our valued customers can expect from the new facility.

• A Complete Overhaul – The existing building has been literally gutted back to the concrete walls. All existing animal enclosures, walls, etc have been removed (except for Stewart and Chases cage – Our 500 pound alligators) and brand new exhibits have come in.
• Greater Access – Previously the public had access to about 65% of our building. Now, the public will have access to 95% of the building.
• Awesome Permanent Exhibits – The zoo will now have 25 permanent animal exhibits featuring some of the most famous reptiles on the planet. On top of the 25 permanent exhibits the zoo will now have 20 feature animal exhibits that will rotate every 6 months.
• World Class Temporary Exhibits – The zoo’s grand re-opening this Christmas is featuring 2 brand new world class exhibits. From December 2011 to June of 2012 come see ‘Life Under the Canopy – Animals of the Rainforests’ and ‘Living Under Fire – Life in the Desert’. These 2 contrasting exhibits featuring a variety of animals from the desert and the rainforest focusing on adaptations for survival in these unique ecosystems
• New Private Function Rooms – Brand new BEAUTIFUL private rooms for birthday parties, schools groups, corporate parties, and team parties.
• New public feeding and hands on room – An incredible new presentation room featuring a 3,000 gallon aquarium and beautiful bleacher seating. This room effectively triples our seating area for shows.
• More Parking – Increased parking to accommodate twice as many vehicles.
• New Huge Gift Shop – A brand new gift shop featuring everything from T-shirts to toys, from videos to toques, and a new fossil and rock section featuring a variety of rocks and fossils dating back 35 million to 450 million years. The new gift shop will have something for every nature lover.
• Nature Centre – The zoo now has a separate nature centre for the local naturalist in your family to come and learn about endangered species in Canada. This room will be featuring skulls from many of Canada’s more commonly known threatened and endangered species as well as live animal exhibits that will rotate seasonally.
• Fresh Air - …. and last but not least brand new ventilation systems. If you had visited the zoo before you would remember the heat with a lot of humidity in the air and a definite ‘zoo’ odour. Well no more. With our new ventilation systems the humidity and odour is completely kept in check. These ventilation systems completely exchange the zoo’s air with outside air every 3 hours assuring fresh air in the zoo at all times. As well, with our new heat controlled systems for animals on display, the zoo’s ambient temperature no longer has to be kept at 28 degrees. Enjoy seeing the animals in the comfort of 20 degrees.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all at the brand new zoo, and we appreciate everyone’s support and patience as we’ve made this all come together. Contact Us for more info.