Lehigh Valley Zoo unveils plans for new exhibits
Lehigh Valley Zoo is constructing a new home for some of its residents.
Habitat Madagascar, an indoor/ outdoor habitat for lemurs and tortoises, will break ground this summer with expected completion of the indoor exhibit this fall, the zoo announced on Wednesday. A grand opening is planned for spring 2022.
The modern habitat will provide indoor and outdoor living space for the animals, as well as additional, “behind-the-scenes living space” for when they are off-exhibit, according to a news release. The 1,600-square-foot building will be climate controlled to ensure the optimum environment for lemurs and tortoises year-round.
“The animals will be able to spend time in their almost 300-square-foot outdoor habitat during the warmer, in-season months at LV Zoo,” the release states. “They will also be able to be viewed by guests during the colder months of the year in the 500 square feet of indoor exhibit space.”
Habitat Madagascar, designed by Spillman Farmer Architects
of Bethlehem, will immediately house the zoo’s male and female Mongoose lemurs, 6-year-old Mico and 5-year-old Abby, who are a potential breeding pair.
The current lemur exhibit space, which is entirely outdoors on “Lemur Island,” provides the animals with a dynamic, natural environment, but it is “not a place where they can live year-round and is not ideal for a breeding pair,” the release states.
The indoor exhibit space will provide a safe breeding environment for lemurs, and it will feature a separate “suite,” which zoo staff hopes will be occupied by future lemur mothers and babies.
“The goal is to provide the lemurs with a habitat conducive to breeding, where guests will also get a close-up look at any new additions,” the news release states.
Habitat Madagascar also will be home to the zoo’s African leopard tortoises, which are currently shifted between several living spaces throughout the year depending on the weather and temperature. The zoo is excited to provide them with one space to call “home.”
This multiple-species environment will meet the ideals of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or AZA, Lehigh Valley Zoo’s accrediting body, which aims to develop mixed-species habitats that allow the public to see species living together similar to the way they would in the wild.
The indoor lobby of the exhibit will include a 10-foot donor wall, displaying exhibit supporters’ names, and it also will feature digital educational and conservation messaging.
“The indoor lobby will also be accessible for small gatherings or events, which will help generate revenue that will ensure the sustainability of this exhibit well into the future,” the release states.
Late last year, Abby and Mico came to the Lehigh Valley from California’s Sacramento Zoo and North Carolina’s Duke Lemur Center, respectively.
They were recommended by the AZA Species Survival Plan as a prospective breeding pair to support conservation of their species.
Mongoose lemurs are considered critically endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, with human activity such as slash-andburn agriculture, clearing land for cattle and charcoal production diminishing their native habitats and populations on the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa at an alarming rate. In fact, it’s estimated that about 1-2% of Madagascar’s forests are destroyed each year, and only about 10% of Madagascar’s forests remain.
Additionally, both lemurs and tortoises are poached by people in the wild and sold, in some cases, into the illegal, exotic pet trade.
Individuals and organizations wishing to contribute to Habitat Madagascar can do so by visiting lvzoo.org/madagascar. Individual donors who contribute at least $500 and corporate sponsors that contribute at least $2,500 will receive a spot on the zoo’s donor wall in the form of a laser-engraved wooden tile to be added to its mosaic of mainland Africa and the island of Madagascar.