The Memphis Zoo plans to invest $250 million over the next 20 years on a comprehensive campus plan to “fortify our reputation as a world-class zoo.”
Zoo president and CEO Matt Thompson announced the plan in an email sent Monday morning to zoo members and community stakeholders. That email came with a link to a survey seeking opinions to guide the planning process.
“As we look to the next twenty years and beyond, we seek to invest upwards of $250 million to reimagine this home for wildlife, to unlock opportunities for animal care and conservation, and strengthen our position as a community amenity through guest education and enhancement,” Thompson wrote. “This comprehensive campus plan aims to improve outdated priority areas across our campus and will create world-class animal exhibits and unforgettable family memories for decades to come.”
The plan calls for general infrastructure improvements but will focus on these exhibits: Great Lawn and Stingray (coming in 2025), Africa, Penguins, Oceans to Forests Journey, Nature Adventure and Ambassadors, Weird and Wonderful, and South America.
The first exhibit set for improvement is the Africa Veldt, home to “some of our most iconic and loved species, the African elephants and giraffes.” The plan could increase habitat space there by four times and cost $75 million.
“The existing facilities are dated and the habitat provides insufficient space for new and improved levels of care for our elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hyenas, and mixed hoofstock,” Thompson said. “Our reimagined habitat will increase acreage by four times to improve naturalistic features by unlocking time-shared and mixed-species spaces.
“The improved infrastructure will also provide the community with new ways to connect and learn about wildlife with a new Africa lodge and immersive guest experiences such as a new giraffe feeding zone.”
Zoo officials have hired CCS Fundraising, a strategic fundraising consulting firm, to guide its campaign planning efforts. The zoo said a “vital step” of their work will be to gather feedback and advice from leaders and friends of the zoo on the scope, leadership, timing, and key messaging of a potential major fundraising campaign for the first phase of these efforts.
