This weekend, the Houston Zoo unveils its stunning new exhibit, sure to become one of the best in the nation - The Pantanal. Named after the tropical wetlands the straddle the borders of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia, this exhibit celebrates the zoo's long history of supporting conservation work in this imperiled region, which is home to some of greatest concentrations of wildlife in South America. Jaguars, giant anteaters, giant otters, capybara, and green anacondas are among the star attractions. Visitors can marvel at creatures great and small, from Baird's tapirs, the largest land animals on the continent, to tiny poison dart frogs, watch aquatic animals swim underwater, or observe mixed-species panoramas of wildlife mill about in large, well-planted enclosures. It looks breathtaking, and I can't wait to see it.
This year has been a rough one for so many people, and zoos and aquariums have certainly felt the financial pinch. The money needed to bring the Pantanal to Houston had already been raised, budgeted, and spent before anyone ever heard of COVID-19. The wheels were already in motion and it was too late to halt them by the time we all realized how bad things were. I'm not sure how much major construction and development we're going to be seeing at our facilities in the next few years, as we (hopefully) recover from this financial disaster. Still, as a community we could all use a few wins.
Something as spectacular as Pantanal certainly counts as a win for Houston.
Get a sneak peek at the Houston Zoo's first-in-the-nation Pantanal exhibit, opening this weekend
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