Next Saturday, the San Diego Zoo — fresh off celebrating its first 100 years — steps into the future with the opening of Africa Rocks, its biggest construction project ever.

The 8-acre, $68 million undertaking relies on the newest thinking about zoos, which find themselves in an ongoing debate about the treatment of animals in captivity and are designing exhibits that are more naturalistic, more focused on conservation than entertainment.

That's why the space for the African penguins, an endangered species, includes giant artificial rocks like the granite ones found at Boulders Beach in South Africa. It's why the 170-foot-long pool they swim in has a wave-making machine to mimic gentle surf rolling ashore.

"It's more than just what you see on display," said Dwight Scott, the zoo's director. "It's making connections here with the (conservation) work we do around the world."

The new space will separate the buses from the sidewalk. Pedestrians will walk on a gently sloping, meandering pathway — built wide to accommodate strollers and the increased number and girth of visitors — past six distinct habitats housing flora and fauna from the African continent.

There will be a 65-foot waterfall people can walk behind and a 2-acre tensile metal aviary net overhead. It's more about immersion than staring.

Taken from SDUT

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