The Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City will close for five days from Sept. 19 – 23, and will be inaccessible to the public during that time.
Zoo staff will be making minor repairs and performing maintenance activities in the zoo’s Jungle Building. Some of the tasks require removing the animals from their viewing habitats into holding areas. The Zoo stated, “Zoo management feels that the staff needs to focus on these tasks at hand and closing to the general public is the most efficient and safe way to accomplish their goals.”
Construction work to expand the African Lion and Bengal Tigers habitats will continue during the shutdown.
The zoo will remain open the weekend of September 17 with regular hours of operation (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) before closing on Monday, September 19.
Following the maintenance closure, the zoo will resume regular hours of operation on Saturday, September 24.
Big Cat Canyon, the Zoo’s new state-of-the-art African Lion, and Bengal Tiger exhibits will open to guests on April 1, 2023. The renovated habitats will add around 3,000 sq feet of space for the cats and bring guests up close to these amazing animals with glass viewing windows and rock-faced walls replacing the current wire mesh.
For more information about the Washington Park Zoo, please visit their Facebook or go to WashingtonParkZoo.com.