A look at the new things coming to the Houston Zoo

HOUSTON — Some exciting new developments are coming to the Houston Zoo, which sees around 2 million visitors every year.

Kevin Hodge, who is the vice president of animal programs and horticulture, said that his goal is to bring the animals and people closer together.

“I have one of the best jobs ever because I get to work with the great animals that we have here at the zoo, but also get a chance to get out and interact with the guests,” Hodge said.

Part of Hodge’s job is to make sure the animals at the zoo are receiving the very best care by providing frequent welfare assessments and looking at their enclosures.

For close to a decade, the Houston Zoo has experienced a lot of construction with the goal of enhancing the animals’ quality of life.

“It is a lot of construction. Yeah, we have had construction for the past eight or nine years,” Hodge said. “We have a project to bring the giraffes more shade that we’re pretty excited about during the hot summer. The giraffes would often gather around one shaded area in the exhibit, and it looked like maybe they needed a little bit more room.”

 Hodge said the zoo is building a canopy for the giraffes to provide them with more shade from the Texas sun.

“Part of the whole process for building new spaces is allowing animals enough time for acclimation. So that’s them getting used to the habitat,” Hodge said. “The good thing is the giraffes are able to watch and oversee the construction the entire time.”

Another habitat that has been under construction is for the rhinos. Hodge said that the team thought the rhinos could also use a little more shade, and they are also adding a pool for them to cool off during the hot temperatures.  

The Houston Zoo is also adding a new viewing shelter for the public to see the rhinos.

“You’ll be able to view the rhinos through glass, so basically getting nose to nose with them. The people that are coming to the zoo, most of them are never going to have a chance to see things like giraffes or rhinos out in the wild,” Hodge said.

Hodge said it’s important for places like the Houston Zoo to exist in order to create a connection between people and animals.

“And so now they’re looking at animals in a different way, and they’re looking at what they can do to help animals in the wild. The animals that we have here are happy and the guests are happy as well,” Hodge said.