The approximately 4,500 animals in the variety of environments at Montreal’s “biodome” are going to move out.
The biodome- a combination zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, and museum is planning a major renovation, and the animals can’t stay while the project is underway.
Montreal’s Biodome shown with the “Olympic Stadium in the background. PHOTO- Espace pour la vie
The thousands of exotic bird, lynx, otters, caiman, penguins will be moved from their five specific environments including tropical, boreal, or polar environments, to other locations around the city prepared for them, and to other zoos in Canada and the U.S. in some cases.
Planning for the move has been in the works for about a year.
The “St Lawrence” ecosystem inside the biodome. Photo: Montreal Biodome
The renovations are expected to cos around $34 million and take a year to complete, after which there will be a period of re-integrating the animals and habituating them to their environments. The Biodome is expected to re-open to the public in September 2019.
In a rare event in captivity, three lynx kittens were born at the Bioidome in 2013 and were a big hit. PHOTO- via CBC TV
Changes will include new walkways above the environments, scenic changes to the habitats, and a new ice wall in the polar ecosystem and a closer connection where people will be able to feel the cold and hear the animals instead of viewing from behind a glass wall.
The Biodome was originally built as the Velodrome for the 1976 Olympics, and was converted in the late 1980’s. PHOTO- City of Montreal Archives
The Biodome typical sees about 800,000 visitors a year, but the hope is that will increase to over a million in the first year after re-opening.
Additional information- sources
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