USA: Houston Zoo to Open New Galápagos Themed Area in 2023

A new “Galápagos Islands“ area is scheduled to open at the Houston Zoo, Texas in spring 2023, offering visitors a comprehensive experience around the Pacific island archipelago and its unique flora and fauna. The new area replaces the former enclosure for Californian sea lions, which will remain in the new area in the “Sea Lion Coast“ area representing their relatives from the Galápagos Islands. Here, visitors can descend into a 40-metre tunnel that allows them to observe the marine mammals underwater. While exploring the volcanic area, visitors reach a kind of clearing where they can admire giant Galápagos tortoises. For a special photo memory, visitors can slip into two full-size replicas of a giant tortoise shell here. Other residents include blue iguanas, which will represent their related iguana species found exclusively on the island archipelago in Houston.

In addition, Galápagos Islands will feature an extensive exhibition area to raise awareness about nature and marine conservation. Furthermore, there will be the spacious aquarium “One Ocean“, where sea turtles, sharks, rays and many other fish species swim through the recreated reefs of the Galápagos Islands. In the area‘s “lava tunnels“, visitors can also find small aquariums and terrariums with inhabitants of the Galápagos Islands. Another highlight will be the new penguin area, where cute Humboldt penguins – also representing their endangered Galápagos counterparts, of which there are only 1,200 in the wild – will make guests smile and wonder. A total of 57.3 million US dollars (approx. 52.4 million euros) is being invested in the development of the new themed area. (eap)