The Lincoln Children’s Zoo has been a construction site since spring 2017, its guests, employees and animals sharing space with forklifts and front-end loaders.
But the hard-hat era is coming to an end.
Last year, the zoo unveiled its $20 million Phase 1 expansion, introducing the city to giraffes, spider monkeys and Sumatran tigers.
Next week, it plans to open most of Phase 2 — a $4.5 million project adding anteaters, cheetahs and a 26-foot steel elephant.
And the timing couldn’t be better, said John Chapo, the zoo’s president and CEO.
“The last several months has been an unfortunate time for all of us,” he said Tuesday. “The zoo is excited to share something positive and joyous with the community.”
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Monday, zoo guests will meet Asterix, a nearly 2-year-old giant anteater originally from Chicago, and his future mate, a still-unnamed 18-month-old who came here from Idaho.
Asterix, a giant anteater, arrived in Lincoln in November, and will meet the public Monday.
* Giant anteaters have the longest tongues of any mammal in relation to body size, and can flick them in and out of an anthill or termite mound 150 times a minute, consuming an estimated 30,000 insects a day in the wild.
* The zoo’s anteaters will have a more diverse diet — wax worms, superworms, insect purees, eggs, applesauce and Asterix’s favorite food, avocado.
* Mature giant anteaters can weigh 90 pounds and measure up to 7 feet in length. At 88 pounds, Asterix is nearly there.
* The zoo’s new anteater habitat includes concrete termite mounds with food-filled tubes, allowing Asterix and his partner to feed as they would in the wild. It also features a wading pool for the animals, which use their noses as snorkels.
* Giant anteaters are considered a vulnerable species, meaning their population is decreasing. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo is participating in a Species Survival Plan, and its two new animals are a recommended breeding pair — so expect baby anteaters in the future, maybe as early as next year.
A view from the top of an elephant
Just west of the anteaters, the zoo installed Ellie, a one-of-a-kind, 26-foot-tall steel abstract elephant playground.
* Kids can climb a series of cargo nets to the top of Ellie’s hat for a panoramic view of the zoo and the city surrounding it. And a look through Ellie’s eyes provides fish-eyed vantage points.
Ellie, a 26-foot abstract elephant playground, has wind chimes, a tornado slide and water-squirting flower.
* Then they can zip down to the ground on a stainless steel tornado slide, with a water spray surprising them at the end. Children with cochlear implants can use the slide without suffering the effects of electrostatic discharge interference.
* Also at the bottom? A soft-rubber surface with a stepping stone design and seating for parents.
John Chapo, president and CEO of Lincoln Children's Zoo, tests the tornado slide on Ellie, the 26-foot elephant-inspired playground.
A show of speed
The world’s fastest mammals need room to run, so the zoo carved out a 10,000-square-foot grass-covered field for its five new cheetahs.
* Three of the animals — Sita, Saba and Nane (six, seven and eight in Swahili) — are 2-year-old sisters from the Bingwa Bunch of St. Louis, the only documented litter of eight cheetahs reared at a zoo, who arrived in October.
* Bella and Moyo are 10-year-olds who moved to Lincoln from Columbus, Ohio, earlier this year.
One of the Lincoln Children's Zoo's five new cheetahs plays with her ball in the 10,000-square-foot cheetah run.
* The 90-pound cheetahs can reach speeds of 60 mph and will demonstrate their ability and agility by chasing a lure around their 200-foot run, while guests watch from shaded, stadium-style seating.
* Behind the scenes, the long-legged animals live in high-tech bedrooms with heated floors and their own kitchen, where zoo staffers feed them nearly 3 pounds of meat each per day.
What’s next, what’s reopening, what's closed
* The zoo — closed for more than two months this spring because of the coronavirus — is continuing its crowd-controlling Wildlife Walks, which require reservations and encourage distancing.
* But the zoo is reopening its outdoor playgrounds Monday. They include Stego's Dig, Natural Playground and Zooville Square Playground. The Secret Jungle and Splash Stream will remain closed.
* Construction crews are still working on the outdoor event and concert space along A Street, which will eventually accommodate 1,000 people, including 400 beneath the roof of a 96-foot-by-64-foot tent.
PhotoFiles: Children's Zoo through the years
PhotoFiles: Lincoln Children's Zoo through the years
Children's Zoo
While the Children's Zoo was being built, Bo the boa constrictor spent his time at the home of zoo president Arnott R. Folsom and his wife.
Children's Zoo
Zoo founder Arnott Folsom with one of the animals from the zoo.
Children's Zoo
Lincoln Elks Lodge 80 sponsored a booth selling fresh buttered popcorn at the zoo in 1966. Pictured are (from left) Lori Shelton, Elks past exalted ruler Vince Collura, David Wolatz, Spahnle and Andrea Freeman.
Children's Zoo
The Lincoln Symphony Orchestra performed ZooMusic pops at the Children's Zoo on June 18, 1988.
Children's Zoo
Katie Hahn and Courtney Jost were on hand June 2, 1987, to watch zoo volunteer Evon Rinke comb an Angora rabbit as the zoo unveiled the Critter Encounter.
Children's Zoo
The streets of the zoo were empty during the winter of 1986.
Children's Zoo
Zoo visitors check out the birds in June of 1970.
Children's Zoo
Students from Faith Lutheran School watch a zookeeper play with the chimps in 1986.
Children's Zoo
Visitors make their way through the zoo in 1982.
Children's Zoo
Mary Manning (left) and Cheri Christensen add finishing touches to renovation work at the Birdcage Theater in 1983.
Children's Zoo
(From left) Susan Budler, Lynda Fagerberg, Steve Fagerberg and Kim Sandberg were part of the skit "The Bench" in the Birdcage Theater in 1974.
Children's Zoo
Ron Brown watches as son Ryan rides a pony at the zoo in 1979.
Children's Zoo
The zoo sign in 1973.
Children's Zoo
Rain doesn't keep these zoo visitors from checking out the Engine House in 1965.
Children's Zoo
The Crooked House and the Crooked Barn in 1968.
Children's Zoo
Mike Garren (left) and Mark Michel check out the zoo's dinosaur fountain as the zoo opened for the first time in July 1965.
Children's Zoo
The zoo's town square included a blacksmith shop in 1967.
Children's Zoo
"Frankie the Felon" undergoes inspection by Assistant Police Chief Willie Manchester at the zoo's jail on Aug. 10, 1965.
Children's Zoo
Kelly Reasoner (left) and his sister Janet mail letters at the zoo's post office in June of 1966.
Children's Zoo
The zoo's post office in 1967.
Children's Zoo
The street in the zoo's western town was named Dobson Street in 1964 after the contractor who did the paving.
Children's Zoo
Pledges at Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity became "gandy dancers" in 1962, laying track for the zoo's narrow-gauge railroad. In the foreground are Gary Rosenbach and Pat Sullivan.
Children's Zoo
The Iron Horse engine for the Children's Zoo train arrived in Lincoln in December of 1962. The $13,650 replica of the 1862 C.P Huntington engine heads the 27-unit Iron Horse Railroad, which the Lincoln Junior Chamber of Commerce financed for $35,000.
Children's Zoo
The Iron Horse Railroad heads into the tunnel at the Lincoln Children's Zoo on May 5, 1986.
Children's Zoo
Steve Badinger of Silver Hammer Construction woks on the new train depot at the zoo in 1988.
Children's Zoo
The otter cage, which included a slide, was complete in 1966.
Children's Zoo
Zooville Square attracts people young and old. It's shown here in 1982.
Children's Zoo
Children's Zoo director Alan Bietz feeds chocolate chip cookies to Gentle Ben as Gov. Bob Kerrey watches Sept. 18, 1984.
Children's Zoo
Zoo director Alan Bietz interacts with Arthur the camel in Jan. 28, 1984.
Children's Zoo
Alan Bietz tries to coax Hevlyn the hippo out into the spring air in 1978.
Children's Zoo
Hannah Lambert checks out the goats at the Children's Zoo while the goats check out volunteers Ken Arellano and Dena Noe of National Bank of Commerce during family day at the zoo for families affected by multiple sclerosis in 1996.
Children's Zoo
The zoo's new entrance in 1991.
Children's Zoo
In 1997, volunteer conductor Clint Hoover had been driving the zoo train for six years.
Children's Zoo
Bryanna Niebrugge (from left), Karissa TeSelle, Katie Hofer, Hannah Hofer and Amanda Bauer check out the eagle's nest at the zoo in 1993.
Children's Zoo
Randy Scheer, head animal keeper, works with two scarlet macaws in the winter holding room in November of 1992.
Children's Zoo
Brothers Devin (left) and Brandon Aksamit visit with Capt. Bret Davis of the Lincoln Fire Department during the annual Halloween Hullabaloo in 1993.
Children's Zoo
Leo the paper-eating lion was refurbished by folks from Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Lincoln Tent and Awning and Salt Valley Signs in 1996.
Children's Zoo
The Crooked House was a favorite place to hold birthday parties.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter
Peter Salter
General assignment reporter
Peter Salter is a general assignment reporter. The University of North Dakota graduate joined the Journal Star in 1998.
