The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium announced Wednesday it had received a donation of $10 million — the largest in its history.
The gift is from anonymous donors.
Zoo president and CEO Jeremy Goodman says the funds will allow the zoo to build a new giraffe barn and to begin design on Expedition Indonesia, a new exhibit featuring Indonesian wildlife, including orangutans, siamangs and Malaysian tapirs. (A siamang is a type of gibbon.)
The giraffe barn will allow the zoo to begin a breeding program, Goodman said.
Both projects are part of a long-term master plan the zoo announced last year.
“This tremendous gift really serves as a catalyst for other gifts and growth at the zoo,” said Goodman in a statement.
Also Wednesday, Pittsburgh-based design firm LGA Partners briefed the city’s Civic Design Commission on the planned giraffe barn, which will be located between the existing elephant barn and Tropical Forest Building.
The new structure — including a wintertime “viewing canopy” for zoo visitors — will be made of textured concrete and serve mainly as a service building. It is also slated to house pygmy hippos, okapi and red river hog, a type of wild pig native to Africa.
The zoo expects both construction of the barn and design of Expedition Indonesia to begin later this year.
