Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s front-and-center ambassadors get new behind-the-scenes home

Fresno Chaffee Zoo held a grand opening Wednesday for its Ambassador Animal Complex.

The $3.3 million complex, not open to the public, is a grouping of structures and open spaces that will serve as part of the zoo’s outreach and education program by providing facilities for animal holding and staff workspace.

The main building offers workspaces for zookeepers and veterinarians, as well as separate holding rooms that can be used for small mammal and reptile birthing and hibernation. Retired animals that are part of the zoo’s outreach education and Zoomobile programs are housed in a building with 12 enclosures that are directly connected to outdoor play areas easily accessed and maintained by zookeepers.

The project was funded by Measure Z, the Fresno County zoo tax in place since 2004.

Among the animal ambassadors, who visit schools with zoo keepers during education outings, in attendance, were P.J., a three-banded armadillo; Primrose, a desert tortoise; Hillary, a Eurasian eagle owl; Chloe, a blue and gold macaw; and Myrtle, a ball python

This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 1:27 PM.