Photos and Updates

September 23, 2010: Toyota Elephant Passage Progress in Pictures

The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is never truer than these shots by Staff Photographer Dave Parsons of the construction progression of Denver Zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage.

See the photos above as Dave captures seven different sequences over three months this summer starting on June 10 up to September 15.

Here’s an overview of the construction progress as of September 15:

• The boardwalk through Pool A between the Gibbon Islands is close to completion.
• Rockwork on the northern edge of Toyota Elephant Passage continues near Pool E as workers finish another rockwork project.  This section of Toyota Elephant Passage will resemble a river channel in which the banks of the river contain dark mossy grottos and overhanging cliffs. “River Edge Geology.” Once the rockwork is completed, the path near the eland and bongo yards will reopen, likely sometime in mid-October.
• Foundation updates: Work continues at the leopard holding building, while the Asian Pavilion also is almost done, which means walls will be coming up next. Asian Pavilion at Schoelzel Family Village, one of three habitats on the $50 million project, will be the hub. Asian Pavilion will be home to three of the five large-animal habitats at Toyota Elephant Passage. The deepest foundation on the project – at the filtration building which will filter water for the entire facility – has been buried. Work on the foundation and walls at the rhino/tapir building also continues.
• An exciting development is the formation on the west side of the animal transfer bridge that will be strong enough to support a 16,000-pound adult male Asian elephant. Rhinos, elephants and tapirs will cross three public pathways several times each day.

• See the latest construction update.