Tagged: St. Louis Zoo

The St. Louis Zoo showcased new plans for the 13 and a half acre expansion on the southern side of interstate 64.

The plans aren’t set in stone, and the zoo is still asking for public opinion.

But it outlines a framework of where the zoo could go in the next 20 years – adding exhibits, a hotel, an upscale restaurant.

Ed Uhlir is a consultant on the expansion project, and says moving parking and adding a way for visitors to cross the interstate has to be the first move.

An Asian elephant calf is due to be born any day at the St. Louis Zoo, cause for both celebration and concern amid the backdrop of a deadly herpes virus.

The virus has killed about 25 percent of Asian elephants born in North American zoos in the past three decades. Some animal rights activists told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it is irresponsible to breed elephants knowing the presence of the virus in the herd.