Welcome to Paradise: New Islands exhibit opens at Idaho Falls Zoo

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Madagascar's largest carnivore and the Nēnē, the world's rarest goose, are coming to an incredible new “Islands” exhibit opening Thursday at the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park.

“Bringing new animals to the zoo is always fun. The fossa, Hawaiian geese - it’s just fun being introduced to new animals, and providing that to our community is a big deal,” said Idaho Falls Zoo Executive Director David Pennock.

Exhibit donors and offered a sneak peek at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday.

Guests will experience exciting new habitats – featuring lemurs, tortoises, and a couple surprises.

“My favorite part is about seeing all of the animals, and my favorite animal is the armadillo," said Junior Zookeeper Leo Scherr.

The exhibit gives guests an opportunity to come face-to-face with wild animals in an immersive island experience.

“This exhibit has been a long time coming. This is something we've been working on for about seven years now. So this is huge progress for us," said the zoo's Animal Care Supervisor Erika Alderette. "It's a really big step forward for the zoo and the community as a whole.”

Visitors will learn about the animals' unique adaptations, as well as the challenges facing native island animals.

“We have some new species and some species that you saw in our zoo in past years, such as our ringtail lemurs," said the zoo's Curator of Education Bethanie West. "However, their new exhibit is exciting and new and fun to watch them interacting in their new space.”

Such encounters are increasingly rare and important. The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet 2024 study estimates the population of wild animals in the world has declined 73 percent in the last 50 years, Pennock said.

Zoo guests can catch the island magic through September, before the zoo moves to a three-day weekend schedule in October.

One young guest was excited to see the lemurs in their new habitat.

"Cause they wait to move inside there,” explained Lucy Elsethagen-Tate.