NC Zoo: Asia Opening Delayed
ASHEBORO, NC—The North Carolina Zoo’s 12.5 acre Asia Continent expansion, originally slated to open this month, has been delayed due to what zoo officials refer to as “funding challenges.” According to a statement from the zoo earlier this year, construction has been completed and most animals are already settled in, but staffing remains an issue. A statement on the zoo’s Asia web page currently states, “The Zoo cannot provide an opening date at this time. Once funding challenges are resolved, our team will work to open Asia as quickly as possible.”
A funding bill in July earmarked $6.2 million in recurring funds and $1.3 million in one-time money, along with 54 new positions tied to Asia. Fox8 News WGHP in the Triad reported that zoo leaders said the exhibit could not operate effectively without 70 additional employees, including specialized keepers, veterinary support staff, and the front-line workers who keep trams, ticketing, and guest services operating smoothly. The state has already invested more than $75 million into the project, which is the zoo’s first major expansion since 1994.
When it opens, the Asia Continent will feature tigers, white-cheeked gibbons, Komodo dragons, Chinese alligators, king cobras, mixed birds habitat, Asian small-clawed otters, cinereous vultures, Visayan warty pigs, and Chinese giant salamanders. It will also include an indoor café overlooking the tiger habitat, and an overhead tiger walk.
With 500 developed acres (of 2,000 in total), the North Carolina Zoo is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. It features 1,700 animals of more than 250 species, mostly representing Africa and North America. in 2023, the zoo received over one million visitors for the first time. It is a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) and is overseen by a 15-member Zoo Council appointed by the Governor to six-year terms. The zoo’s annual operating budget is roughly $18 million, receiving about 60 percent of its budget from the state, with the remainder coming from ticket and merchandise sales and donations from the North Carolina Zoological Society, the zoo's fundraising and membership arm.
The DNCR manages over 100 locations across the state, including 28 historic sites, eight history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the North Carolina
Music Office, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program.