During the Atascadero City Council meeting on February 25, the Charles Paddock Zoo received $1 million in funding for facility improvements and $340,000 for staff additions.
Zoo Director Dr. Cynthia Stringfield shared her plans for the zoo.
"The two big things that money will go towards is our tiger habitat expansion," Stringfield said. "The second thing is finishing our Madagascar area of the zoo."
Atascadero resident Jill Heuer visits the zoo each week. She has loved visiting Menderu the tiger since he first arrived in 2009.
"I love seeing him, and I just always am hoping for a larger space for him," Heuer said.
"It meets all the needs of Menderu, our tiger, but we would really love for it to be bigger so that he has more space and more choices about what he does during the day," Stringfield said.
Stringfield also hopes to add two employees to the zoo staff in July.
“One will be a new zookeeper position and that will be very focused on being able to do more outreach with guests, so having special animal encounters, behind-the-scenes tours, chats, as well as working with the animals," Stringfield said.
The other position will be a maintenance worker to keep up with the facility’s growing needs.
For the latest information on what's new at the Charles Paddock Zoo, click here.
