Giants of the Savanna

A groundbreaking project, Giants of the Savanna was the first exhibit in the United States to allow elephants and other large African species to share habitats at the same time. This project encompasses an 11 acre site utilizing two multi-species savanna habitats for African elephants, giraffe, zebra, impala and ostrich; a dry riverbed habitat for red river hogs and warthogs; and kopje habitats for cheetah and lions. The habitats were designed to encourage active and natural behaviors from the animals and provide many enrichment elements including three large swimming holes, three elephant activity stations, wallows, and a 40-foot-tall artificial fig tree feeder. Along with the eight animal habitats the site has five new barns and yards, a restaurant, restroom, base camp event building and several shade structures. Visitor experience encounters include giraffe feeding, a predator keeper demonstration area, a safari land rover photo opportunity, a café with panoramic views of the lions, a giraffe crossing drawbridge, and an elephant/visitor interactive shower.

This was a design-build project delivery with an aggressive 16-month project timeline including concept planning through tender documentation in six months, coupled with an overlapping construction period of 13 months.

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