The official groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the future Black Bear/ Coyote Habitat at the Sequoia Park Zoo | Photos and images from the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation




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Just when you thought our local zoo couldn’t get any more exciting, visitors will soon be able to gawk at coyotes and black bears close up, with the Sequoia Park Zoo’s new Black Bear/Coyote Habitat — an exhibit that will compliment the zoo’s awe-inspiring Redwood Sky Walk, starting in fall of 2022.

Plans for the new exhibit — which is a partnership between the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria — were officially announced during a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, where members of the tribe, zoo staff and city officials gathered to celebrate the launch of this exciting addition to the zoo.


Plans for the plank house

The habitat is a part of the Zoo Master Plan, a long-term effort to revamp the zoo in an effort to boost local tourism, which includes the addition of the now-open Redwood Sky Walk and a plans for a fancy new interpretive center. Plans for the exhibit promise a unique opportunity for visitors to see the animals from different views and will included a 15,000-gallon pond and stream feature, a “Forest View Shelter”, which will allow guest to view the animals in a camouflaged fashion, like a duck blind. The Bear River Rancheria will construct a traditional plank house within the exhibit, which will include a “training wall” where guests can watch keepers train and feed the animals.  Part of the exhibit will also be visible from the Redwood Sky Walk.

If all goes to plan, construction of the bear and coyote exhibit should be complete by the end of July, with the animals expected to be introduced to the exhibit September through October.

You can read more in a Sequoia Park Zoo & Foundation press statement here and check out more photos from the groundbreaking ceremony below.

Site plans for the exhibit


Plans for the plank house from above