Long-term future for Calgary Zoo includes new animals

The President and CEO of the Calgary Zoo laid out the plans for its recovery at a Calgary city committee meeting on Wednesday.

The zoo sustained about$50 million in damage from the June flood.

Itpartially reopenedat the end of July, but officials expect the zoo will lose $10 million in revenue before it fully opens in December.

"There's a portion of that anticipated loss that will be or could be covered by the business interruption aspect of our insurance policy," said the president of the zoo, Clement Lanthier.

He told a city committee that the zoo is continuing to lay out long-term plans for the facility, which include bringing in new animals.

"We need to invest in some novelty for next summer, new species and never on this horizon," said Lanthier.

"We need to invest in a lot of things but the cash flow is critical. If there's no cash, there's no future."

About 2,000 people a day have visited the zoo since it reopened in July.

Lanthier said the zoo is looking at partnering with other agencies such as Tourism Calgary to ensure once it isfully open, people will know that it's back in business.