Zoo shutting down for week in January due to maintenance work

The Assiniboine Park Zoo plans to shut down for a week in January in order to get some major maintenance work done.

The zoo will be closed from Jan. 15 to 21.

This is the first time the zoo has shut down since the Assiniboine Park Conservatory took it over in 2009.

"We're just taking the opportunity to get at a lot of these items that potentially visitors would be in the way for," said Archie Pronger, the conservancy's head of facilities and capital projects.

The maintenance work will spruce up some of the animal enclosures, as well as public spaces. Work will include painting, caulking, deep-cleaning exhibits, installing wall protection, heat and ventilation repair.

Pronger says visitors shouldn't notice any major changes when they return.

The zoo will evaluate how much work gets accomplished in January and throughout the year before deciding whether to make the shutdown a regular occurrence.