HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - It’s a busy summer for both family fun and construction projects at the Hattiesburg Zoo.
The zoo is building three new animal exhibits, and it’s in the middle of repainting its vintage 1941 carousel.
Also, a new park entrance is being built, with a new ticketing area, a new modular office space, a new outdoor education area and a new gift shop.
It will be three times larger than the current gift shop when completed.
“The gift shop is an important part of the financial model that makes Hattiesburg Zoo work and make it grow each year, so we are going to expand that with new lines of merchandise and hopefully a place for folks to come and shop for Christmas or whatever,” Hattiesburg Convention Commission Executive Director Rick Taylor said.
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Work on the carousel should be finished in about one week.
All other projects should be wrapped up by the fall.
Taylor says some new animals will be arriving at the zoo soon.
He hopes to add a new tiger in the fall and a new giraffe later in the year.
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