COAL VALLEY, Ill. — Niabi Zoo is one step closer to fully funding repairs to its exhibits.
It's been almost a year since Niabi Zoo saw unprecedented damage to its enclosures. Snowstorms in January dumped about 25 inches of snow, which was weight some enclosures couldn't handle.
The wire mesh and foundation of the big cat building was destroyed. Netting on the bald eagle enclosure was stretched, the Pallas cat enclosure bent in on itself and the lorikeet hut collapsed. The guinea pig and great horned owl enclosures were damaged, too.
While the affected animals are in temporary enclosures, the zoo has been hard at work making repairs.
"We’ve replaced the smaller exhibits that were destroyed, some of our small aviaries, and repaired the roof where we had our budgies and our guinea pigs," Director Lee Jackson said.
He said the zoo hasn't started on the Pallas cat exhibit due to a lack of funding, but the big cat and bald eagle enclosures are well on the way.
"Work is progressing, we've got the piers in the ground, the new steel supports for the new enclosure," Jackson said at the bald eagle enclosure construction site.
Right now, Niabi's bald eagles are housed at the Biodiversity Building. Their new enclosure will be done before the 2025 season, but the zoo needs all the help it can get to pay for construction.
Jeffrey Craver, director of the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District, said the upgrades and repairs have exceeded $2 million. Insurance only paid out about $200,000.
He said those unexpected repairs and having 11,000 fewer guests this summer put the zoo in a tough spot, but the Rock Island County Board was able to help.
With $400,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, the zoo is closer to covering those construction costs. That funding leaves the zoo with $1.1 million in outstanding costs.
"Every penny helps when we had such a sizeable event hit us," Craver said.
Even with high costs, Jackson said he's looking forward to the new enclosures. They'll give the animals more space to stretch their legs — or flap their wings.
"The enclosures will be much higher, allowing us to add more perching and let the cats climb higher," Jackson said. "They’ll be over 20 feet tall moving forward, they were about 13 or 14 before."
He said the former enclosures were already on the large side compared to other zoos. He expects the cats to make use of their new space.
With some of the zoo's most popular exhibits coming back, Jackson is expecting better attendance and a better future for Niabi.
"I’m really excited about 2025," Jackson said.
Since the enclosures were damaged in January, the community has raised more than $100,000 for the zoo, but it still needs support. You can donate to the Niabi Zoo Foundation here.