Zoo Boise Adds Flood Wall to Avoid Evacuating 200 Animals

When I saw that Zoo Boise was raising money to bring Tafari, the new giraffe, to the Treasure Valley I immediately knew where my Idaho Gives Day donation was going this year.

Since I donated $50 to the cause, I've been getting updates from the zoo about when Tafari might arrive in Boise.  One of the major factors is how high the Boise River levels are going to get. The Tafari Update they sent on June 1st explained that the potential of the zoo flooding was low.  They want to wait until the threat of flooding passes before driving the giraffe across the country.

Well, a week later the threat of flooding at Zoo Boise is very different.  According to the Idaho Statesman, with the change in weather the Army Corps of Engineers may not be able to able to give the city more than 24 hours notice if they decide to release more water from the dams. With the reservoirs sitting at 93% capacity, the city had two options when it came to potential flooding at Zoo Boise.

Option A? Spend over $500,000 to evacuate the over 200 animals living at the zoo.  Option B? Put up a muscle wall that would help reduce the amount of water reaching the zoo in the event of flooding.  That wall 2-4 foot wall only costs about $130,000 with a majority of it being covered by an Ada County Emergency Management grant.

When the muscle wall is complete, Julia Davis Drive will be closed from the bandshell to the the tennis courts.