Merced Applegate Zoo to undergo $1.8M renovation project. What’s planned
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- Merced Applegate Zoo will begin $1.8M renovations in late summer or early fall.
- New black bear and bobcat exhibits will feature expanded habitats and upgrades.
- Funding also supports ADA-compliant walkways and gift shop access improvements.
The Merced Applegate Zoo will soon begin a $1.8 million renovation project that will include improvements to the black bears and bobcat exhibits.
Construction will likely begin at the end of the summer or early fall, according to Merced Parks & Community Services Director Christopher Jensen.
The funds for the new home for the two black bears named Windfall and Missy were made available through the pandemic recovery funds, which was approved by Merced City Council in December.
Jensen says the new bears exhibit will be comparable to those at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo or Oakland Zoo.
“It will actually look like a granite den that you would find in the Sierras,” Jensen said. “They’ll have separate enclosures or separate sleeping areas in their dens, and then they’ll come out in that area, where there will be a waterfall, a pond and a digging pit.”
The new exhibit will move the bears’ from their current 1,000-square foot space to more expansive 4,000-foot square exhibit that used to house the mountain lion near the front entrance.
“One of the biggest things that we hear routinely is, ‘Those poor bears,’ their current exhibit is very tight,” Jensen said. “We do have two bears in that exhibit, as opposed to just one, and it’s just too small. So the things that we’ve heard when we’ve been promoting the renovations is we’ve got to get them out of that enclosure. I think this is going to give a sense of relief, a sense of pride in the facility and allow us to showcase what the zoo can look like moving forward.”
The funding will also help go toward making ADA improvements to the walkway both in to the entry of the gift shop and the walking path around the facility, which draws about 30,000 people each year, according to Jensen.
The bobcat exhibit will also see improvements with the rest of the funds and a $10,000 donation from UC Merced. The zoo will get rid of the cinder block and the bobcat enclosure will have a more stone-like appearance with shotcrete.
The zoo hopes all the renovations are done by spring of 2026.
The original renovation plans included improvements to the tortoise enclosure, but that will likely be put on hold until more funds are available.
The zoo recently replaced the custom wooden sign that was stolen in February of this year. Jensen said it was disheartening when the sign was stolen because their team had spent six months coming up with the sign design, which included a buck and a large bird soaring overhead with the backdrop of a forest and snow-topped mountains, which were all contained in the silhouette of a bear.
Shortly after the sign was stolen, Merced City Council Members Sarah Boyle and Mike Harris both offered up $250 reward for the return of the sign.
The replacement sign was eventually ordered after $4,000 was raised from anonymous donors.
“As disheartened as we were, we were just as much in awe of the community support that was immediately provided, both from our two of our city council members and for the individuals who stepped up to the plate and donated about $1,000 a piece towards the replacement of the sign,” Jensen said.
Jensen says the new sign was replaced with more lighting and police surveillance cameras.
