Fresno Chaffee Zoo renovating old section of park

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Odds are If you have recently visited the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, you might have noticed the former giraffe area is empty. It has been that way since the giraffes were moved over to the African Adventure exhibit.

Soon their old home will see some new life, that and other areas on the parks south side will be transformed into Kingdoms of Asia.

"We're giving new spaces, big spaces for the animals and a more enriching experience for our guests," said Chaffee Zoo Deputy Director Amos Morris.

The old giraffe enclosure will be home sweet home for the sloth bears. The Tigers are also getting a major upgrade. Their home expanding several feet and taking over part of the sloth bears old exhibit. The Orangutans also have something to look forward to.

"you'll get a nose to nose view with the orangutans, but through the glass, we are building a new tree for them that will have a lot of enrichment items," said Morris.

The zoo said they wanted to finish up African Adventure before they gave the old side of the park a facelift. currently, they're in the designing phase, meaning it'll take some time before we see those new changes. In the meantime, a new addition is making its way into African Adventure in December.

"the warthogs are moving to Africa where they belong," said Morris.

They're hoping to break ground on Kingdoms of Asia by the end of next year. Next week they start working on infrastructure.