The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 80

Out with the old in with th at Micke Grove Zoo By Jim Miller Bee staff writer Polar bears which weathei with the aid of a big swimmi So are two mountain lions tl large habitat built in 1994 Probably the busiest exhib lions dip and dive in their po 10:30 am and 3 pm are pa times to see the animals seem to be the most in the manager Ken Ni still got some of the old stan The old standbys however not being replaced as they female sea lions last year ar other zoos have chosen not to re animals for which we 1 Nieland emphasizing threatened Micke Grove is one of 165 the United States and the oi Sacramento and Fresno (A I Merced is not accredited) William Micke a Lodi graj immigrated from Germany i for the zoo and park in 1938 The zoo opened in 1957 It the typical zoo philosophy concrete and steel with little creating natural ha That slowly began to chan ago the zoo opened an exhil Island Lost in It depi in Madagascar an island off Africa Sometime soon the zoo tortoises and black parrots also will feature a larger-tha sculpture for children to clir And plans are in the work beyond its 25 acres to som seven acres A map of a Micke Grove ODI Forty years after its construction in the memory of its wife Micke Grove Zoo is changing its spots On the way out are traditional zoo animals like sea lions bears and tigers They are being replaced by smaller exotic species from around the globe that often are endangered or threatened with extinction trying to make the zoo more conservation-oriented instead of just a generic collection of animals for people to look said curator Jeff Holland who came to Micke Grove in July 1996 from the Los Angeles Zoo The zoo is also remodeling cages to make more room for animals and building new exhibits that replicate different habitats For the zoo layperson the of the 160 or so animals at Micke Grove today will not ring many bells the ruffed lemur the Von Der Deckens hornbill bearded dragon and dik-dik There is also the cotton-top tamarin the mouse deer the yellow-knobbed curassow and the Waldrapp ibis But visitors will still recognize many of the Ring-tailed lemur above bearded dragon top photo animals at the zoo.