Toyota Gives Back – Supports Denver Zoo
Denver, Colorado Toyota Dealers have joined together to provide $5.4 million in funding for the “Toyota Elephant Passage,” a special edition to the Denver Zoo which will house rhinos, tapirs and Asian elephants, slated to open on June 1, 2012.
Denver Toyota Dealers joined together in supporting the Denver Zoo with a $5.4 million gift for it's new exhibit area.
The large financial pledge marks the second-biggest gift in the zoo’s history, next only to the $7 million donation from Janus back in 2004.
Jeff Thorpe of the Denver Toyota Dealers Association said that Toyota’s commitment to energy efficiency, recent release of its new Prius products, dedication to species conservation and green programming make it a perfect partner for the Denver Zoo.
Each of the area’s seven Toyota dealerships – including our favorite Denver Toyota dealer Mountain States Toyota – dispatched representatives to the zoo event, which marked exactly two years since ground was broken on the exhibit.
According to Craig Piper, President and CEO of the Denver Zoo, the exhibit is expected to encompass over 2 miles of trail space and 1 million gallons of water inside the habitats, and represents the most substantial undertaking of any point during the zoo’s 115 years in operation. Piper emphasized that the new features will go a long way toward facilitating the zoo’s ultimate goal of species preservation.
While one-horned rhinos, tapirs and Asian elephant bulls will be the centerpieces of the exhibit, visitors will also be able to see flying foxes, otters and fishing cat species.
Back in 1999, Denver residents passed a $62.5 million bond issue for improvements to the zoo. Concurrently, the zoo pledged to generate another $55 million in private money through its own fund raising efforts. The total amount of $117.5 represents the funds needed for completion of the first half of the zoo’s master plan.
Additional features made possible by the fund raising campaign include Congo Basin, Lorikeet Adventure, Predator Ridge, the zoo’s entrance area and new parking structure.
Over 3,000 donors have made contributions to Toyota Elephant Passage, according to Piper, yet additional financial gifts are needed for completion of the novel biomass gasification plan that is slated to provide power for the exhibit spaces. Waste materials from the zoo animals as well as trash generated by zoo guests will be converted by the system to provide energy for exhibit operations.
According to Piper, the zoo attracted the most visitors of any cultural attraction across the entire state, and had the fourth highest zoo attendance in the nation.
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