New exotic animals heading to Tropical World in Leeds with £250,000 South American upgrade

Improvements planned as part of the initial phase, costing £250,000, include four new wildlife enclosures that will feature "new species" at the attraction once complete.The new animal enclosures will be built in the zoo’s South America House and new viewing platforms will be created as part of the plans, according to a council report confirming the decision.

They will also allow Tropical World to "become involved with existing European Endangered Species breeding programmes", the report added.

The council hopes that construction work will be completed by "late autumn".

In a brief statement on the decision to approve the plans, published in a council document, said: "Tropical World is one of the top Yorkshire attractions, seeing circa 300,000 visitors every year.

"As a top visitor attraction, development of the site is imperative to remain relevant, exciting, and meet the conservation, research, and educational statutory requirements of the zoo."

The accompanying council report said that, like other attractions, Tropical World is facing significant budget challenges and "strives to position itself as a key competitor" in the industry.

The report said: "The proposed improvements will also facilitate better collection planning and enable more flagship and exciting species that hold conservation value playing a much more pivotal role in the zoological industry, research programmes and education.

"The Tropical World animal collection continues to change and develop according to the mission statement of providing a high standard of welfare and husbandry, delivering a first class service to visitors by representing tropical and arid areas of the world, and promoting the awareness of endangered animal and plant species through education."

These improvements are part of a wider £2m investment project at Tropical World.

The whole project was approved in June, 2019 by the council’s Executive Board, and includes plans for an indoor play facility “to be funded through prudential borrowing”.

The council report added: "The overall proposals look to transform an existing glasshouse with limited education and conservation value to an indoor play facility to improve visitor experience, increase dwell time and provide a year round attraction that informs and educates people about biodiversity and the importance of conservation particularly following the recent declaration of a climate change emergency.”