After more than 40 years of service, Como Zoo’s Large Cats Building is about to begin phase one of a major new habitat plan made possible with $9.3 million in funding approved by the Minnesota Legislature in May and $3.4 million in private funding from Como Friends. While the plan to improve this space on the northwest end of campus has been years in the making, its arrival is bittersweet for many of Como’s keepers and close friends, who are saying goodbye to many animals who must move to make way for the new and improved habitat’s construction.
We know how difficult it is for so many of us to say goodbye to Como’s beloved large cats. They have been part of our lives, our memories, and the story of Como Zoo for many years.
Behind each of these beloved animals is a team of dedicated zookeepers and animal care professionals, and volunteers who have loved and cared for them every day. They have shared extraordinary milestones with us, including the successful breeding of our tigers, Bernie and Tsar and the birth of their two beautiful cubs, Maks and Marisa. They have provided patient, devoted care for Willow and Jasper as they adapted to life as blind cats, and they cared for Maji through the loss of Mumford. The bonds between animals and their caregivers are deeply meaningful, and saying goodbye is not easy for the people who have devoted so much of their lives to them.
At the same time, these moves are an important part of preparing for Como Park Zoo & Conservatory’s new habitat. This project is about much more than replacing or renovating a building. It will transform both the existing indoor space and outdoor habitats into a new, modern home for large cats and African animals, with expanded animal-care spaces, improved habitats, accessibility enhancements, and new opportunities for guests to connect with wildlife.
Construction of a project of this scale requires careful planning for both animals and people. The work will take considerable time, and the animals cannot safely remain in the existing building or outdoor habitats while major construction is underway. Moving them allows the work to proceed safely while ensuring that the animals continue to receive excellent care in environments suited to their needs, so they continue to grow and thrive.
For some, these moves will also mark the beginning of permanent new chapters. Animals moving as part of breeding recommendations or social partnerships are not simply leaving temporarily until construction is complete. Their new facilities will become their homes, where they can contribute to important conservation programs and, in some cases, form new social relationships.
Knowing that Willow and Jasper will be moving together with their companions, Alya and Ruby, brings comfort. They will have familiar companions alongside them as they adjust to their new surroundings and begin this next chapter together.
We know that understanding the reasons for these moves does not make saying goodbye easy. These animals have meant so much to our community, and their individual stories will always be part of Como Zoo’s story. We can be grateful for the years we have shared with them—and for the people who have devoted so much of their lives to caring for them.
And as we look ahead, our visitors are an important part of this next chapter, too. The support all of you, along with the continued support of the City of Saint Paul, the State of Minnesota, and our greater community, is at the heart of the public-private partnership that makes this work possible. Together, that partnership allows us to invest in the future of Como Zoo—not simply to make it bigger, but to make it always better for the animals, for our guests, and for the community we all share.
We look forward to sharing this next chapter with you and keeping you informed as the new habitat takes shape.
In the meantime, we hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit, make a few more memories, and wish these beloved animals safe travels and wonderful new chapters.
They will be deeply missed, but they will always be a part of Como.
“It’s hard when you’ve been part of many important milestones in an animal’s life,” says Senior Keeper Jill Erzar, who has been organizing transfers for Como Zoo’s wolves, tigers, mountain lions, and snow leopards for several months, working closely with several AZA species survival plan groups to determine the optimal placement for each animal as well as the most promising breeding recommendations. While she and her colleagues are sad to see some of their favorite animals find new homes, Erzar says zookeepers are also looking forward to facilities that will elevate the animal care and husbandry they can provide behind the scenes.
Support from Como Friends has been critical to the development of the project’s design plans, which will allow Como Zoo to keep pace with the best-practice standards for big cat care, while protecting the intimate “nose-to-nose” visitor experience Como is known for.
“This project is a great example of how private support allows Como to do more for our animals and public with state-of-the-art habitats,” says Katie Hill, Como Friends’ president. “Not only has Como Friends been at the table for all of these conversations, advocating for the features that can enhance animal wellbeing and visitor experience, but our diverse community of supporters also strengthens the case for public funding when we go to the Legislature. Our visitors take great pride in Como, and their voices were instrumental in helping secure funding to start to build ‘the Pride of Como’ for our lions and other African animals.”
One of the first tasks of the pre-construction process was to find a new home with just the right fit for Nicky and Cerberus, gray wolf brothers who first came to Como in 2021. “Most wolves you see at big zoos have been hand raised or habituated to humans, but we didn’t want that for them,” Erzar explains. “Instead, we wanted to show what a wild wolf looks like, and we chose that husbandry as the best for the wolves and for our facilities.” With that history in mind, she reached out to Wolf Haven International, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Tenino, Washington, and learned they were interested in finding companions for two females. In June, the wolf pair boarded a chartered cross-country flight made possible by Greater Good Charities and were introduced to companions Billie and Ellie the same day—an important consideration for these social pack animals. “Nicky and Billie, by the end of the first night, were howling together, which is a great sign,” she says.
Large Cats Animal Care Team: Zookeepers Hans Jorgensen and Caitlin Allessi, and Senior Keeper Jill Erzar in the center. Pictured below are Dr. Jim Rasmussen, Dr. Carl Larson, and Veterinary Technician Andrea Persson
Maji the lion will soon be headed to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute where she’s been selected to be part of a breeding recommendation. Like Como, the National Zoo is one of the last free metropolitan zoos in the nation, but it was another feature that made the move attractive to Maji’s zookeepers. “The National Zoo is one of the only AZA zoos that doesn’t have glass-fronted enclosures for their lions,” Erzar says. “Maji and glass do not get along.”
Next up will be a move for Como Zoo tiger cubs Maks and Marisa. At age two, they’re both moving toward sexual maturity, and are being considered for breeding recommendations at other AZA accredited zoos. “Knowing that tigers are typically solitary animals, we knew that this day would come as they move toward having offspring,” Erzar says, noting that their mother, Bernadette, will remain at Como for the foreseeable future.
Keeping bonded pairs together is an important consideration for four of Como Zoo’s large cats. Snow leopards Alya and Willow will be moved together, allowing Alya to continue living with her daughter, who was born blind. Cougars Ruby and Jasper will also make the move as a pair. The two have been together as orphans at Como since 2018, and Jasper is now completely blind due to progressive retinal atrophy. For both pairs, maintaining these close bonds means each cat with impaired vision can remain with a familiar companion—someone they know and trust to help them navigate their new habitats.
Erzar admits that preparing for a construction project of this size can be stressful for both animals and the people who care for them. “It’s important that we take the time to truly understand what an animal’s needs are, and that comes down to really great zookeepers,” she says. “We excel in setting our animals up for success and building resilience into their everyday life, so that they can move on and breed and be great ambassadors wherever they go. It’s bittersweet to see them go, but this is why we do it, and our plans for the animals coming in will be just as intentional.”
