Home » Otter Bath House, Steel Building, Sequoia Park Zoo, CA

Several years ago, the Sequoia Park Zoo in beautiful Humboldt county California began planning for “Watershed Heroes”, a captivating exhibit featuring river otters, bald eagles, three local salmon species, a Northern spotted owl and North American porcupine. The project consists of a “learning lab” and an “otter night quarters” which they chose Ironbuilt to supply a prefab steel building kit for. The five species habitat exhibit cost $3.4 Million and was designed to teach the importance of watershed health while providing an engaging experience for zoo visitors.

The project broke ground in 2012 with the construction of the steel building only taking a few days. A water pump, filter and piping were installed feeding into a bath for the otters inside of the building. The interior of their otter bath house has been outfitted to be both luxurious and comfortable by “otter standards”. The exterior was fashioned to fit in with the other structures in the exhibit. The otters expend quite a bit of energy every day and after supper when things settle down, they retire to thier wonderful little bath house. There’s nothing like a little pampering after a hard day of lounging around , sunning and swimming in their beautiful habitat.

In 2016 the Association of Zoos and Aquariums awarded the Sequoia Park Zoo Top Honors for Exhibit Design for zoos. “Watershed Heroes has brought a new level of excellence to our regional zoo through these state-of-the-art animal habitats and facilities. It has truly been transformative for our zoo and our community, so it is especially gratifying to receive this recognition from our peers in the zoo world,” said Gretchen Ziegler, Zoo Director. Watershed Heroes improved the local economy by welcoming over 110,000 visitors in 2015, an increase of 25% over recent years. Ironbuilt is proud to have been a vendor for this award winning project that promotes conservation of wildlife and we are committed to providing the highest quality eco-friendly metal buildings in California for the best prices while providing top notch customer service.

Photos are courtesy of Sequoia Park Zoo website and Facebook page.

Links:

Sequoia Park Zoo Official Site-Watershed Heroes

Press Release-Grand Opening-Local NewsPaper

Press Release-2016 Award-Local TV News

Official 2016 Award Press Release