SAN ANTONIO — A newly announced $500,000 donation is expected to help the San Antonio Zoo pursue a multi-phase evolution bringing new amenities and exhibits.
The 110-year-old Alamo City attraction announced the gift from the Texas Capital Foundation this week, calling it a "substantial contribution" to Phase 1 of its Generation Zoo campaign. The phase's priorities include a recently introduced 500-person event center called The Ralston and the upcoming gorilla habitat Congo Falls, set to open in late 2025 as the capper to Phase 1.
The zoo announced the $500,000 gift in an Instagram post, saying it's the latest Texas Capital donation over the last 20 years and marks "a significant milestone in the evolution of the zoo's facilities and offerings."
The zoo's master plan involves an estimated $67 million in additions, renovations and initiatives.
The Ralston, which zoo officials say is being funded entirely by donors, sits on top of the quarry walls overlooking the attraction. In essence, those using the center will be looking right over the gorillas, lions, giraffes and the entire African Savanna of the zoo, and, in the distance, a view of the downtown San Antonio skyline.
An expanded Savanna habitat is also set to open sometime this year, and the forthcoming Congo Falls will house eight western lowland gorillas when it's revealed next year. The last gorillas that called the zoo home, Mopie, was relocated to the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington D.C. in 1990.
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