Onondaga County approved a state of the art animal health care clinic for the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in 2018. Despite setbacks, budget issues, and the weather, the health care facility is becoming a reality.

After a season of isolation and loss, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo wants to remind people it is open and moving forward, focusing on health and the safety of the animals.

"We were the first zoo in New York to open," said Zoo Director Ted Fox. "It was really important for the county executive to have that happen. He wanted to make sure as soon as possible there as somewhere that the community members could go."

Fox is the official "zoo daddy" to more 700 species. Ask him anything about any of the animals, and like a proud papa, he’ll tell you a lot.

Fox's excitement overflows though when he speaks about the future for caring for the animals.

"This is so exciting. We’ve been waiting for about 15 years for this project to come to fruition," he said.

The health clinic will be 20,000 square feet and cost $8.3 million to build. The health of the animals is a priority and key to the zoo’s success. They try to keep care on site as much as possible.

Not all outcomes are good. In December, the zoo lost two Asian elephant calves to a virus.

"We are heavily involved with research projects with the exotic animals that we have," Fox said. "Like EEHV, the elephant herpes virus. We’ll be doing some more of that as well, which will only help all the animals that live here."

This month, Onondaga County approved $200,000 for the camera system improvements to the zoo.

"So cameras are going to be so important to keep monitoring our collection," Fox said. "Making sure they’re healthy. Making sure the visitors are safe and healthy as well. It all goes hand in hand."

Fox noted these are health and safety improvements that will enhance the experience for the visitors the animals and beyond.

"I want to make sure people understand how important the health care of them and how that connects to environments all around the world," he added.

Construction on the animal health clinic should be completed by September of this year.