‘Alpaca’ your things and go: Animals move to new Indianapolis Zoo in 1987

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s secure to say that shifting day on the Indianapolis Zoo in 1987 was, itself, a zoo.

Animals of each form and dimension had been packed up and transported from the previous zoo at George Washington Park close to Keystone Avenue and thirtieth Avenue, to the brand new one close to White River State Park in November 1987.

WRTV reporter Linda Lupear was there as just a few of the animals launched into their journey throughout city. Sadly, Lupear didn’t get to see any zoo headliners like lions, tigers and bears. As an alternative, her report targeted on alpacas, llamas and even a pig named Sadie.

The transfer from the 25-acre Indianapolis Zoo at George Washington Park was a very long time coming. Initially opened in 1964, the zoo featured greater than 500 animals. However house was tight.

In 1979, zoo director Roy Shea informed WRTV’s Ken Nelson that the Indianapolis Zoo was the smallest within the nation for a metropolis the scale of Indianapolis. Nelson reported that shifting to White River State Park was a distant risk.

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However in lower than 10 years, the animals had been on the transfer to the place they nonetheless name dwelling immediately.