POCATELLO — Zoo Idaho officially opened its long-awaited Zoo Connections Entrance and Gift Shop on Thursday.

The log cabin structure is 1,200 square feet and contains the tickets booth, concessions, a gift shop and restrooms. The project — which was funded by Connections Credit Union and the Zoo Idaho Zoological Society — was announced in 2018, and construction began in early 2021.

“The Zoo Connections Entrance and Gift Shop is the centerpiece of where we are taking Zoo Idaho,” Zoo Idaho Superintendent Peter Pruett said in a press release. “The log cabin is a perfect addition and a great way to welcome each guest into the zoo.”

According to the press release, “Established in 1932, Zoo Idaho is an indigenous species zoo and is home to orphaned or injured animals from the region that would have likely not survived in the wild.”

For more information, visit zooidaho.org.