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The City of Portland has granted land-use approval to the Oregon Zoo for improvements to be made across the zoo site over the next decade. The decision, which took effect Jan. 28, allows work to proceed on the full complement of zoo projects approved by metro-area voters in 2008. In all, these projects will transform nearly 40 percent of the zoo site. "We're very grateful for this vote of confidence from City of Portland and equally grateful for the community's ongoing support," said Kim Smith, zoo director. "The zoo prides itself on doing the right thing — for the animals, of course, but also for our neighbors, for our visitors and for the entire community. The next 10 years should be among the most exciting in the zoo's 125-year history."

The Oregon Zoo’s Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum — home to elephant-related art, historical artifacts and a 7,000-year-old fossilized mastodon skeleton — will close its doors for good this month, as the zoo prepares for construction on Elephant Lands, a dramatic expansion of the Asian elephant habitat. Zoogoers wishing to see the museum one last time may visit Jan. 11-21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It's been a big year for Oregon Zoo elephants, from the 50th birthday of Packy in April to the birth of the newest member of the herd, Lily, in November. As the zoo celebrates a half-century of working with elephants, it looks forward to breaking ground on a visionary expansion of the Asian elephant habitat next spring.

He may be 7 feet shorter than his roommates, but it's no stretch to say Desi — the newest resident of the Oregon Zoo's Africa Savanna habitat — is now the tallest 2-year-old in town. The 10-foot-tall reticulated giraffe arrived from the St. Louis Zoo last month and has been warmly welcomed by Oregon Zoo keepers and staff, who think the young fellow will be a good companion for the zoo's two other giraffes, both 17-footers.