Caribbean Coast Is Open For Business In Stoneham

There were CEOs, board chairs, politicians, and big donors in attendance. But the real stars of the show were pink and noisy.

Stone Zoo opened its new $4 million Caribbean Coast exhibit Thursday morning, combining with the new entry way that opened in August to remake a zoo that decades ago was old and tired into an exciting, colorful, and yes, even noisy, attraction right in the heart of Stoneham.

"Caribbean Coast is going to transform Stone Zoo and put smiles on faces for years to come," said Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan, who presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

As the first of many school groups poured through the entry way they were greeted by 54 flamingos, all seemingly voicing opinions on their first visitors. The flamingos weren't alone, with colorful scarlet ibis, macaws, and Jamaican iguanas also inside the mesh-topped enclosure.

Continue along the Calypso Trail, past steel drums ready to bang on, past flamingo yoga stations, to the bush dogs, where a male and female were getting used to their new exhibit. Linehan described the dogs as looking "more like bears than little dogs." Normally the small but muscular bush dogs are "rather secretive" according to Linehan but the Stone exhibit puts them right in front of guests. The male comes from a zoo in California, the female from the Czech Republic.

Thursday's opening was a long time coming for those who work at the Stone Zoo. Construction crews showed up last September and work continued during the long winter. The announcement of the new exhibit came in March as the pieces started to take shape. One of those final pieces came last week when the flamingos were moved into their new home. There's still work to be done, including a feeding station where guests can feed the flamingos.

At the ceremony, which included the presentation of a citation from the legislature, State Senator Jason Lewis called the new Stone Zoo an "economic engine for the area" that combined education, conservation, and plain old fun.

Based on the noise coming from his pink constituents, all agreed.