In this March 15, 2016, photo, visitors view the River Giants exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tenn. The aquarium's conservation institute is expanding its efforts to protect the endangered freshwater animals of the southeastern U.S.NASHVILLE - The Chattanooga Zoo will get a $200,000 state grant for its planned African expansion project featuring giraffes, while the Tennessee Aquarium will receive a like amount for a new exhibit filled with furry, tree-hopping lemurs.
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said funding for the two local institutions was provided through a $1 million amendment to the state's $34.9 billion 2016-2017 budget that goes into effect July 1.
The Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis zoos will receive $200,000 grants, as well.
McCormick said the downtown aquarium is on "really good footing," while the city's zoo, located in Warner Park, needed a little more funding to help expand its facility.
"They've got some pretty exciting things going on trying to get to a point where they can have giraffes and lions and really some major exhibits," McCormick said of the zoo. "So every little bump they get will be great."
Chattanooga's zoo is in the midst of raising $10 million for the biggest expansion in its nearly 80-year history. Plans call for bringing giraffes and lions and other animals to the 14-acre institution.
"It's enough to keep our momentum going," said Darde Long, the zoo's CEO and president, who said the grant will go toward constructing a home for the giraffes.
Giraffes are highly popular and serve as a draw for visitors, Long said. Right now, she said, visitors come to the zoo and want to know, "Where are the giraffes and the lions and zebras?"
In addition to being popular, giraffes are generally amiable toward humans.
The zoo, so far, has raised about a third of the overall expansion's $10 million target with one donor giving $1 million. The project is being done in two phases. If all goes according to plan, the entire project would be open in 2020. But officials plan to start with the giraffes.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Aquarium spokesman Thom Benson said officials plan to use the state grant for its planned lemur exhibit they hope to open in spring 2017 to coincide with the aquarium's 25th anniversary.
Lemurs are found only in Madagascar. They are considered prosimian, Latin for "pre-monkey." They differ from monkeys primarily in that the tip of a lemur's nose has no fur and is wet just like a dog or cat's nose. Monkeys have dry noses.
Benson said the aquarium is building a home for the lemurs on the north end of the Ocean Journey exhibit.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on twitter at AndySher1.