Traffic around the Queen's Park Savannah should not be a problem because of visitors hoping to see this country's first giraffes this weekend, says president of the Zoological Society Gupte Lutchmedial.
Lutchmedial, who expects a large number of visitors to the zoo today and tomorrow, said changes had been made to alleviate traffic problems caused by cars turning into the zoo.
Earlier this year, an 18-foot, 220-pound green anaconda nicknamed Sarp by zookeepers was taken to the zoo after being caught last December in Caroni. People flocked to the zoo to see the snake, causing a traffic nightmare.
"We have made changes in terms of our parking lot. We realised that last time, people would take too long stopping by security to figure out how much they needed to pay and how long they had stayed," Lutchmedial said.
Since then, the zoo has changed its procedure to implement one standard $20 fee which patrons will need to pay in advance. This, Lutchmedial hopes, will allow for a more free and steady flow of traffic. In addition, cars will not enter and exit through the same area.
Lutchmedial, who was observing the new male giraffes during the telephone interview on Thursday, said the animals were doing well.
"They have eaten and that is always a good sign. Last night (Wednesday) our officials monitored them throughout the night and they have settled in well."
Adjustments will have to be made to the giraffes' temporary enclosure.
"We are going to double the size of the enclosure so the animals can have more running space," Lutchmedial said.
He said people had already started visiting the zoo to catch a glimpse of the giraffes.
"Today we saw a lot of people in work clothes come in during the lunch hours to see them and this morning we had people waiting from around 7 am for the zoo to open."
The zoo opens at 9 am daily, but Lutchmedial said staff made an exception for the early visitors and allowed them to come in before the official opening hours.