Nashville Zoo in Tennessee, US, has announced plans for further expansion on the zoo’s existing US$130m (€96m, £75.9m) development, with new exhibits to be added in addition to the planned 40-acre African plains.

The additional expansion will include several projects and upgrades, including a new entry plaza, new exhibits featuring Andean bears and spider monkeys, plus a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital.

Infrastructure improvements such as expanded parking, roads and walkways will also be added.

US$10m (€7.4m, £5.8m) has been allocated to the zoo by the City of Nashville for the expansion project, which will only be granted on the basis that the zoo can raise the same amount in private donations. The first of the four phases of the project will cost the zoo around US$43m (€31.7m, £25.1m).

From the existing plans, an African safari boat will give visitors unobstructed views as they ride through the new African exhibit space. That exhibit alone, which will feature lions, rhinos, cheetahs and many of the other new attractions, will more than double the number of animals on display at the zoo.

An interactive penguin exhibit is also planned which will allow visitors to walk among and even pet the penguins, before entering an underground room with a 360-degree underwater view of the birds swimming behind the glass.

Since opening it's doors in 1997, zoo attendance has grown by 1,000 per cent, with annual guest numbers expected to reach 1.3 million by 2020.