The ABQ BioPark’s BUGarium reopened Friday after a renovation costing $1.45 million, with redesigned habitats intended to give animal-care staff more options for housing its collection. The facility now features more than 100 species, including returning naked mole rats and a new leafcutter ant colony, KRQE reported.
The changes include exhibits that can accommodate burrows or arboreal tanks, allowing keepers to match habitat setups to different animals, KRQE reported. The renovation announcement from the City of Albuquerque had described goals of improving the visitor experience, making animal-care work more efficient and increasing flexibility in some arthropod habitats.
A capital project supported by public funding
KRQE reported that the project was funded through gross receipts tax revenue and state Legislature funds. The city’s BioPark gross receipts tax fund is designated for long-term capital improvements across the Zoo, Aquarium, Botanic Garden and Tingley Beach, according to a City of Albuquerque Office of Internal Audit report.
The dedicated tax is one-eighth of 1% and was approved by Albuquerque voters in October 2015. It took effect in July 2016 and is authorized through June 30, 2031, the audit report says. That citywide capital-funding context does not, by itself, specify how much of the BUGarium project came from each funding source.
New habitats and a changing collection
Among the new features, the leafcutter ant exhibit lets visitors watch ants travel between their colony and a food source, carrying material back to the nest. A window allows visitors to view the activity from below, KRQE reported. The naked mole rats have also returned in a habitat modeled on the darkness of underground burrows; the colony has babies, the station reported.
The reported species count has also changed over time, though the figures are not necessarily a direct comparison. A 2016 city post put the collection at about 68 arthropod species, while current reopening coverage describes more than 100 species. The different dates and descriptions do not establish a like-for-like count.
The BUGarium closed for renovation in December 2025. Its reopening returns the exhibit to public view with a revised layout and new habitats, as well as familiar residents such as tarantulas, grasshoppers and stick bugs, KRQE reported.
