Attendance, money woes plague future of Jackson Zoo
Recently, the Jackson Zoological Park announced the unexpected death of Casper the giraffe.
Prior to the death, zoo keepers reported that the 14-year-old reticulated giraffe was not feeling well.
Casper’s death could be seen as an allegory for the zoo itself, which in recent years also has suffered from declining health.
Attendance and revenues have steadily dropped, while at the same time, deferred maintenance has built up.
Further, because of a lack of revenue, park leaders made the decision to resign from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 2016, giving up accreditation with the national program.
When asked where she sees the zoo in five to 10 years, Executive Director Beth Poff wasn’t thinking that far ahead. “I’m more concerned about the zoo in the next two years,” she said. “Something’s going to have to happen. Maybe there’s a better location in the Jackson area where the zoo could start anew and survive.”
Since 2007, attendance at the West Capitol Street attraction has dropped by nearly half, with just 100,100 people walking through the park’s gates in fiscal year 2017. Compared, the park drew 106,000 people in 2016. In 2010, the zoo drew 150,000, and in 2007, it attracted 180,000, Poff said.
“We had dinosaurs this year. It was a great exhibit, but it didn’t do a thing for attendance. If anything, June of 2017 was worse than June 2016,” she said. “That was a big disappointment.”
“We really felt there would be a big spike. In 2003, the last time we had dinosaurs, we had close to 180,000 people. Zoo attendance hasn’t been over 200,000 going as far back as 2000.”
Fewer visitors translates into less revenue for the cash-strapped park, which has also seen a decline in funding from the city, as well as a drop in giving from donors.
Zoo operating expenses have been cut to bare bones. Today, the park has 33 full-time employees, down from 37 in 2016. Additionally, six open positions have been frozen.
Poff estimates there is more than a million dollars in deferred maintenance.
At least $20,000 is needed to repair the filtration system on the beaver exhibit. Another $5,000 to $8,000 is needed to repair the otter exhibit, which is leaking, Poff said.
“We’ve had to put that on hold for now. The little bit of funding we do have, we’re addressing (other leaks), like the chimp moat.”
A large moat surrounds the chimpanzee exhibit. Because chimpanzees don’t swim, the moat prevents the animals from leaving the exhibit. The moat also means that wires, bars and other physical blockage doesn’t have to be added, which would obstruct visitors’ view of the exhibit, Poff said.
“It’s very important to keep water in the moat,” she said. “It sounds kind of silly, but chimps hate water. They don’t swim, they sink like a rock.”
Other projects that are moving forward include demolish the barn at the contact zoo.
“(We’re) still fighting the good fight,” Poff said.
The Jackson Zoo is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. It is funded through city allocations, contributions from donors, ticket and gift shop sales, as well as zoo memberships. Major fund-raisers include Zoo Brew, an annual party that generates about $40,000 in revenue, and Zoo Party, another event that generates about $50,000 annually, she said.
The zoo’s budget for fiscal year 2018 is $2.3 million, down from $2.4 million last year, but up from $2.1 million in 2016.
“The zoo lost AZA accreditation, and we got it back, and lost it again,” Poff said. “We withdrew from AZA because we knew we wouldn’t be able to keep it. AZA looks at financial stability.”
Part of the problem is changing allocations from the city. The zoo lost AZA accreditation in 2013, but regained it after city allocations increased. “We got it up to $1.2 million, then it was cut to $1 million, then $880,000,” she said. “Under Mayor (Chokwe Antar) Lumumba’s first year, we got it up to $980,000. Our request was for $1.5 million to work on deferred maintenance.”
Jackson could not give more, and raised property taxes by two mills to help offset revenue shortfalls.
The zoo is governed by the Jackson Zoological Society Board of Directors. The board includes 16 people, seven of whom are appointed by the city.
While allocations from Jackson have steadily dropped, major donors are also giving less.
“(Donors interviewed) do not have confidence in the future of the zoo and need to see that the zoo’s financial position is viable and sustainable,” according to a 2016 report from an independent consultant.
Poff would not release the study to protect the names of those interviewed by the firm, but did provide a copy of the executive summary.
Interviewees were primarily concerned about the zoo’s location and its lack support from city government.
The zoo is located at 2918 W. Capitol St. Traveling from the I-220, visitors going to the zoo drive past about a dozen abandoned, dilapidated homes and overgrown lots.
In 2013, the zoo put together a “blue ribbon” committee to explore moving the park to a new location. However, at the time, zoo officials made a commitment to stay in the neighborhood. Zoo leaders are again looking into whether the zoo should be relocated.
At the time, the city made a commitment to end blight in the area.
Questions spring up not only about the neighborhood, but about the age of the zoo itself. The park leases 110 acres from the city, of which approximately 54 are developed, according to the zoo’s Web site.
The zoo has approximately 200 species, but has lost major attractions in recent years. In 2010, the zoo announced plans to move its elephants to the Nashville Zoo. The animals were one of the park’s most popular attractions, but the zoo would have had to spend an estimated $10 million to build a creature habitat to maintain accreditation, Poff said.
This year, the zoo three orangutans were also relocated. “After (she) had her baby, there was not enough space. After talking with the orangutan (species survival program), we decided to spend the male to (a place) where there are more females, and the female to a place with a bigger area,” she said. “It was our decision as a staff, and better for the orangutans.”
In August, the zoo announced that its white rhinoceros, Robbie, had passed away at 43. And last week, Emerson, the zoo’s 10-year-old Sumatran tiger on loan to the Atlanta Zoo, died.
The zoo opened in 1919 and moved to its Livingston Park site in 1921. It was operated by the city until 1986, when the Jackson Zoological Society was formed, according to the Web site.
Jim Wilkirson, a former president of the Friends of the Jackson Zoo, a former nonprofit that merged with other zoo support groups to become part of the zoological society, said zoo leaders have discussed relocating the park for years.
“Any time you have structures that are that old and almost original to the zoo, at what point do you rehab, renovate and continue as opposed to building a new zoo,” he said.
The first in a series.
