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Maryland Zoo Shortens Season
According to the website of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore the zoo has announced an early closing - get those children bundled up for one last visit with Samson the baby elephant and all of the other fabulous animals.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will close for the winter season this year beginning on December 15 and will reopen Saturday, March 14, 2009. The Zoo, which is closed during January and February, is taking this step to spend additional time on zoo campus improvements, while at the same time offsetting recent budget cuts.
“When reviewing our operating budget, we realized that closing the Zoo for an additional four weeks would save a substantial amount of money, as well as allowing us to start early on some planned improvements,” said Don Hutchinson, interim president/CEO. “It was not a decision we made lightly, as it does affect some of our seasonal staff. However, the Zoo currently operates without a reserve fund, has no endowment, and is in need of costly structural repairs. So after considering a number of options, we are choosing to move in this direction.”
While the Zoo is closed to the public, animal care staff will be still be working closely with the animals and the Zoo’s education staff will be concentrating on the Zoo’s Outreach programs which bring animals and education programs to schools, senior centers and community centers all over Maryland. On Zoo grounds, a number of capital projects will be undertaken. These projects are largely funded by capital dollars provided by the state of Maryland, Baltimore City and Baltimore County:
o Lion holding area and Wading Bird roof repairs,
o Elephant floor and outdoor shade structure installation,
o Miscellaneous repairs, the primary focus of which is to correct life support and safety issues throughout the Zoo,
o Village Green (concessions area) renovation,
o Roof, gutter and porch repairs on the historic Maryland Building,
o Completion of a new manure handling system, and
o Replacement of the Hospital roof.
“We encourage people to come visit us over the next few weeks,” continued Hutchinson. “Many of the animals are more active in the cool fall weather, and we have some fun on-grounds programming coming up like Wild Cat Awareness Weekend which the keepers have been working on for our guests. We also have a baby spoonbill stork in our African Aviary which is just starting to hop out and around the exhibit.”
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is accredited by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums. .
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