The financial and economic impact of ordered COVID-19 closures is impacting everyone from individuals and families to small businesses and larger institutions. And the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is one place feeling those effects.
In a press release, the zoo says closing its doors to the public has hit the nonprofit especially hard.
“We still have mouths, beaks, jaws and maws to feed and care for,” said Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard in the release. “Our animal and plant care team, veterinarians, and essential facilities crew all remain on grounds to maintain the excellent care that we provide each and every day of the year, while practicing social distancing to keep our teams healthy.”
The zoo says it will lose millions of dollars each month it is closed without the money it makes from admission, food sales, parking, rides and more. More than 1.8 million visitors come to the zoo each year producing a $143 million impact; March and April tend to be the biggest months for the zoo.
To help offset the loss in funding, the zoo is asking members to renew their membership (or gift one) and for people to donate to the Emergency Operating Fund or symbolically adopt an animal.
While the zoo started preparing for supply chain problems weeks ago — and has food and medicine and future sources of both for the animals — it has asked volunteers to stay home; full-time employees have absorbed their roles. For example, the zoo says members of the animal and maintenance teams who are certified divers are cleaning the hippo pool instead of diver volunteers.
“Many of the jobs here at the Zoo are so specialized that only a handful of individuals are able to do them,” said Maynard in the release. “There are very few people who know how to care for an elephant or a hippo.”
Maynard says everyone is pitching in and making sure the specialized animal staff stays healthy.
“We are being creative and trying to generate new sources of revenue,” Maynard said. “The fact is, however, that we have an urgent need for resources to continue providing excellent care to our animals and to maintain our facilities, so that when this crisis has passed, we can get back to business. This community has always supported the Zoo, but that support is more critical than ever.”
Learn more about the zoo at cincinnatizoo.org.
This article appears in Best Of Cincinnati 2020 (12098053).
