COURT HOUSE – Those who had a strict upbringing know that after the holidays comes the thank-you notes.
It’s no different for the Cape May County Zoo’s animals, except it’s their human friends who have loaded the Facebook page of the Cape May County Zoo AAZK Chapter with images of animals enjoying their gifts, thanking zoo patrons by name.
That includes a photo of a speckled owl named Lenny watching a show about wildlife on a donated DVD player, with a shout out to the giver. The same for Nacho, an emperor tamarin, with its new blanket, and Bella the lion, who got new canvases as she learns to paint. The zoo plans to auction the completed images.
The page features bears and monkeys, giraffes and zebras, a happy–looking skunk, and many more enjoying gifts chosen from a list prepared by the zookeepers.
One thanks unlikely to be sent by the grandkids: On Jan. 1, the staff posted images of goats chowing down on the green needles of donated Christmas trees, along with a promise to share more.
The active and popular page helps the zoo remain connected to the public.
“I can’t say enough about the employees in the park and zoo,” said E. Marie Hayes, the county commissioner who oversees the county parks system, including the zoo. “Those animals are like members of their families.”
She said she was astonished when she first dealt with the death of one of the animals, with zoo staff members inconsolable over the loss. Visitors, too, build strong, emotional connections to the animals, which keeps them coming back each year.
‘Bursting at the Seams’
The zoo opened in 1978, with some spider monkeys, barnyard animals, and New Jersey wildlife, along with an African lion. For years, park personnel constructed the exhibits as they added species, building out the zoo on land donated to the county in the 1940s; 40 acres that were once the Matthews plantation.
The expansion continued for decades, with a major step coming in 1989, when the zoo became accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, meaning the zoo meets commission standards for animal care, conservation, and more. That includes providing the animals with an environment that stimulated their natural behavior.
The zoo kept that accreditation ever since. It is a member of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, or AAZK, as well. It also continued to expand, with hundreds of species from around the world housed in an expansive area. The most recent major addition came in 2015, with the opening of a new exhibit for the zoo’s snow leopards, a rare cat from the Himalayas.
Throughout this time, the zoo has not charged admission, although there are donation buckets at the park and zoo entrances. That’s helped ensure the zoo remains a popular attraction. Except when extreme weather causes a closure, the zoo remains open year-round, every day but Christmas.
On a mild winter day, crowds of families stroll the grounds, watching the monkeys cavort and waiting for the male lion to roar. In the summer, the zoo can be close to overwhelmed, especially on days when visiting families don’t go to the beach.
“It’s difficult for the staff during the season,” said Gerald Thornton, the director of the Board of Commissioners, which, until Jan. 1, was known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders. “If there’s a cloudy day, they get backed up. It’s very difficult to park.”
Plans are in the works to create new parking areas, Thornton said, adding that there remains plenty of space in the park. He hopes to see a proposal finalized in 2021.
“Let’s hope we can address it. We’ve been talking about it on and off for more than a year now,” Thornton said. According to Hayes, plans were being developed before longtime county engineer Dale Foster retired, in 2018. The additional crowds require new infrastructure, she said.
“The zoo was always popular. Recently, it’s just totally blown up,” she said. “On a really busy day, they’re parking on a field. It’s gotten so popular that it’s bursting at the seams.”
Everything Changed in 2020
In previous years, the zoo drew about 650,000 visitors. Last year’s numbers are likely to be far lower. The zoo shut down completely from March until late spring to comply with Gov. Phil Murphy’s emergency orders, as the spread of Covid intensified.
“We had to totally shut down,” Hayes said. With no visitors, the donations also dropped off. She said employees started to organize fundraisers.
Meanwhile, the animals still needed to be fed and cared for. Shifts were organized so that crews could care for the animals without violating limits on social distance.
Even after restrictions eased or lifted, the zoo continued to limit the number of visitors and require face masks. Indoor attractions, the aviary and the reptile house, remained closed.
“We’re hurting just like everybody else,” Hayes said. She is confident the zoo will bounce back as a vaccine allows a return to normalcy.
Potential Revenue Sources
The question of finances at the zoo came up at a candidate event, in Middle Township, during the 2020 campaign for county government. Both Republican incumbents, Will Morey and Jeffrey Pierson, said there was no move to begin charging admission at the zoo. It’s an idea that Hayes and Thornton also rejected in recent interviews.
According to Thornton, the donations, at the door and from bequests from residents who love the zoo, are considerable, covering much of the facility’s operating cost. Keeping the zoo free helped it become a major attraction, he said.
Also, according to Hayes, avoiding admission fees keeps the zoo accessible to local families who might otherwise not be able to afford a visit.
“One of the county gems is to be able to keep it free. There are a lot of families that can’t afford to go to the Philadelphia Zoo. They can come to the Cape May County Zoo, come to the park and just have a wonderful family day,” she said.
Morey said, at the event, that there were other ways to increase revenue. For instance, he suggested charging for some parking, potentially creating a premium lot close to the entrance, while keeping the more remote section free, or charging to park busses.
There has been no formal discussion about the idea by the county’s governing body, Thornton said.
At the same event, Pierson cited another proposal to expand the zoo’s dining options, which are operated under a contract with the facility’s vending giant, Aramark.
According to Hayes, the timing of that project has not been finalized. The zoo’s facilities expanded from a snack bar to an outside seating area near the entrance. As proposed, the new project will include indoor seating with a clear enclosure that will allow visitors to safely dine next to the lions.
Few details were available about the zoo’s total operating expenses, with several county employees unavailable due to vacations scheduled between the holidays.
In 2009, a published account put the annual cost of the zoo at $1.65 million, with close to $700,000 raised by donations and over $300,000 more coming in from the concession contract with Aramark.
The adopted county budget for 2020 puts the total appropriation for county parks at just over $2 million. It shows a total of $430,000 from concession fees countywide.
Thornton said he speaks with county and local officials from throughout the region and often hears from people in other states that they love to visit the zoo each summer while on vacation at the shore. He described the zoo as an important attraction.
In 2015, the Cape May County Zoo was listed as the world’s 13th best zoo, as compiled by tripadvisor.com. Reviewers on the site lauded the zoo, with each of the featured reviews mentioning “free” prominently.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
