Take A Walk On The Wild Side - Online Zoo and Aquatic Park Magazine

February 2009

OREGON ZOO ATTENDANCE REACHES ALL-TIME HIGH... AGAIN

Visitors flock to zoo in record numbers despite rain, snow, recession

PORTLAND, OR -- A yearlong recession? One of the coldest, wettest springs in recent memory? The biggest batch of snow in 50 years? It all sounds like bad news for a mostly outdoor, fee-based attraction, right? Maybe not, if you're the Oregon Zoo.

For the third year in a row, and the fourth time in the past five years, the zoo broke its all-time calendar-year attendance record, with 1,593,907 visitors in 2008. This marks the second time zoo attendance has topped 1.5 million in a calendar year. The previous record, set in 2007, was 1,503,565 visitors.

"It's been quite a year," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "It's gratifying to know that, despite a rough economy and despite some challenging weather, people really love the zoo."

Vecchio figures attendance might easily have topped 1.6 million, if severe winter storms hadn't forced the zoo to close for nearly a week in late December, a peak time for its popular ZooLights winter light display. ZooLights, a holiday tradition featuring more than a million brightly colored lights, had been on-pace to set its own attendance record before the closures.

Holidays in general were huge for the zoo in 2008, with record turnouts during the long weekends around Presidents Day (more than 27,000 visitors), Labor Day (more than 30,000) and Thanksgiving (more than 40,000). Attendance on Thanksgiving Day was the second-highest of any single day in the zoo's history: More than 15,000 visitors braved the rain, taking advantage of a free "open house" held in appreciation of the public's support for a $125 million bond measure to improve outdated exhibits and make the zoo more sustainable.

Summer, characteristically, was also a busy time for the zoo. "Dinosaurs!" -- featuring a fearsome life-size animatronic T. rex and more than 20 other prehistoric creatures -- proved the most popular temporary exhibit in the zoo's 121-year history, attracting 221,226 visitors from May 17 through Labor Day. The summer concert series was a big draw too, with capacity crowds taking in shows by the Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, Matisyahu and more. July, with 238,984 visitors, and August, with 231,195 visitors, were the zoo's two busiest months ever.

Toward summer's end, the baby elephant Samudra inspired the public, drawing big crowds after he joined his mother on exhibit Aug. 30. During September, 159,351 visitors passed through the gates, a record for the month.

"Samudra's arrival had an impact on our fall attendance," Vecchio said. "But it's interesting to note that we had our all-time best months for February, July and August -- before Sam's arrival. And we had our second-best months ever in May and June."

After such a successful 2008, the zoo's director anticipates an even better 2009.

"We have big plans for the new year," Vecchio said. "Lions, cheetahs and African wild dogs are coming to the zoo this summer, when we open our much-anticipated Predators of the Serengeti exhibit. And later in the year, Red Ape Reserve, our new orangutan and white-cheeked gibbon exhibit, is also set to open."

The first time the zoo's attendance topped a million was during 1962, the year Packy was born. The baby pachyderm, born that April, helped draw 1,211,170 visitors, eager to see the first elephant born in the United States in 44 years. It wasn't until 1989 that the zoo broke the million mark again. Since then, the zoo has welcomed more than a million guests in 17 of the past 20 years.

The Oregon Zoo continues to have the highest attendance of any fee-based tourist attraction in Oregon.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Washington's pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles, and Oregon spotted frogs. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus No. 63. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive $1 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo's Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $2 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.

OREGON ZOO MONTHLY ATTENDANCE - 2008

January: 24,091
February: 81,716 (monthly record)
March: 98,927
April: 116,452
May: 185,801 (second-best ever)
June: 188,276 (second-best ever; record was 1962, the year Packy was born)
July: 238,984 (monthly record)
August: 231,195 (monthly record)
September: 159,351 (monthly record)
October: 93,153 (third-best ever)
November: 92,710 (monthly record)
December: 83,251

Left: Samudra eats a snowball. The Oregon Zoo's 4-month-old Asian elephant inspired the public and helped boost zoo attendance from September onward, following record or near-record months from May through August. Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.

Right: A young visitor enjoys a moment with the Oregon Zoo's orangutans. Red Ape Reserve, a new orang exhibit set to open this year, could help zoo attendance reach another record in 2009. Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.