COVID-19 effects on zoos and animal conservation

In what has been a bit chaotic turn of events, the timetable of easing restrictions in the Czech Republic, was sped up by two weeks. This effectively means that zoos are able to open on 27th April with indoor exhibits being open from 25th May.

Although some smaller private zoos already announced that they will open a bit later, because they won't be able to prepare everything on such short notice.
 
HOMIN96 said:
In what has been a bit chaotic turn of events, the timetable of easing restrictions in the Czech Republic, was sped up by two weeks. This effectively means that zoos are able to open on 27th April with indoor exhibits being open from 25th May.

Although some smaller private zoos already announced that they will open a bit later, because they won't be able to prepare everything on such short notice.
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Prague zoo director just said its zoo will open directly on Monday 27th because the local govements wishes so. I just hope he will be able to organize the waiting line on gate so that people can keep their 2 meter distance, and cars have enough parking spaces. People are very keen to go out with such nice weather, I am afraid it will be complete and utter chaos.
 
Jana said:
Prague zoo director just said its zoo will open directly on Monday 27th because the local govements wishes so.
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I was really amused by that statement, you can really tell from it that he doesn't want to open... :rolleyes:
 
HOMIN96 said:
I was really amused by that statement, you can really tell from it that he doesn't want to open... :rolleyes:
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I would actually tend to believe he has bitter-sweet feeling about it. Prague has by far the most cases of covid from whole country, many people rather moved to their sommer houses and cottages outside the city if they could. Troja is especially hard hit. He knows that April and Mai weekends have the highest attendance figures from the whole year. So imagine behaviour of people, who stay home (schools are closed so with children), coudnt go anywhere for 7 weeks, borders closed, outside is perfect weather and now their favourite zoo opens? Not to mention he needs to prepaire the whole areal and hire part-timers in just 3 days - toilet cleaners, cashiers, foodstand sellers, wending machine fillers, parking fee collectors, trash collectors, guides who will watch over walkthrough exhibits. It is really short notice!
 
Jana said:
I would actually tend to believe he has bitter-sweet feeling about it. Prague has by far the most cases of covid from whole country, many people rather moved to their sommer houses and cottages outside the city if they could. Troja is especially hard hit. He knows that April and Mai weekends have the highest attendance figures from the whole year. So imagine behaviour of people, who stay home (schools are closed so with children), coudnt go anywhere for 7 weeks, borders closed, outside is perfect weather and now their favourite zoo opens? Not to mention he needs to prepaire the whole areal and hire part-timers in just 3 days - toilet cleaners, cashiers, foodstand sellers, wending machine fillers, parking fee collectors, trash collectors, guides who will watch over walkthrough exhibits. It is really short notice!
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Having foreseen all those problems, why hasn't he commissioned an on-line, pre-purchase ticket system to limit attendance? No ticket = no entry. The zoo can set the number per day, even numbers per morning and per afternoon, and can adjust the numbers depending what happens and what the Government demands.

These systems are available pretty much off-the shelf from a number of software suppliers, some of whom have been touting for business since this all started.
 
Jana said:
Not to mention he needs to prepaire the whole areal and hire part-timers in just 3 days - toilet cleaners, cashiers, foodstand sellers, wending machine fillers, parking fee collectors, trash collectors, guides who will watch over walkthrough exhibits. It is really short notice!
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Well, at least some of those are almost certainly full-time employed by a zoo, so I would expect them to be ready to come back. I have friends between the guides so I know they are certainly ready to come back. Wending machine fillers are not employed by the zoo, the company that runs the vending machines hires them so those won't be a problem too.


Andrew Swales said:
Having foreseen all those problems, why hasn't he commissioned an on-line, pre-purchase ticket system to limit attendance? No ticket = no entry. The zoo can set the number per day, even numbers per morning and per afternoon, and can adjust the numbers depending what happens and what the Government demands.
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I would guess they want to minimize the losses as much as possible, thus they don't want to limit it. Also, they still ask people to practice social distancing, wearing face masks, etc...
 
More details were published by our government on what precautions must be in place for the zoo to be allowed to open:

  • tickets can be sold only through on-line systems (but simultaneously souvenir shops and food stands can be open :rolleyes::rolleyes:)
  • daily attendance is limited to 150 people per hectare
  • more intensive disinfection of whole zoo grounds is required, benches and other seatings must be at least 4 meters from each other
  • zoos need to take extra measures to make sure that social distancing and other preventive actions are done in place with a high density of visitors i. e. rest zones, bathrooms, playgrounds,...

While this is easily done by the big zoos, some smaller ones aren't quite pleased with this, either with the "on-line sale only" measure, as they can't afford to purchase the system or it won't be profitable enough for them in the long run. Some of them also don't see much sense in the on-line purchase of tickets but open souvenir shops...
 
HOMIN96 said:
More details were published by our government on what precautions must be in place for the zoo to be allowed to open:

  • tickets can be sold only through on-line systems (but simultaneously souvenir shops and food stands can be open :rolleyes::rolleyes:)
  • daily attendance is limited to 150 people per hectare
  • more intensive disinfection of whole zoo grounds is required, benches and other seatings must be at least 4 meters from each other
  • zoos need to take extra measures to make sure that social distancing and other preventive actions are done in place with a high density of visitors i. e. rest zones, bathrooms, playgrounds,...

While this is easily done by the big zoos, some smaller ones aren't quite pleased with this, either with the "on-line sale only" measure, as they can't afford to purchase the system or it won't be profitable enough for them in the long run. Some of them also don't see much sense in the on-line purchase of tickets but open souvenir shops...
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Thank you - as always very interesting to see what is actually being done, not just talked about.

The 150/hectare is interesting, and provokes a couple of thoughts.

How is the area calculated, is it the whole site, or just the paths the public has access to?

To compare, what number would (say) Prague have per hectare on a normal day in May in a normal year?

If the 150 is lower than normal, will they increase entrance prices to compensate for the reduced footfall?

The on-line ticket system looks as though it will cost around UK£ 1500 to set up, and then on-going around £ 1 per person (fees for the software company and card facility), on top of each ticket sold.
 
Andrew Swales said:
How is the area calculated, is it the whole site, or just the paths the public has access to?
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Right now it seems that every zoo approached it differently, but not many announced that daily limit yet so we will know for sure probably next week. Brno announced their limit on cca 5 500 people. That would give us area of 36,6 ha, which is slightly over 50% of their reported area (65ha) so it is safe to assume they use the public space only method.

Jihlava announced the cap on 1 500 visitors daily which means they use, whole zoo area, but given the fact that Jihlava has basically non-existing off-shows, it is probably accurate for the public space as well.

Andrew Swales said:
To compare, what number would (say) Prague have per hectare on a normal day in May in a normal year?
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I would say that for the most zoos the cap is most similar to the Saturday/Sunday level of attendance, rather than let's say middle of a working week, maybe a bit more than usual for some zoos. The only zoo I feel might be slightly handicapped by this is Jihlava, but only during weekends with nice weather.
If my math is correct, the daily cap of Prague should be around 9 000 which is perfectly fine for them at this time of year I guess. Also as reported, the director of Prague isn't happy with this earlier opening, so they might even set the cap lower.

Andrew Swales said:
If the 150 is lower than normal, will they increase entrance prices to compensate for the reduced footfall?
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No zoo announced such measure, Brno even said they were thinking about switching to off-season prices, but eventually decided not to, so they won't lose more money.


Andrew Swales said:
The on-line ticket system looks as though it will cost around UK£ 1500 to set up, and then on-going around £ 1 per person (fees for the software company and card facility), on top of each ticket sold.
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I am not an IT guy, so I have no idea what are the costs of such thing here. But most of the zoos didn't have an e-shop before, so now they have to rush it during the weekend. Some of the smaller ones even think about using e-shop of other company (as a sort of partnership) so they don't have to set it up themselves. Also as I said, the owners of these smaller zoos can't quite fathom why the tickets have to be sold online, but having souvenir shops open is perfectly fine...

Some zoos (Usti, Olomouc, Vyškov, possibly Plzen) already announced that their opening will be delayed to beginning of May so they can better prepare everything to be in accordance with government ruling and don't rush it.
 
HOMIN96 said:
  • zoos need to take extra measures to make sure that social distancing and other preventive actions are done in place with a high density of visitors i. e. rest zones, bathrooms, playgrounds,...
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This is the rule that interests me. Will there be cadres of Zoo Distancing Police roaming the grounds chiding visitors to step away from each other? "Half of you watching the lions must vacate this viewing area IMMEDIATELY!" "Will the gentlemen in bathroom stalls #2, #4 and #6 please vacate the stall NOW!"
 
HOMIN96 said:
Right now it seems that every zoo approached it differently, but not many announced that daily limit yet so we will know for sure probably next week. Brno announced their limit on cca 5 500 people. That would give us area of 36,6 ha, which is slightly over 50% of their reported area (65ha) so it is safe to assume they use the public space only method.

Jihlava announced the cap on 1 500 visitors daily which means they use, whole zoo area, but given the fact that Jihlava has basically non-existing off-shows, it is probably accurate for the public space as well.



I would say that for the most zoos the cap is most similar to the Saturday/Sunday level of attendance, rather than let's say middle of a working week, maybe a bit more than usual for some zoos. The only zoo I feel might be slightly handicapped by this is Jihlava, but only during weekends with nice weather.
If my math is correct, the daily cap of Prague should be around 9 000 which is perfectly fine for them at this time of year I guess. Also as reported, the director of Prague isn't happy with this earlier opening, so they might even set the cap lower.



No zoo announced such measure, Brno even said they were thinking about switching to off-season prices, but eventually decided not to, so they won't lose more money.




I am not an IT guy, so I have no idea what are the costs of such thing here. But most of the zoos didn't have an e-shop before, so now they have to rush it during the weekend. Some of the smaller ones even think about using e-shop of other company (as a sort of partnership) so they don't have to set it up themselves. Also as I said, the owners of these smaller zoos can't quite fathom why the tickets have to be sold online, but having souvenir shops open is perfectly fine...

Some zoos (Usti, Olomouc, Vyškov, possibly Plzen) already announced that their opening will be delayed to beginning of May so they can better prepare everything to be in accordance with government ruling and don't rush it.
Click to expand...

Thanks again - the small details are very interesting, especially as we watch the Czech experiment from behind our closed doors and chaotic politics.

I would say to the small zoos that there is a very marked difference between the on-line ticket sales and the kiosks being open, as the on-line entry ticket purchase controls and reduces the number of people going to the site in the first place.

The IT costs I mentioned are the UK price for a package bought in from a specialist software company which handles the whole thing, including the link to the zoos own website, which does not need its own shop. The timescale could be an issue though. We have just commissioned a system which is being done on a 'pay us in the future' and 3 months credit for the initial deposit, but it wont be live until June.
 
HOMIN96 said:
If my math is correct, the daily cap of Prague should be around 9 000 which is perfectly fine for them at this time of year I guess. Also as reported, the director of Prague isn't happy with this earlier opening, so they might even set the cap lower.
Click to expand...

Daily limit was set at 8500 visitors per day. However, the zoo said they will sell less tickets because part of this capacity will be used by holders of annual passes or prepaid tickets.

Prague zoo gets around 200.000 attendance during typical May, so 6500 per day. The new limit will surely not be enough during weekends. And it may be even not sufficient during weekdays, given nice weather and most other leisure attractions still closed.

I am mostly afraid about ugly scenes at the gate when pensioners will find out they cant just buy a ticket on spot while many are not used to online purchasing. They will probably hear that zoos are open again while wathing TV channel without realising the details about tickets.
 
Jana said:
I am mostly afraid about ugly scenes at the gate when pensioners will find out they cant just buy a ticket on spot while many are not used to online purchasing. They will probably hear that zoos are open again while wathing TV channel without realising the details about tickets.
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Not a fan of pensioners, I see :p
 
Today the Belgian National Security Council held a meeting on the Belgian strategy on modifying and relaxing the Covid-19 containment and quarantine measures, and announced the major outlines of that strategy.

In this strategy the reopening of tourist attractions like zoos is part of the third phase of the exit strategy, which will begin no earlier than June 8th - and that date is still a very tentative target date. It was made clear that a lot can change and that this date is highly likely to be moved further back. And as far as I understand June 8th might be the earliest date the reopening of tourist attractions will even be discussed and/or decided upon, and not even the earliest date it might occur.

As a result all Belgian zoos will have to remain closed until at least June 8th. They have now already been closed for a month and a half and they are facing another month and a half at least, right in one of the best periods of the year. For the smaller zoos (Pakawi/Olmen, Zonnegloed, smaller parks in Wallonia and so on) this is rather disastrous - they are already struggling and I don't know how they will make it for that much longer. And with such an extended closure still ahead I see even the bigger parks like Antwerp, Planckendael and Pairi Daiza getting into trouble in the near future.

Even if a reopening is able to take place after June 8th, social distancing measures and visitor restrictions are going to be in effect, impacting a zoo visit and the bottom line of zoos.

I do of course understand the public health reasoning behind this and see the necessity of this, but I find it very hard to digest as there is so little perspective and so little hope able to be given for the summer months.

Add to this the fact that Belgium has been hit pretty hard by Covid-19, whatever way you look at it, and that the curve is only going down very slowly. Also consider that far too many people are not following the containment restrictions, a number that has increased as people have begun to grow tired of the lockdown, and that Belgians are somewhat infamous for being a people of undisciplined scofflaws. As a result I'm not at all sanguine about sufficient adherence to social distancing, usage of common sense and civic public responsibility once a relaxation possibly happens. Finally there have been several dire and extremely disconcerting warnings by virologists and other experts in different media about the dangers of relaxing restrictions and about an almost certainly coming second wave of Covid-19.

I really, really want to be hopeful and optimistic for the future of zoos, but I have great difficulty finding any ground for hope or optimism about the future of Belgian zoos (and to an extent zoos in other countries also) at this point. I really cannot see how they could survive a crisis that might never end or will likely last many more months, if not years, if a final resolution (vaccine?) ever comes at all.
 
KevinB said:
I really, really want to be hopeful and optimistic for the future of zoos, but I have great difficulty finding any ground for hope or optimism about the future of Belgian zoos (and to an extent zoos in other countries also) at this point. I really cannot see how they could survive a crisis that might never end or will likely last many more months, if not years, if a final resolution (vaccine?) ever comes at all.
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The crisis will end but it is as you say in that it is likely to continue for the forseeable future and I also share your concern about the future of zoos worldwide. It is a sad thought indeed but perhaps a good many of these institutions are going to end up on the "Zoo history" forum thread of this site.

I think that a stochastic event like the COVID-19 pandemic combined with other compounding factors like the already powerful "Animal rights" movement against zoos and the lack of political / economical interest is going to spell out a disaster in the long-term.

My main concern is obviously what the implications of this are going to have for effective ex-situ conservation and the supporting role that zoos have for supporting critical in-situ work. In general conservation of biodiversity always figures last on the list of priorities in troubling times and I fear that this is going to be the case in the post COVID-19 world not only with the zoos that do manage to survive but across the board and including NGO's (which are also threatened with closure).

Even so I do think (or perhaps "hope" would be a much better word) that at least some zoos will have the resilience to survive through the next couple of months but their future is obviously going to be a very uncertain / shaky one.
 
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Not sure if these have already been covered - but there were some articles published by the ABC here in Australia about people caring for zoo animals at home:

Museum worker makes room for 100 spiders after working from home takes creepy twist

While many of us now spend our workday at home following Zoom meetings and email trails, one Queenslander is filling up the hours keeping more than 50 spiders alive.

Eamon Amsters, who cares for spiders at the Queensland Museum, has been working from home — in isolation, albeit with a few long-legged guests.

"I have 50 spiders from funnel-web spiders, red-back spiders, huntsmen and trap-door spiders all here with me," he told ABC Radio Brisbane, adding that he already had about 50 in his personal collection.

... read more​

This one is about the Gamboa Sloth Sanctuary and Wildlife Rescue Centre in Panama:

Working from home — with sloths in the spare room

Working from home is the new normal for many people — and for Raquel Cruz Alpizar, it's meant moving three unlikely new housemates into her spare room.

Since coronavirus restrictions took hold, she's been caring around the clock for Kate, Leticia and Futbol.

...

But the job of taking care of sloths from home doesn't come without a few household adjustments.

"Sloths need structures made from tree branches to be able to rest, move and feed naturally. They cannot be in a cage or a kennel," Raquel says.

So Raquel — a veterinarian with a sloth sanctuary in Panama — modified her guest room to suit them, replacing furniture with branches and baskets.

... read more​
 
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