Jackson Zoo Jackson Zoo news

Milwaukee Man said:
The Zoo's orangutans are moving to new homes, and the Zoological Society has resigned from the AZA.

Jackson Zoo loses orangutans
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This zoo is in crisis mode!

Jackson Zoo has bucked the trend of American zoos for years now. The vast majority of zoos see their attendance numbers creep ever upwards, but when I visited Jackson Zoo in 2012 the facility had experienced 5 consecutive years of declining attendance. That is an astonishing fact for the main zoo in the entire state of Mississippi. In 2006 the zoo hit a target of almost 200,000 visitors (still not a lot) and in 2015 the zoo had 100,000 visitors. What is the reason for such a calamitous drop? I do know that the surrounding neighborhood has been a concern but there are other American zoos that have survived in tough environments and I'm not sure what is happening in Jackson.
 
This line after the orang utan relocation last weekend is oh … so curious: "The zoological society's board of directors sent the association its resignation letter on Friday, and the zoo will reapply for membership when "the integrated funding, organizational and financial models are in place.".

AZA has not been on the driving seat here .., which is the usual mode by which zoos lose or get accredition. If and when one reads further comments in the article seem to imply it was more or less solely at the instigation of Jackson Zoo officials.

What has become of the Masterplan that was announced in August 2015: expansion and more diversity were announced. This was after the funding by State was cut again to USD200,000. The plan was to finalize the MP in January 2016 and with a start date in 2016. The first phase with planning a new African savannah would cost USD. 30MIL. The entire MP around USD 91MIL.

Incidentally: the orangs had a nice Forest home drawing up (and very much integral to the MP). They are gone now ...

Anyone with ideas or an angle on this one? An update perhaps?
 
I stopped there about a month ago as I passed thru Jackson, and my impression was the zoo was in desperate need of funds. I saw simple maintenance type things not being done like landscaping maintenance falling behind, windows that haven't been cleaned in a while, buildings and walkways that could use a good pressure washing, etc. All signs that they are cutting expenses and afraid to spend any money.

While Jackson is (was) the only AZA zoo in Mississippi, I feel their draw is geographically limited. I would venture to say the people in the northern 1/2 of the state would go to Memphis before Jackson, and the people in the southern 1/4 would go to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, or perhaps Alexandria, LA first. Just my guesses.
 
This latest and repeat incident really makes one feel exasperated ….! Will the chain of events enfold into the inevitable demise of? As a stop gap a secure perimeter fence is needed, right?????

Anyone heard what the state of affairs is to move to another location and basic funding for the endeavor? How likely is it????
 
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