Coronavirus Closure Threatens Future Of Oakland Zoo
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- The Oakland Zoo is losing millions of dollars a month and unless something drastically changes in the financial picture, the zoo's days, as we know them, are numbered.
Inside the main gate, it's strangely quiet and noisy at the same time; the sounds of a major zoo in financial trouble, closed now for 115 days.
They forced us to close in the middle of March and by the beginning of April we were fortunate to have PPP money to help prop us up," said Oakland Zoo President and CEO Joel Parrott. "But now, by July 1st, we ran out of our PPP federal support."
Ten percent of the staff was laid off. Cash reserves are keeping essential animal care personnel employed but sooner or later - at a million a month - that, too, will run out. Parrott says the zoo must open soon. "We get so much more of our revenue from being open to the public that we do in donations that it's just not a sustainable approach."
Folks in the community are trying to help. Alvin and his mom are dropping off fig and peach tree-trimmings for the animals. "I remember the good times we spent in the zoo, and we want to support a little bit during these hard times," said Alvin's mother Lusdina Garcia.
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Bushels of fruit, pallets of vegetables, and bags of bird feeds are pouring into the zoo. While appreciated, the zoo says please, no more. They've run out of storage room. Instead, they urge folks to donate funds for a broader support.
Thursday afternoon, Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Richard Valle took a guided tour, inspecting safety measures put in place. When leaving through the front gate, he brushed off our camera, saying only the zoo opening will be discussed at next Tuesday's board meeting. The zoo wants the county to send a letter to Governor Newsom for help.
"The county has written a letter to request that we are called an outdoor museum, and the whole thing would be over," said Parrott. "If not then, we need to contact the governor and the county to make sure they realize how much the community cares."
