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Lowry Zoo Attendance Grows Wildly

JAY CONNER / The Tampa Tribune

Tamani, a 2-year-old juvenile elephant, is a favorite attraction at the zoo.

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

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TAMPA - Seventeen years ago, the Humane Society named Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, with its caged animals and sparse grounds, one of the 10 worst zoos in the country.

Today, the 56-acre zoo, where more than 2,000 animals roam in lush, nature-mimicking habitats, is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary as one of the crown jewels of Tampa Bay area attractions with a recent attendance record. The zoo logged 1.1 million guests in the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

That's a 9 percent increase from 2006, helping make the zoo among the fastest-growing in the country. Lowry officials say the zoo's growth rate is nine times greater than the average zoo accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

"They have great leadership and great staff," said Steven Feldman, a spokesman with the 83-year-old Silver Spring, Md., association.

Lowry also partakes in one of the hottest trends in zoos and aquariums today, Feldman said: creating educational programs that keep such attractions relevant to people's lives.

"We're the first and only zoo to have a day care, preschool and kindergarten," said Craig Pugh, Lowry's deputy director.

The Florida Environmental Education Center, also known as the Zoo School, began with a $1 million donation matched by private and state funding. The 15,000-square-foot school provides full-time early education classes and is certified by Hillsborough County for ages 1 to 5.

The school, which has a waiting list, also provides summer and holiday camps, where children learn about nature and science, and explore the wild kingdom on foot. In 2006, the school served more than 137,000 children.

New exhibits, such as the recently renovated Asian Gardens, and events such as Saturday's Zoofari, which attracted 4,086 people and raised $188,100, are big attendance draws.

A Specific Reason Hard To Come By

But no one can pinpoint why overall attendance is on such an upswing, said Rachel Nelson, Lowry's director of public relations.

Recent exit surveys done monthly by an independent research firm and compiled quarterly show 82 percent of visitors intend to return, Nelson said. They're also staying longer, she said, up from three to four hours to five to six hours.

Something exciting and new, like this year's opening of Ituri Forest - based on the forest in the Congo River Basin and featuring pygmy hippos, red river hogs and okapi, a relative of the giraffe with zebralike markings - brings them in the first time, Pugh said.

Something different, such as the African penguins, brings them back. Then, you need to have something meaningful to make someone a frequent visitor, he said, such as the environmental and conservation aspects of the zoo.

The Zoo Is In A Breeding Program

Lowry Park Zoo participates in a cooperative breeding and conservation program, managed by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, that helps ensure the survival of selected species.

In August, zoo staff took part in the release of an 870-pound manatee that suffered from cold stress after it turned up in Texas waters.

The bulk of the zoo's $16.4 million gross income projected for 2007 comes from admissions, rides and animal feeding charges, food and gift shop sales and educational programs. The rest, about $4 million, comes from contributions, including $450,000 each from the county and city.

"Most zoos derive their local operating budget from about 40 percent of public funding," Pugh said. "We receive 6 percent."

It's a distinction Pugh offers proudly.

"We really try to do an excellent job of listening to the people we serve," he said.

Tribune correspondent Lenora Lake contributed to this report. Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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