**Since this was published on March 13, more zoos have closed. See the updated chart at the bottom for complete details. The only two remaining zoos that are open (from our list) are Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago, and African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton, Ohio.**
By now you’re of course familiar with the global spread of the Coronavirus. In the United States, social events of all kinds are being postponed and canceled in hopes of discontinuing the spread of the disease. At Zoo With Us, we have no desire to provide our opinion on these measures, or provide advice on how you should help prevent the spread of the disease. However, in recent days we’ve seen zoos respond to Coronavirus concerns, and we thought it would be helpful to provide these responses in one easy to find forum.
We scanned zoo Facebook pages for Coronavirus updates this week, with additional information coming by the hour. While not every zoo we follow provided an update, many zoos have posted some sort of community notice. Some zoos simply provided a link to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Other zoos listed only changes to their event schedule. But a common occurrence was a combination of both – an update from the zoo, and a link to the CDC website for further information.
Locally
Lincoln Park Zoo is, to our knowledge, the only Illinois zoo to currently close due to the Coronavirus. The LPZ posted on Facebook Thursday night that the zoo will be closed through April 10. The statement continues to say the closing is a result of both city and state recommendations. Brookfield Zoo posted an update to twitter on Thursday, with a link to a page on its website. As of right now Brookfield Zoo will remain open.
No other Illinois zoos have provided updates at this time. We currently track nine zoos in Illinois. Three Illinois zoos are seasonal. At this time, we believe that all three will open as scheduled. These include the Henson Robinson Zoo (March 21), Niabi Zoo (April 11), and Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo (April 4).
As for nearby Indiana, the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville Indiana is closed through March 29 due to Coronavirus concerns. Four of the six Indiana zoos that we track are seasonal. The Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend announced on Friday that all programs are canceled, and its April 3 opening day is being discussed. For the others (Fort Wayne on April 18, Columbian Park on April 18, and Washington Park on April 1), it is assumed opening day will continue as planned.
Additional Zoo Closures
Earlier this week, the Governor of Ohio made recommendations to state facilities and organizations on preventative measures. As a result, several Ohio zoos have followed suit with closures or event cancellations. The Toledo Zoo announced Thursday that it will be closed as of 5pm on March 13, through April 1. They are canceling many of their programs as well.
The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo released a statement from its parks department on Thursday announcing indoor facilities closures. Most exhibits at the Cleveland Zoo are closed, but the zoo remains open. The Columbus Zoo announced on Friday that most of its indoor exhibits are closed. The zoo, however, will remain open, and will charge half-priced admission. The Cincinnati Zoo will cancel events with more than 100 people through April 30, but will otherwise remain open. Finally, the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton, Ohio, conducted its opening day on March 13 as scheduled.
Additional Information
Thanks for reading our aggregation of how zoos respond to Coronavirus concerns. For more information on the disease, please check out the CDC website.
Zoo Statements:
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