Rain-Related Flooding Leaves San Antonio Zoo in Financial Bind
SAN ANTONIO – Rain-related flooding that washed across the San Antonio area Tuesday morning has left the San Antonio Zoo in a bit of a financial dry spell.
“We saw around $60,000 in lost revenue for the day, which is pretty significant,” said Cyle Perez, a spokesman for the zoo.
Perez says the financial loss was due to the zoo’s unusual but necessary decision to shut down for the day.
The nonprofit, which also promotes animal preservation and education worldwide, is usually open 365 days a year.
The only other time in recent years that it closed due to weather was during a freeze in January of this year.
Video posted to the zoo’s social media pages showed what looked like a river flowing through its grounds.
The video also shows workers scrambling to push water out of the indoor hippopotamus exhibit, where about six inches of water was collected.
Perez said while most of the zoo animals appeared to be enjoying the rain, staff members still took steps to keep them safe.
The flooding, he said, happened when a naturally occurring acequia became inundated with rainwater flowing in from nearby Brackenridge Park.
The zoo’s design incorporates water. Part of the San Antonio River flows through it and regularly feeds into some of the animal exhibits.
What happened Tuesday, though, was an unusual occurrence, Perez said.
“This has never happened in the last ten years or more,” he said.
Fortunately, Perez said, there was no damage to any of the grounds.
By Friday morning, only a few scattered puddles remained in areas that had been covered in water.
Still, the after-effects of it linger, Perez said.
“A day closed is a day of lost revenue,” he said. “It’s a day — $60,000 — that we can’t go out and help secure these animals.”
Perez said that with the favorable weather this weekend, he hopes that visitors will return to the zoo in large numbers.
He also said it is counting on donors to help make up for the financial loss.
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