NORFOLK, Va. — Without thousands of visitors due to the coronavirus-related zoo shutdown, zookeepers say they're able to work with animals in new ways, explore more of the park, and help the animals acclimate to new environments.
"We can work on different training and get them used to different things," said zookeeper Tara Fisher. “It’s nice to be able to introduce [animals] to different aspects of the zoo without a lot of people, because that can be overwhelming when you get both at once.”
Virginia Zoo director Greg Bockheim said some new and baby animals are getting more accustomed to their exhibits without visitors around, growing in confidence and moving toward more visible areas.
Keepers are able to walk some animals around parts of zoo grounds they wouldn't have been able to access before the shutdown.
“They might visit the giraffe, zebras, and other animals so they’re becoming more familiar to zoo grounds and more desensitized to what might make them nervous," Bockheim said.
Fisher, working with Luke, a 2-year-old Zebu cow who would normally be a little scared by large crowds, said he was comfortable with a long walk to the other side of the zoo on Friday.
“They’re trying out some new spots they wouldn’t normally so we’ll see what comes after that," Fisher said.
Bockheim said zoo staff members are also able to finish big projects that are difficult to complete with hundreds of people around, like landscaping and construction improvements.
The closure is still financially damaging for the Virginia Zoo. Bockheim said the zoo could've expected about 20,000 visitors on a spring week like this one.
"We know that our overall losses for a quarter if this goes through June would be $500,000," Bockheim said.
He recommends supporting the zoo through donating to its emergency fund or keeping up with the animals on the zoo's website and Facebook pages.
The Virginia Zoo is also offering "Virtual Voyages" and virtual education opportunities.