The Zoo Is Gone
One of the few decent things for local people is no more, as the PNJ reports The Zoo is gone
After 25 years of bringing smiles to children’s faces, the financially troubled Zoo Northwest Florida is closed permanently.
“There was no long-term commitment from the community,” Bob Switzer, one of the zoo’s owners, told the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council on Wednesday. “We are officially, now, closing the zoo. … We are trying to put together something for the land and the animals.”
As the council discussed a request from the zoo for $125,000, Switzer and the other partners in Animal Park Inc. issued a news release confirming the closure.
Although they didn’t know about the decision, the council did not vote on the allocation because of the lack of a clear plan to make the zoo sustainable.
Ah, yes, it is always about the money. If it isn’t “profitable” it must be eliminated. The “pursuit of Happiness” has no meaning in this area, only the pursuit of the dollar.
My Dad loved the Zoo. He made the drive and took hundreds of pictures at the Zoo. It wasn’t fancy or elaborate like the San Diego Zoo, but it had a nice representative collection, without getting carried away with the big cats. It was a friendly place.
Hurricanes, and the recovery from them, as well as the presence of some people who pursued the buck, were the downfall of the Zoo, but, in the end, it was the local people who refused to give it the support it deserved.
10 comments
wipes tear
it was a wonderful zoo. i loved going there, and yes it was one of the best things around here. i always got a kick out of feeding the giraffes from a platform where you had to walk up an entire flight of stairs just to be able to look them in the eye as you handed them some goodies.
The Pensacola Beach Blog thinks it’s about the land, and developers wanting it. That may be true, but where is anyone going to get the money to buy it?
My Dad loved taking pictures of Colossus the gorilla, convinced he was getting the people to perform for him, rather than the other way around.
Now my Dad, Colossus, and the Zoo are all gone.
sad sigh
i’d forgotten colossus. i remember following his [non]romantic adventures, and being ridiculously excited about his arrival here. much as i love zoos, i’ve always felt some ethical qualms about keeping wild animals penned up for display, but certainly colossus’s life here was better than his previous one, and it sounds like his life in cincinnati was pretty good too.
this would be about the right point in the downturn for speculators to start quietly [and cheaply, still] picking up waterfront and other desirable-location properties. i’m not sure, but it seems to me that this would be one of the few remaining large parcels in the area.
That’s a real shame Bryan! And bloody disgusting too!! *sigh* Sadly, I agree with you.
The parcel is 65 acres South of US-98. Other than Federal and State property, there isn’t another parcel that large anywhere in the area. They should donate it to the Florida Forever program to keep it off the tax rolls and get some revenge.
They should donate it to the Florida Forever program to keep it off the tax rolls and get some revenge.
i like it.
.-= last blog ..Fortunately, =-.
Well, we know they are constantly destroying things so that something else will be built, and the justification is always “it increases the tax base”. That’s the excuse when they use eminent domain to take private property to give it to a private developer.
That’s how developers buy off pols around here.
Out of curiosity, just how bad is my memory? I thought I left a comment on this post…
.-= last blog ..Friday Cell Phone Cat Blogging =-.
You left a lot of comments on Global Climate Change, and commented on FCB, but I don’t remember one here.
I occasionally do myself in by hitting preview instead of post and leaving before I actually post it.
Awwwww. That’s so sad about the zoo.
I’m fortunate to have a very nice zoo near my house. I have a membership even though I only go a few times a year because I know how important it is for the community to support the zoo. And it’s a great place to go for a walk early in the day.