Elmwood Park Zoo moving in new directions

On a 50-degree day earlier this week, toddler Chace Fazio and his mother stood in front of the prairie dog exhibit at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown.

Seeing them, the prairie dogs chattered a warning. Some stood their ground; others popped back into their holes. The little boy followed the movements with interest.

"When it's nice like this, I bring him," said Bridget Fazio, 37, one of the mothers whose steady patronage keeps the Norristown-based nonprofit off the endangered species list.

This year, the Elmwood Park Zoo celebrates its 85th birthday with the arrival of a new director. Bill Konstant, 56, of Flourtown, aims to take the zoo in some different directions.

A wildlife biologist known for slogging through the rain forests of Panama in search of endangered small tree frogs, he plans animal exhibits to show how the world's threatened creatures can be saved.

"I bring a connection to the real world, to the stories, to the plight of the world's animals," Konstant said. "It's critical for people to have the opportunity to get up close and personal to wild creatures."

Further, he wants to draw visitors into the conservation process.

Even before taking the job Jan. 2, Konstant helped bring two reindeer to the zoo as a reminder that caribou, relatives of reindeer, graze on lands that soon will become Alaskan oil fields.

Zoo-goers who saw the reindeer donated $2,000, which will pay for radio collars, part of a study to assess whether drilling really will endanger the herds.

"We plan to bring the reindeer back next year, and we hope that people will be proud to feel like part of this," Konstant said.

Despite the tough economic times, Konstant inherits a zoo on firm financial footing. He'll be paid $90,000 to oversee a $2.5 million operating budget, 60 percent of which comes from admission fees. The state and Montgomery County provide $114,000 each; the balance comes from donations.

The keys to the continued survival of small zoos, Konstant said, are affordable admission fees, a diverse income stream, and programs that appeal to families. The zoo has lowered admission for January and February to $5 for adults and $3.50 for children and seniors. Fees will go up next month to $10.75 for adults and $7.75 for children and seniors.

(By way of comparison, admission to the Philadelphia Zoo is $17.95 for adults and $14.95 for children).

Zoos in recent years have challenged themselves to be better conservation organizations, which is a good thing, but the point is, don't [forget] the recreational part," Konstant said.

Steven Feldman, spokesman for the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums in Silver Spring, Md., agreed.

"Go to any zoo on a day where there's decent weather and you'll see the stroller brigade out in force," he said. But gate receipts must be augmented with philanthropy and government funding.

And balance is critical; if zoos rely too heavily on one revenue source, "they may be hurting," Feldman said.

An example is the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, Pa. After many years of subsisting on county funds, it became nonprofit in 2004 and has failed to meet fund-raising goals, director Stacey Johnson said.

As a result, it will close this month and the 170 animals will go elsewhere unless the Lehigh County commissioners allocate $1.8 million for operations over the next five years. The vote is scheduled for Feb. 11; the zoo's annual budget is $1.7 million.

"The dialogue is wide open, which is a very positive signal," an optimistic Johnson said Tuesday. "This time next year, we're going to be here."

Two other zoos in the region are thriving.

Cape May County Park and Zoo, on Route 9 in Cape May Court House, N.J., is county-owned and operated. Admission is free, but voluntary donations from among 500,000 visitors paid for $909,000 of its $1.4 million operating costs in 2008, communications director Lenora Boninfante said.

Known for its giraffes and ostriches, the zoo benefits from tourist traffic to the Shore.

"Especially in these tough economic times, the zoo offers an opportunity for family entertainment and recreation. People are spending less on vacation. We hope that the zoo is one reason beside the beach and boardwalk why people come to Cape May County," she said.

ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park is part of the Hersheypark complex in Hershey, Pa. It specializes in North American wildlife. There is no extra fee for admission to the zoo after visitors pay the $51 fee to enter Hersheypark.

Zoo spokeswoman Rachel Dinbokowitz said visitor traffic ebbed in cold weather, but attendance is not driven by dips in the economy.

"It's a good time to come out to zoos, because animals are more active in the winter months. Because of that, you'll get a better chance to actually see them," she said.

If Konstant has his druthers, a $10,000 jungle exhibit of monkeys, iguanas, small rodents called agoutis, tortoises - and perhaps the endangered tree frog - will join the zoo's 400 occupants by May. Other acquisitions are planned.

"I don't want to say to my grandchildren that Grandpa was the last one to see a tree frog in the wild. I want to say that Grandpa tried to save it," Konstant said.

"I think that's a better story for my grandchildren to hear."