Baby boom helps Dallas Zoo top old attendance record

  • 2017-10-17
A new high in attendance was reached in the last year by the Dallas Zoo, which may be due in part to the arrival of several baby animals in the course of the year.

The zoo’s fiscal year concluded on September 30, and for the third time in as many years, the zoo made it over the one million mark for visitors. The 129 year-old zoo had not until these last three years ever reached one million admissions

This fiscal year the zoo had a record breaking 1.2 million visitors, which was nearly 100,000 more than the previous record. It became obvious that a new record would be set this year when in July the number of peoples through the zoo’s gate for the year to date attained the seven-digit milestone.

Several factors can be credited with this year’s high attendance; one of which is the Dallas Zoo’s Dollar Day promotion that attracted 19,000 people to see the animals in one day.

Another attendance booster was the birth of several zoo babies. Among the new arrivals, perfect for postcard printing are a couple of Somali wild asses, a tamandua, a giraffe calf, and the first lion club born at the zoo in 43 years.

Moreover, in April, a 2.1-acre Simmons Hippo Outpost was opened as well as the National Geographic Photo Ark exhibition.