Lake Superior Zoo Opens
By:
Photojournalist:
DULUTH - Flash floods shut down the Lake Superior Zoo just three weeks ago.
Now the zoo finally opened its doors.
"We're back for the opening of the zoo," Zoo visitor Lyndsay Sauer said.
"They said come support us, so that’s what we're doing,” zoo visitor Gerry Moulzolf said. “Spending some of our money."
After weeks of hauling dirt and fixing damages, the Lake Superior Zoo reopened Friday.
"We're back to being our zoo, your zoo prior to the flood," Lake Superior Zoo Director of Animal Management Peter Pruett said.
Three quarters of the zoo's exhibits are up and running, bringing in visitors who have been waiting for this day.
"We just decided to come to the zoo to have a picnic," zoo visitor Ella Cherry said.
"We're just looking at the animals," zoo visitor Zachary Johnson said.
They came out to see their favorite animals.
"Bats," zoo visitor Tyler Johnson said.
"Yea the bats, I really like the bats," said Zachary.
"Lemurs, baby lemurs,” said Cherry.
"The baby lemurs," zoo visitor Hallie Brockman said.
Of course they also came to see the zoo’s main attractions.
"We seen the animals, the tigers over there,” said Moulzolf. “We see the lion and the kangaroos up there."
"We've seen tigers, bats, ferrets, tarantulas," said Zachary.
The zoo is not completely open, there are still some exhibits that are closed.
"Raven Island and the Turkey Vulture exhibit are empty and Polar Shores will be empty too," said Pruett.
"You can see the trees are still down and how high the water was and everything," said Moulzolf.
The barnyard exhibit is still eleven animals less.
"Some are being washed away," said Tyler.
But the barnyard is open.
"You can come in and say hi to Darla and our 2 sheep and if the ducks wanna come near they might," said Pruett.
For the first time in three weeks you can hear not just the animals, but children's voices.
The zoo will have a memorial dedicated to the fourteen animals that drowned.
The animals will be replaced.
Zoo officials say Berlin the polar bear will not come back to the zoo this year.
There is a new 10-month-old llama named Leonard who will come to the barnyard at the end of July or early August.
