Fort Wayne Zoo Breaks Attendance Records
By JESSICA BRITA-SEGYDE
Communications Assistant, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
FORT WAYNE — Adorable baby animals, new exhibits and a birthday celebration helped the Fort Wayne Childrens Zoo set a new attendance record in 2015.
A total of 618,498 guests visited the zoo in 2015, exceeding the previous attendance record of 614,666 set in 2009 when the African Journey exhibit first opened.
This figure includes 590,649 people who visited during the regular zoo season of April 25-Oct. 11, and 27,849 guests who attended the Wild Zoo Halloween in 2015.
The zoo celebrated its 50th birthday in 2015 and welcomed many baby animals, including a reticulated giraffe and an endangered Sumatran orangutan. Phase two of the $7 million Australian Adventure renovation project opened, featuring tropical fish and sharks in The Reef and touchable stingrays at Stingray Bay.
Also in 2015, the zoo was named the seventh best zoo in the United States and the 20th Best Zoo in the World by TripAdvisor, with rankings based on customer reviews.
“We thank our entire community for your support during this record-breaking season,” said Zoo Director Jim Anderson. “I am proud of our staff for serving over 600,000 guests as we work to fulfill our mission of connecting people with animals.”
The zoo is operated by the non-profit Fort Wayne Zoological Society and receives no tax funding for operations. Ticket sales, membership sales, concessions, other earned revenue, donations and sponsorships comprise the zoo’s operating budget.
The zoo is the largest tourist attraction in northeast Indiana. About one in five zoo visitors comes from outside of Indiana. Forty percent of zoo guests are from Allen County. For more than 90 percent of out-of-town zoo guests surveyed, the zoo was their main reason for traveling to Fort Wayne.