Families descended on Prospect Park Zoo over Memorial Day weekend for its grand reopening following an eight-month closure for storm-related repairs.
Nearly $6.5 million has been spent so far on repairs to enable the zoo to formally reopen on May 25 after Tropical Storm Ophelia put the entire campus under water last September, damaging exhibitions and infrastructure.
The zoo’s basements and sub-basements were totally submerged in as much as 25 feet of water as storm sewers in the area reached full capacity during the deluge, wiping out boilers and important networks, such as the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, electrical, and aquatic life support systems.
More than half a year later, the zoo is back on the grid, and the primary electrical room has been relocated from a basement to ground level. It does, however, remain on a temporary heating system while a new location for boilers, previously in a basement, is found.
At the time of the flooding, the approximately 400 animals who call the Prospect Park Zoo home were unharmed as they were in their night houses, out of harm’s way.
Full restoration costs, not including mitigation measures against future flooding, are estimated to be more than $20 million.
As works behind the scenes continue, many public facing areas got a face lift and some exhibitions welcomed new arrivals in time for the reopening.
Zoo guests on Saturday found some new animals including a pair of southern pudu, one of the world’s smallest species of deer, who arrived in Brooklyn from the Queens Zoo. They can be found in what was formerly the meerkat enclosure.
During the shutdown, two Hamadryas baboons were born. The first, a female, was born on Oct. 18, 2023, while the second was born just a couple of days prior to the reopening. Zoo officials say it is still clinging to mom most of the time and they have yet to get an official photo of the newborn.
