People who bought memberships to any of the Audubon Nature Institute’s centers like the zoo or the Aquarium of the Americas should know there are plans in place to honor those memberships.
Like so many organizations, the institute is taking a drastic financial hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A rare phenomenon is taking place at the zoo. Animals are outnumbering the people.
“Having no people here is surreal,” said Liz Wilson, a curator at Audubon Zoo.
The Audubon Nature Institute is cutting its full-time staff by almost half. The workers who remain will take a pay cut of 25%. How long that will all stay in place is unclear because few can predict when people can come back here and visit.
“It’s hard to see our team members not with us. We’re looking forward to being able to re-open when it is safe to do so,” said Wilson.
Unlike restaurants and stores, the zoo can’t necessarily just shut down. The animals still need food and medical care. Wilson is part of two teams rotating shifts to give the animals what they need. The same applies to the staff at the institute’s insectarium and the Aquarium of the Americas.
“There’s a lot of feeding, cleaning, providing behavioral enrichment. We’re still doing training with the animals,” said Wilson.
Just like nurses caring for people, zoo workers must use personal protective equipment.
“Everything we’re doing is to keep each other safe and the animals,” said Wilson.
Since the institute is a non-profit, it doesn’t qualify for the federal government’s paycheck protection program. The estimated loss in revenue so far: $21 million. The institute says all memberships active at the time of temporary closure on March 14, 2020, will be extended accordingly when the centers reopen.
For these places dedicated to animals, the presence of people is needed now more than ever.
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