Lauren Crochet is part of a team at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo that includes zookeepers and maintenance workers who feed animals, clean their housing and make sure the new zoo is in tip-top shape.

It’s a different job from managing the Gulf Shore zoo’s gift shop, which Crochet has done as retail manager for the past decade.

“We get a lot dirtier and sweatier than we used to,” said Crochet, a Foley resident.

Crochet and other workers at zoos throughout Alabama are pitching in to help on jobs they normally are not accustomed to doing while the novel coronavirus pandemic keeps the front gates locked.

Unlike other amusement venues throughout the U.S. and Alabama, it’s difficult for zoo directors and administrators to layoff or furlough employees. The Birmingham Zoo, for instance, is staffed daily with about 50 full-time employees who continue to manage the 122-acre complex that is home to close to 800 animals.

Essential workers who tend to the animals daily are divided into teams, are encouraged to wear personal protective equipment like face masks, and are at a safe social distance from co-workers.

“Animal attractions face a serious challenge in the Corona Economy, and this is because of fixed costs,” said Martin Lewison, association professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York, who is an expert in the amusement park industry. “Animals continue to require feeding, medical attention and enrichment, even when there are no paying customers visiting the facilities. The costs are fixed, independent of the number of visitors through the gate.”

He added, “The personnel costs are also significant because of the relatively skilled and experienced labor involved in the care of many exotic animals.”

Birmingham Zoo

Chris Pfefferkorn, president & CEO at Birmingham Zoo, said it costs $30,000 per day to maintain the facilities and the animals at the zoo while it’s closed. Seasonal workers, who assist in operating food stands, the gift store and other attractions, were let go last month, said Pfefferkorn.

Chris Pffeferkorn, president and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo

The difficulty for the zoo is that nearly 90% of its revenue s comes from having the facility opened to the public: Memberships sales, admissions, food and beverages, and merchandise sales from the gift shop. Also, the zoo relies heavily on private donations.

“We’re utilizing every bit of what we have to stay afloat,” said Pfefferkorn.

Pfefferkorn is working with banks to apply for funds available for small businesses under the federal Paycheck Protection Program, as well as exploring other programs offered through the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The zoo, on Wednesday, announced the creation of an emergency animal fund to aid in feeding over 700 animals. The zoo is also pushing other means for assistance such as AmazonSmile, where Birmingham Zoo Inc. can be chosen as a charitable organization and 0.5% of purchase prices on eligible products can be donated back to the zoo.

The zoo’s capital campaigns, meanwhile, are on hold. The biggest of those is the “Asian Passage,” envisioned as a habitat featuring Asian animal species including the Maylan tiger, Sumatran orangutan and Komodo dragon.

“We’ll continue on the design, but fundraising has been on hold,” said Pfefferkorn.

Gulf Shores, Montgomery

Joel Hamilton, director of the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, said they are applying for whatever federal assistance is available. The Gulf Shores-based zoo also opted not to add temporary staff while the facility is closed.

The zoo had been open for only one week before it had to abruptly close due to the pandemic. The opening had been a long-sought occasion following multiple delays and an urgency by city leaders and zoo officials to relocate away from a hurricane flood zone.

On Monday, the Gulf Shores City Council voted to support a 60-day claw back of $1 million for the zoo to support its operations. The move allowed the zoo access to the funds earlier than expected so that salaries can be paid , and animals can be fed.

“By May 20, they would’ve had the right of this money anyway,” said Cindy King, finance and administrative services director with the city of Gulf Shores. “Because the COVID-19 pandemic has alternated operations and (the zoo) will be closed, they will not have enough money for operating costs. So they are asking to use the $1 million prior to when they would be able to.”

Said Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft, “A lot of businesses are under stress and strain. All of us will have these kind of needs to consider. This is certainly a consideration that makes sense. The zoo can continue to survive until we get back into business.”

Montgomery Zoo, a 40-acre complex north of the city, receives 70% of its funding through admissions and other revenues generated on site. The zoo is the only one in Alabama that receives local tax money, with about 30% of revenues coming from the city of Montgomery’s budget.

Melanie Golson, spokeswoman with the zoo, said they are working with the city about how to manage their expenses during the closure. The zoo employs about 50 people and is currently on a hiring freeze.

“For a lack of a better way, they are covering our expenses,” she said.

Golson said the zoo has a nonprofit group that raises funds for new exhibits “that may help supplement some of the losses.”

Social media campaigns

Zoos, wildlife refuges, and animal educational centers are moving online with their services. Montgomery and Birmingham zoos are hosting online activities; the Birmingham Zoo launched a virtual school on its social media channels last month. A virtual zoo camp is offered on its Facebook page every weekday at 11 a.m., and animals will be highlighted during a “Meet the Neighbors” campaign.

“It’s important to tell our story throughout this and people in Alabama care about their zoo,” said Pfefferkorn, noting that the zoo will make sure the public remains aware that the zoo is taking care of the animals.

Perhaps the most interesting social media outreach has occurred at Alligator Alley in Summerdale. The privately-owned and operated wildlife sanctuary north of Foley in Baldwin County consists of more than 450 alligators from hatchlings to mature adults.

Owner Wes Moore broadcasts daily alligator feedings on the venue’s Facebook page, generating thousands of views and hundreds of shares. Moore tosses bones and meat to the massive reptiles while calling out the alligators by names like “Hank,” “Easy,” “Alfred,” “Miss Sweet Pea,” and “Chubs.” As Moore feeds the animals, he also provides an explanation about them and their habitat.

Posted by Alligator Alley on Tuesday, April 14, 2020

At the Dauphin Island Sea Lab – Alabama’s primary marine education and research facility – a new digital learning series has been ramped up since the pandemic started last month that includes an “Ask the Aquarist” or “Ask the Scientist” videos that draw thousands of viewers.

The sea lab, which is also seeking assistance through SBA loans, has a 132 employees who are a mixture of full-time workers as well as those funded through grants and contracts, according to John Valentine, executive director. Like the zoos, the sea lab depends heavily on people showing up for the in-person experience. School trips, teacher workshops and other events have been significant revenue drivers at a facility that was founded in 1971 and receives close to a quarter of its funding through the state.

“We are obligated to work through this the best way we can,” said Valentine. “Unlike major universities, we don’t have a major alumni association that extends donations. We don’t have a major organization that is pursuing the community for donations. We have a small operation.”

Ask the Aquarist- Alligator Snapping Turtle Posted by Dauphin Island Sea Lab on Monday, April 13, 2020

Protecting the animals

Animal rights groups, meanwhile, are hoping that the pandemic changes the way some of the facilities operate. The Humane Society of the United States is advocating for zoos to put on a moratorium on breeding.

“Keeping fewer animals may enable some zoos to survive and make space available at other zoos in the event a facility does close, and animals need to be relocated,” said Debbie Leahy, senior strategist of Captive Wildlife at the Humane Society.

Ben Williamson, program director with the World Animal Protection, said that zoos have the responsibility of taking care of animals in their care “in good times and bad.”

He said without a “steady flow of income,” some zoos will struggle to feed the animals and will put them at risk of starvation, malnutrition and other health problems.

“We still don’t have an idea of when this pandemic will end, which is why we must support animals impacted for the foreseeable future,” Williamson said. “Any venues that are struggling to care for their animals should turn their animals to other zoos, or even sanctuaries that rely on donations and not the foot traffic of paying customers.”

Representative with the Zoological Association of America and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums said that many zoos in the U.S. are eligible small-business assistance through the SBA’s programs like the Paycheck Protection Program because they employ fewer than 500 people.

“I think there is a great deal of concern, with many of our members having to layoff or furlough employees, or some combination of both, while maintaining adequate staffing to care for the animals,” said Rob Vernon with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Peter Singer, author of the groundbreaking 1975 book, “Animal Liberation,” isn’t a fan of traditional zoos which he believes should be abolished, and animals should be placed in wildlife preserves where the focus is on having animals live in a way suited for their species.

“When zoos get into financial difficulties, animals suffer various fates, mostly bad” said Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University.