The Calgary Zoo needs half a million dollars each month to care for its animals — and so it's asking for donations to make it through a financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the zoo stays closed for three months, it's poised to lose up to $27 million, chief development officer Steven Ross said.

At issue, though, is the cost of caring for its nearly 1,000 creatures in particular — which costs roughly $550,000 a month.

Ross said he worries they will have to cut back conservation efforts to make up the difference.

"We are a wildlife conservation charity," Ross told CBC News.

"We deliver programming all around the globe where ... we're working in communities to release wildlife back into the wild, to research and understand these wildlife better."

The Calgary Zoo is asking for donations in the face of a financial crunch. It needs roughly $550,000 a month to care for its nearly 1,000 creatures. (Monty Kruger/CBC)

The conservation programs include protecting whooping cranes, burrowing owls, greater sage-grouses, and black-tailed prairie dogs. Calgary scientists work with agencies around the world, including in Madagascar with lemurs, Kenya with mountain bongos, and Ghana with hippos.

The zoo has been asking its members and supporters through email and social media to consider donating.

A red panda soaks up some sunshine on a frigid day at the Calgary Zoo in 2017. Zoo workers continue to care for the animals but roughly 250 staff have been laid off. (Andrew Brown/CBC)

The doors closed on March 16 to comply with Alberta Health orders barring large gatherings, and so lost significant revenue from visitors.

To deal with the crunch, the zoo temporarily laid off 60 per cent of its staff, affecting about 250 people.

The zoo was founded in 1929 and is now home to nearly 1,000 creatures from 119 species.