Outcry over zoo upgrades
ANGER: SANBI RESPONDS AFTER CRITICISM OVER STATE OF ENCLOSURES Institute says it is balancing visitors’ experiences with refurbishment.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) says it is working hard to ensure that visitors’ experiences at the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria are not compromised by the infrastructure upgrades that are in progress.
This follows a public outcry on social media from holidaymakers who recently visited the facility and were dissatisfied with the current state of the largest zoo in the country.
Images of broken roofs, empty enclosures and litter strewn in the Apies River that flows through the zoo made the rounds on social media as visitors shared their frustrations.
Sanbi, which has been managing the 123-year-old zoo since 2018, said infrastructure upgrades and maintenance of the facility started two years ago. It said it had to balance this work with visitor expectations.
“The infrastructure we inherited when we assumed management was old, so we’ve had to redo a lot of things,” said Sanbi chief executive Shonisani Munzhedzi during a media briefing at the zoo on Thursday.
He said about R105 million had been allocated for the upgrades and maintenance, and R88 million of it had already been paid to contractors.
He said Sanbi had tried to balance visitor expectations by moving animals to open enclosures when theirs needed upgrading. This was to ensure that visitors could still see as many of the zoo’s 4 840 animals as possible.
The entrance fee for the zoo has been discounted by 17% while the zoo is busy with upgrades, said Munzhedzi.
Sanbi plans to do more refurbishments to the thatched roofs around the zoo, some of which have been completed.
GroundUp paid R100 for a single ticket and we were able to walk through the facility and see most of the big five, as well as reptiles, fish, a tiger and zebras.
The facility looked clean and the areas under construction were cordoned off. GroundUp saw a handful of empty enclosures, but the zoo provided an updated map at the entrance and a QR code for visitors to scan.
There was litter visible in the Apies River. Zoo workers said it had come in from other areas in the city and had flowed into the zoo. They said the recent heavy rains had also caused a build-up of litter in the river.
The open and upgraded enclosures were clean and appeared large enough for bigger animals like the tigers and cheetahs to roam around. While some of the concrete and pavement bricks along the zoo’s routes had lifted, the rest of the routes were easy to navigate. At about 2pm, some animals moved almost like clockwork to more visible parts of their enclosures in anticipation of their feeding time.
A visitor, who only wanted to be identified as Michael, said he was concerned by the slow pace of upgrades at the zoo.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a child and now bring my children here about twice a year. I have seen this place deteriorate over the years and am worried that maintenance is not happening regularly,” he said.
But Munzhedzi insisted that maintenance work was ongoing after grinding to a halt following Covid.
After the public outcry, zoo management put up “temporary vacancy” notices outside empty animal enclosures to inform visitors about the upgrades.
The zoo has already completed upgrades to the car park, the reptile area and the aquarium.
The Dukuduku Restaurant, gorilla, hippo and bird enclosures and five sets of toilets have also been renovated.
Upgrades to Stormy Bay – where the seals, shark tank and white rhino night rooms are situated – are yet to be completed.
Sanbi did not provide an official completion date for the upgrades, but Munzhedzi said they hoped many of the facilities would be completed by May.
I have seen this place deteriorate over the years