A wait-in-line crowd of more than 2,500 — including lots of witches and zombies, sharks, “Beetlejuice” characters and Disney princesses — packed Erie Zoo ‘s ZooBoo on Oct. 19.
Kids danced and collected candy. Big cats peered out from behind the glass and the otters scrambled around their spacious new enclosure.
Even after the loss of accreditation in 2021 and years of living on what’s been described as a shoestring budget, there wasn’t a hint in the warm autumn air that the Erie Zoo could be living on borrowed time.
But that’s the reality for the nearly 100-year-old organization, which over the past several months has quietly been laying the groundwork for a possible partnership with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, known as Erie Events .
How a partnership could change the zoo’s finances
The zoo will need to build a new veterinary center, update animal exhibits and address maintenance issues if it hopes to regain accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Plans for a new giraffe exhibit, identified as a high priority, would also cost millions.