Fans of East Bay wildlife — beyond your normal raccoons and wild turkeys — should be thrilled to know the Oakland Zoo is reopening, after massive storms caused damage and a shutdown right around the New Year.
The zoo will open this Friday, Feb. 3, and will start to sell tickets online Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. It has extended the dates of its popular Glowfari night events until March 4.
A record-setting atmospheric river opened a 10-foot-deep sinkhole under the zoo’s visitor entrance around New Year’s Eve, blocking traffic in and out. The rains also caused “incredible soil erosion, eucalyptus trees to fall, flooding in various buildings and (also) overwhelmed drainage systems,” the zoo said on Facebook.
All the animals weathered the storms fine, it assured the public, and staff looked after their feeding and health during the month-long shutdown period.
The recent rainstorms made a mess of our Zoo….not just the sinkhole at our main entrance, but flooding & debris in the Zoo itself.
We’ve been working hard to clean up, including some fallen trees in the hyena habitat — nice job crew clearing the space for Harley & Ozzy! pic.twitter.com/oYKnVwGgaH
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) January 26, 2023
Source: www.mercurynews.com