250,000 visitors at Emperor Valley Zoo

For World Environment Day, when the Zoo had opened up the gates free of charge to the public, it was mentioned during an address by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism that the annual visitorship to the Zoo is now up to 250,000 persons. This is mind-boggling as it translates to just over a quarter of the population of Trinidad and Tobago visiting the Zoo each year. It is therefore wrong to say that the Zoo is losing interest for the children as the facts are there to dispute this.

I keep myself informed about the plans for the Zoo and took the time to study the project for improving the Zoo. I must add that information about this project is available to members of the public and there is a master plan which shows quite clearly at a glance what are the new and exciting exhibits to come. It is therefore confusing to me why the misinformation as the only new developments are exactly what was stated as being the way to go. The plan includes a walk-in aviary, a butterfly garden, a hummingbird garden and gardens in general.

Michael James

Member of the Zoological Society

via e-mail