Wayne County Zoological Authority hears operations update; Discovery Trails expected spring–summer 2026

At a meeting of the Wayne County Zoological Authority, Robert Shoemaker, vice president of finance and chief financial officer of the Detroit Zoo, and Dr. Amanda Hanlon, chief of staff, delivered a report on zoo operations including attendance figures, new animal arrivals, educational programming, community partnerships and construction progress on the Discovery Trails project.

The zoo finished 2024 “with just north of 1,200,000 in total attendance,” Hanlon said, marking the third straight year at about 1.2 million visitors as the institution continues to recover from the pandemic. Hanlon said the zoo had “more than 42,000 member households” (down from about 50,000 pre-pandemic) and cited an economic impact figure of about $168,000,000 from a 2023 study.

The presentation covered animal highlights: the zoo now houses more than 2,000 animals representing 258 resident species. Hanlon noted recent additions including a new lion, Kalu; Motema, described as the zoo’s first baby gorilla born in nearly a century; and a third polar bear, Haley. “Motema has been…