Detroit Zoo leadership briefed the Wayne County Zoological Authority on attendance, community programming and capital plans, saying gate revenue is down while membership and targeted outreach have increased.

Dr. Haley Murphy, who the chair introduced as director of the Detroit Zoo, said the zoo’s paid gate attendance is down and that staff are watching expenses closely; "All the zoos and aquariums are down, some as much as 20%." Murphy added, "We do over 6,000,000 lights," describing the zoo’s Wild Lights production that runs 31 nights and is produced by in-house staff.

Murphy and Dr. Amanda Hamlin highlighted recent animal births: a female giraffe born Nov. 23 (about 5 ft. 8 in., 130 lb. at birth) and a litter of lion cubs (four born, three surviving so far). Murphy said the zoo participates in species survival and genetics programs and that young animals will remain until they are biologically and socially ready to move to another facility (lions are likely to stay roughly two to three years).

Murphy also previewed the Fred and Barbara Herb Discovery Trails, a planned 7-acre spring opening with family- and education-oriented features: a 600-foot elevated, wheelchair-accessible canopy trail about 40 feet high, petting-goat and alpaca areas, chicken feeding, artwork by local artist Hubert Massey, and interactive touch exhibits including stingrays and bamboo sharks.

Deondria Matthews, vice president of access and community engagement at the Detroit Zoological Society, outlined Wayne County partnerships (after-school programming with the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Michigan, partnerships with Thriving Together and First Step shelter, work with Focus HOPE and Mac Development, and outreach at Wayne State University career fairs). She described Dream Night, an annual complimentary evening for families with children who have chronic or terminal illnesses, and said the event was capped at 1,000 participants this year with 969 attending.

In questions, board members pressed staff about attendance drivers and ticket distribution. Murphy said a small gate price increase in 2023 did not explain the decline and that the zoo benchmarks its finances with peer institutions. Matthews said staff have expanded ticket distribution through targeted nonprofit partnerships and added community ambassadors to improve reach to underserved populations, including partnering with the Detroit Justice Center.