Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington has opened its new monkey exhibit that expands on its collection of animals from Africa.
The zoo held a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the DeBrazza monkey exhibit on Friday. The exhibit includes two of the white-bearded monkeys, along with a pair of small antelopes called red-flanked duikers. The animals will also be included in new breeding programs at the zoo.
Zoo superintendent Jay Tetzloff said the new exhibit is part of the zoo's master plan to show new animals and bring more people to the zoo.
“It shows off where the zoo is going with more modern exhibits and more diverse and complex exhibits for our guests to see,” Tetzloff said.
Tetzloff said a key part of modernizing the zoo is giving patrons the chance to get closer to the animals.
“Our new male DeBrazza, he’s been out for a couple of our special events and he’s not afraid to go up nose-to-nose with some of our guests,” he said. “It’s just a great opportunity for your guests to get engaged and interact with our animals.”
The exhibit cost about $600,000. Most of that funding came from the state. The city broke ground on the project last October.
Tetzloff projects the new exhibit will grow zoo attendance about 5%. He said attendance is down compared to 2019, but patrons are spending more. He suspects some zoo fans have been waiting for the monkey exhibit to open.
Tetzloff noted the zoo hopes to break ground on two more exhibits by next spring, including a $1 million South American exhibit. That project, which comes from a mix of state and private funding, will include anteaters, Galapagos tortoises and more. He said construction on a new mulefoot hog exhibit and a birthday pavilion are expected to start next spring. He added a new outdoor education theater that’s under construction is scheduled to be finished this year. Those projects are funded by private donations.
New, old role
Tetzloff said he can focus more on zoo operations now after he recently gave up his role leading the city's parks, recreation and cultural arts department. He served in both roles for six years.
City Manager Tim Gleason recently told Tetzloff he had to pick one of those jobs. Tetzloff noted the parks director position for him was never meant to be permanent.
“It was a lot to handle with four projects at the zoo with the huge project at O’Neil Pool and Park is becoming and taking on (management of Grossinger Motors Arena), it really was a lot,” Tetzloff said.
Tetzloff said he can now better help with fundraising and community engagement for the zoo.
“I will definitely have more hands on at the zoo than I was before,” Tetzloff said. “It will also give me a chance to step back and be more visionary and think about the master plan and what is the future of Miller Park Zoo."
Tetzloff took a $27,000 pay cut to keep his job as zoo superintendent, from $122,715 to $95,000.
“Zoos are my passion. It’s where I started. I just couldn’t see myself not working at the zoo,” Tetzloff said, noting he has been working at zoos for 34 years.
The city has named assistant parks and rec director Eric Veal is the interim director. He has been with the city for 21 years. His pay was increased from $100,285 to $115,000.
