Winter hung on much longer than it should have, and now it seems summer decided to ignore spring altogether and make its presence known. The impact of the extended winter on the zoo and other areas across the parks district have put us all behind the eight ball as we transition from one season to the next. Normally, spring is the time for that transition. The lower part of the country is still cool enough to safely move animals and the northern states are warm enough to do the same. There is time to prepare animal habitats for the upcoming season and get animals outside to enjoy the transitional weather before the summer heat arrives. In other areas of the parks, spring is a time to do the same whether it is preparing sports fields and outdoor courts or the splash pads and swimming pool. Again, that window of transition in spring, everything is behind where it should be.

The good news is, through the dedication of departments staffs, we are getting there. Horticulture with the help of City Serve volunteers have started the beautification of the zoo with hundreds of plants going into the gardens and the hanging plants greeting folks as they enter the campus. For the contractors working on the Amur Leopard Forest habitat, irrigation has been installed and they are working on getting the habitat features installed and prepared for plants. Sod is finally ready to be cut and hopefully, by the time this article is read, will be installed in the enclosures and areas around the habitat eliminating that muddy mess that comes after the rain. Soon after the sod is installed, the plantings around the habitat will begin to go in and soon the project will be an oasis among the asphalt.

Besides the delays on construction that the lack of spring caused, we had several animal moves that were pushed back due to weather conditions either here or elsewhere that are finally getting caught up. There are several animals currently undergoing their quarantine process that should soon make their public debuts. The zoo will soon be making several announcements as animals get cleared from quarantine and are moved into their new habitats. While I could go ahead and just list them one by one, it would probably be better to wait until we are prepared to move them to their new habitats and share their story at that time. I’m guessing this is what they call a tease. But don’t worry, it will all be apparent soon.

While the lack of spring hit us humans hard, it did not seem to bother the superb starlings in the Aviary at all. If you happened through there in the past couple of days, you’d have seen five starlings where there was once only a pair. The starlings hatched three chicks and at the end of last week all three had fledged and made their way out of the nest box. So, it’s not all gloom and doom, as we move into this year’s summer season; it is only the beginning, and the best is yet to come.