Winter weather may have hurt Toledo Zoo attendance - FOX5 Vegas - KVVU

The Toledo Zoo saw 75 percent fewer visitors in January 2014 as compared to the same month in 2013.

The zoo says 2,977 people passed through its gates in January 2014. That is compared with 11,987 guests in January 2013. Weather forced the zoo to close 3 days in January 2014, compared to no weather-related or other closures of the zoo in 2013.

You can't blame potential zoo visitors for staying indoors this winter. Last January saw just 3.1 inches of snow, compared to 40.2 inches of snow in January 2014. The average high temperature in January of 2013 was 36.1°F, compared to 24.9°F in January 2014. In January 2013, the average low temperature in January 2013 was 19.9°F, compared to 7.1°F in January 2014.

The zoo says there are other factors besides the weather involved, though. For example the zoo offered an encore presentation of its Lights Before Christmas show for two days in January 2013. That was not offered in 2014. The zoo also featured an indoor butterfly exhibit in January 2014, which was not available in 2013.

February and March 2014 saw the zoo's attendance numbers rebound, nearly matching 2013 figures. In February 2014 the zoo saw 5,596 guests, compared with 6,389 in February 2013. In March 2014, 16,631 people visited the zoo. That's just below the 17,503 guests who passed through zoo gates in March 2013.

The zoo was also forced to close on February 5 and March 12, 2014 because of weather.

For more on what the Toledo Zoo has to offer, visit https://www.toledozoo.org/.

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