Denver Zoo Struggles To Feed Animals After Pandemic Closure

The Denver Zoo is struggling to feed its wild animals amid the pandemic.

The zoo is home to 3,000 wild animals of more than 450 species. Feeding them every day year-round costs the zoo $1,000,000 in groceries per year.

Recent closures due to the coronavirus pandemic have caused the zoo to see significant financial losses.

"With 87 days of closure and reduced capacity regulations for the foreseeable future, Denver Zoo is still losing more than $1M every month," reads the zoo's official website. "Of course, one of the most critical - and costly- line items in our budget is the food."

The Denver Zoo was closed for almost three months early on in the pandemic. It is now open but operates at reduced capacity to allow for social distancing and other new health guidelines.

According to its website, the daily operating expense in 2020 is $101,000. However, due to coronavirus restrictions, the zoo is seeing a daily operating deficit of $51,000 and daily revenue of $50,000.

This financial deficit has led the Denver Zoo to ask for donations to cover its $1 million annual food budget with their "Support our ZOOtrition" campaign.

"With a nearly $1 million annual grocery bill- that's $83,000 each month-we need our community's support to get through the last two months of 2020!"

You can donate to the zoo here.

Photo: Getty Images