By Bob Yearick
Mark Shafer, the executive director of the Delaware Zoological Society (DZS), says that when he and his wife took their three kids to the Brandywine Zoo back in the early 2000s, “I thought of zoos as cute little animals in little habitats.”
Since he became head of DZS in 2020, Shafer’s thinking has evolved, along with that of zoo leaders throughout the world.
The Brandywine Zoo, which covers 4.7 acres of land next to the Brandywine River in Wilmington, is set to celebrate its 120th anniversary on March 22 with a “Zoobilee Gala” at the DuPont Country Club (see sidebar). And while it is still home to cute little animals, its mission has changed.
“Now,” says Shafer, “it’s really around the educational/conservation messaging and projects that we do. The vision is to make sure guests are inspired by wildlife and wildlife conservation. It’s very aspirational.”
And make no mistake: while guests are very important, the animals come first at Brandywine Zoo.
The Brandywine Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a standard of excellence Brandywine has achieved continuously since 1986. There are only 237 accredited AZA zoos in the world. Less than 10% of animal exhibitors in the U.S. are accredited, and Brandywine is the only animal care facility in Delaware to meet those rigorous standards.
Our Zoo Re-Imagined
Conducted every five years, AZA’s detailed review and evaluation process analyzes all aspects of a facility’s operation, including animal welfare and well-being; veterinary care; keeper training; safety for visitors, staff, and animals; educational programs; conservation efforts; financial stability; risk management; governance, and guest services.
Helping to secure AZA certification was the zoo’s three-phase, $30 million masterplan, Our Zoo Re-Imagined, which began in 2018. The state provided funding for the first two major projects, the Madagascar Habitat and the Animal Care Center, along with several smaller projects.
The Madagascar Habitat is perhaps the crown jewel thus far of Our Zoo Re-Imagined. Equipped with a recirculating pool and waterfall, it has multiple levels for the animals and multiple viewing areas for the visitor. It’s home to several animals, including two crowned lemurs.
Shafer says that the Madagascar Habitat is meant not only to entertain guests but also to educate them about the deforestation problem in Madagascar, an island nation located off the southeastern coast of Africa. “Zoo Keeper talks and creature features are part of this education,” he says. “We want to let the public know how important it is to maintain habitats in their natural state.”
Shafer is particularly proud of the Animal Care Center located on zoo grounds. “It has state-of-the-art equipment that even the Philadelphia Zoo doesn’t have,” he says.
Phase 3 will feature a South American Wetlands Habitat with toucans, a sloth, and Chilean flamingos, plus an improved entryway.
“It will have an indoor and outdoor aspect with viewing windows so people can enjoy the animals even in cold weather,” Shafer says. “The project is moving at a nice pace.” The wetlands habitat, as currently designed, will not have indoor viewing, but the mixed species exhibit does.
Elk, Buffaloes, Alligators
As Shafer says, the Brandywine Zoo has come a long way. Originally the Wilmington Zoo, it has housed a wide variety of animals over its 12 decades, including the proverbial lions, tigers, and bears. From 1925-28, for instance, it had 11 elk, three buffaloes, two eagles, five monkeys, two black bears, and three alligators, among other animals.
Management of the zoo shifted from the City Department of Parks and Recreation to New Castle County in 1971, when it became the Brandywine Zoo. Change came again in 1998, when management was turned over to the state, and today it comes under the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, with the support of the Delaware Zoological Society.
Its residents also have changed. In 2011, the zoo acquired the last of its big cats, the Amur tiger Zhanna, but after five years, Zhanna was moved to the Bronx Zoo, per an AZA recommendation.
Today, Shafer says, “We have smaller animals than we used to have. With the AZA’s help, we spent a lot of time understanding what’s in the animal’s best interest. It was determined by the AZA and Brandywine Zoo leaders that our limited land footprint does not provide adequate space for large animals, including tigers.”
The zoo now features animals from the Americas, temperate and tropical Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. And though the animals may be smaller, the conservation impact is bigger.
Mutual Support
Zoo Director Brint Spencer asserts that “We aim to make a difference,” then cites some examples: “Our pair of endangered crowned lemurs have produced the only successful births in the U.S. in the past two years. Last year we partnered with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and hatched out 33 critically endangered bog turtles, which is a 150% increase of the known population of these turtles in Delaware. And in addition to our work with native species, such as bog turtles, copperheads, song birds, pollinators, and kestrels, we financially support projects in Madagascar, Peru, and the southern cone of South America.”
Shafer has found that mutual support is part of AZA culture. “The zoo community cooperates remarkably well,” he says. “We don’t compete with other zoos, we’re cooperative. We share best practices — animal care, guest services, fundraising. AZA has conferences twice a year, and I get on a call once a month with other directors on the nonprofit side and talk about the things we have in common. It’s almost like a fraternity.”
One example of this cooperation is the effort to save the North American monarch butterfly. Since 2023, the Brandywine Zoo has conducted observations for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, a citizen science effort through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Each week, beginning in summer through early fall, staff members inspect the milkweed plants on zoo grounds for monarchs at any stage of the butterfly life cycle. Other data, such as temperature, rainfall, milkweed health, and the species of flowers in bloom, is also recorded. The data is submitted by participants across the country and has been used in numerous research studies on monarch butterfly conservation.
The effort culminated last September in Mighty Monarch Day, an event in which children had the opportunity to create a paper butterfly that was sent to children in schools located near the overwintering sites in Mexico.
Many Events for Kids
Mighty Monarch Day is among several special events the zoos hosts throughout the year. Aimed primarily at youngsters, they include Party for the Planet, World Oceans Day, Stuffed Animal Vet Clinic, and World Migratory Bird Day. Recurring programs that are free with admission include Storytime, Folktale Fun, World Ranger Day K-9 demonstrations, Chesapeake Mermaid performances, and Spanish Storytime with Ms. Lia.
The zoo’s summer day camps are popular with budding wildlife conservationists and stewards of the environment. Divided into age groups from 4 to 14, the five-day camps begin in June and continue until late August.
The camps served as inspiration for Robb Dehney, who, at 26, is the youngest of the zoo’s 16-member Board of Directors. “One of my earliest recollections is going to camp multiple times each summer,” Dehney says. “It had a tremendous impact on my view of the natural world. I became a vegetarian at 5, and it’s safe to say that the zoo and education about animals had an influence on that.”
Dehney, who grew up in Wilmington, went on to become a camp counselor. He graduated from Tatnall School, then Harvard Law School, and is now an attorney in Redwood City, California. He returns to Wilmington frequently to attend board meetings and visit his parents and friends.
He says his first board meeting in the education building last year was “a full-circle experience.”
“As campers, we would sing ‘Save the Animals, Save the Earth,’” he says. “Then as a counselor, six years later, I remember sharing that song. And now I’m in a totally different role, trying to make sure those messages are amplified for the younger generation.”
While Dehney is only the second generation of his family to enjoy the zoo and its creatures, there are many area families who have been fans for three generations.
“I hear stories all the time about grandparents who remember taking their kids here and now they’re bringing their grandchildren,” says Shafer. “The public loves this zoo. We do guest surveys often and the scores we get for satisfaction and value for the money are through the roof.”
“It’s just a popular place,” he says. “I’m wildly happy with it.”
Above: The Caracal is native to Africa and southwestern Asia, In the wild, they prey on small livestock resulting in thousands of caracals being exterminated by humans every year. The Brandywine Zoo participates in a Species Survival Plan for caracals. As with mostly all the animals at the Brandywine Zoo, they were born at other AZA zoos that participate in the Species Survival Program that rebuilds the population and works to educate people and restore habitats. Photo by Doug Weiher.
The copy editor of Out & About, Bob Yearick retired from DuPont in 2000 after 34 years as an editor and writer. Since “retiring,” Bob has written articles for Delaware Today, Main Line Today and other publications. His sports/suspense novel, Sawyer, was published in 2007. His grammar column, “The War on Words,” is one of the most popular features in O&A. A compilation of the columns was published in 2011. He has won the Out & About short story contest as well as many awards in the annual Delaware Press Association writing contest.