Photo by Daniel Reidel

Do you enjoy early morning and late afternoon walks among cute and cuddly animals? Welp, the National Zoo won’t accommodate your urban hike in 2016.

The Smithsonian National Zoo has cut its hours, effective January 1. The zoo’s new hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., instead of its previous 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. visitor times.

The time change sparked outrage among the zoo’s neighbors in Woodley Park and Mount Pleasant, who are among the folks that use the zoo’s path for daily walking, jogging, and other fitness activities.

“This change in hours will have a direct negative impact on the quality of life in our community, on the health of our neighbors, and on our safety and security. We urge that this change be delayed until the community and elected officials can meet to discuss and resolve this issue,” says a MoveOn.org petition created by locals that went live on December 8.

The 500 signatories include out-of-towners. One New Yorker expressed concern about visitors missing the most important part of the day for the zoo’s “star attraction” Bao Bao (she probably meant Bei Bei ).

Courtesy of MoveOn.org

In response to the petition, the zoo cited reasoning for the time change as a “commitment to safety and security.” In a statement to the Washington City Paper, a zoo spokesperson said:

While we have avoided accidents to date, the risk for something serious to happen is too great for us to ignore. In the fall/winter evening hours, it is dark and potentially hazardous on our pathways. Moreover, we cannot install more artificial lighting on all of the pathways because we aim to replicate the natural light cycle of our animals, ensuring the natural biological rhythms and behaviors of animals are minimally affected.

Two days after the petition went live, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a letter to the zoo’s director Dennis Kelly. She criticized the zoo for making a decision to change its hours without holding a public meeting beforehand. “Informing residents of what you intend to do after the fact is autocratic, antidemocratic, and personally offensive to me as the congresswoman who represents the District,” Holmes said in the statement.

But it looks like the new hours are sticking.

The zoo did tell the City Paper that the Rock Creek Park bike path will remain open and unaffected by the change. Plus, animal houses will open one hour earlier to give visitors more opportunities to see animals, “which is the primary reason people come to the National Zoo.”