Tyrone Turner
The Smithsonian National Zoo reopened its gates to the public Friday for the first time since closing at the start of the pandemic.
A light-but-steady crowd, consisting mostly of families, entered the park starting at 8 a.m. Visitors were required to reserve passes online ahead of time and only a limited number of people were allowed in at once.
Steve Monfort, director of the National Zoo, said up to 5,000 people per day can visit under the new safety protocols (compared to 20,000 for pre-COVID summer daily attendance).
Visitors are required to wear face coverings (recommended for children ages 2-6), social distance, and walk on single-directional paths along some of the exhibits.
“I am glad it’s open. When I saw it, I called right up and said we are coming Friday,” said Betsy Stagnos of Chantilly, Va.
The Zoo and the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and are the only Smithsonian institutions to reopen so far.
Scott Ryba, right, and his brother, Vincent Ryba, check out the cheetahs on the first day the National Zoo reopens to the public. Scott said, “My favorite animal is just cats…in general…not just house cats, but the cats that they have here, like the cheetahs and the lions and the tigers that we are going to see here.” He and his family live in Olney, Md.
A juvenile clouded leopard climbs in a tree within its habitat at the National Zoo on the first day of the zoo’s re-opening.
Photo on right—John Lee, 5, a lion and tiger fan, reacts to one of the big cats as his sister, Rachel Lee, peeks out from behind him. They live in Burke, Va. Photo on left—one of the male lions stands tall in his habitat as masked zoo-goers pass by.
An elephant marches across their enclosure. National Zoo director Steven Monfort said, ” Some of [the animals] do miss visitors, for sure. The elephants and some of the primates, even our big cats…we notice even when we are having a few extra people around…they seem to be quite excited.”
Children play in the misting stations in the National Zoo.
One of the Bornean orangutans crosses the O-Line, the 50-foot-high suspended cable track at the National Zoo. “It feels great. It feels so nice to be able to just take a walk through the zoo and enjoy seeing animals if I can…I think it is an amazing place, and I think Washington, D.C. is very lucky to have this institution here,” said Bridget Watts, a resident of the District.
Christian Zapata contributed reporting
This story originally appeared on WAMU.
