Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph (October 5, 2003)

Caldwell Zoo Gets Off To a Fresh Start
By MARK COLLETTE, Staff Writer

Things have changed around the Caldwell Zoo since the time Scott Maddox played football with a cheetah.

The 17-year veteran zookeeper, now the zoo's assistant director, doesn't recommend frolicking with big carnivores (nor does he do it anymore), and that's not just because the cats pop the ball the first time they catch it.

But if one of the cheetahs were to be carried off the field, it would only be a short trip to a bright new on-site hospital, part of more than $6 million in renovations and improvements the zoo is showcasing this weekend.

The hospital, closed to the public for safety reasons, is another component zoo officials hope will become self-sustaining once the zoo begins charging admission Monday for the first time in 50 years.

Officials estimated between 7,000 and 10,000 people took advantage of the free admission to "ZooFest" on Saturday. New visitors and those who haven't come for a while were greeted with a new "arrival experience" - an expansive plaza with a series of walk-through exhibits and habitats separated by a waterfall and moat system, which flows throughout the park.

Other new construction since 2000 includes animal holding buildings, a picnic area, parking lots, a petting zoo, a horticulture center and a brooder house for raising birds.

With the zoo drawing more than 600,000 visitors annually, officials said the new admission fees will allow the facilities to sustain themselves so the nonprofit Caldwell Foundation can distribute its resources to other areas in the community.

"I think initially attendance may drop a little bit, but it will recover very quickly," Maddox said.

Zoo staffers who underestimated Saturday's attendance had to make a special trip to Dallas for popcorn and printer ribbons.

Tyler businessman and philanthropist D.K. Caldwell, the uncle of zoo director Hayes Caldwell, began 50 years ago with a few domestic animals in his back yard.

"Then he added a monkey and a parrot, and here we are today," Caldwell said.

 Now the facility has 2,000 animals of 250 species. It is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, which holds zoos to more stringent standards than the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other regulating agencies, Maddox said.

Zookeeping has changed considerably since the Caldwell Zoo began, and even since Maddox tossed the old pigskin around with some big cats. The quality of care has increased, he said, and zoos place a higher premium on natural habitats with fewer obvious barriers visible to the public.

Officials say the zoo's goal is to educate the public and promote conservation.

The new hospital replaces an old, cramped facility. It has five stalls to quarantine sick animals. The zoo contracts with Tyler's Glenwood Animal Hospital for veterinary care in the on-site building, which is equipped to handle ailments from a common cold to more serious problems requiring surgery.

But, Maddox said, if it's a giraffe, "you do everything possible not to" have surgery. "Then if you have to, you do it at the barn."

Aside from his face-to-face encounter with a cheetah, Maddox says the spirit of the Caldwell Zoo is what will stay with him whenever his career ends.

"What will stick with me the longest is that the people I work with genuinely care," he said. "They care about the people and the animals, and the public."

HOURS AND PRICES

Starting Monday, general admission costs $6 for adults, $5 for seniors 55 or older, $3.50 for children age 3-12, and free for children 2 or younger. Group rates and memberships are available.

The zoo, at 2203 Martin Luther King Blvd., is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through March 31. From April 1 to Sept. 30, hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The zoo is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Used with permission, Tyler Morning Telegraph