Already facing budget cuts, the Wildlife Conservation Society may also be losing money thanks to this summer's insufferable heat. According to the Daily News, July's record temperatures have kept people away from the Bronx Zoo, as well as the Central Park, Queens and Prospect Park Zoos—at the former, the WCS is projecting 275,000 visitors for July, which is a drop down from 400,000 last July.
Director of The Bronx Zoo, Jim Breheny, told the paper, "We've experienced, like the rest of New York, these record high temperatures, and I think it's dissuaded a lot of people from coming through the zoo. We want to remind people we have the great advantage of being located in the middle of this old hardwood forest. All our paths are shaded."
The zoo is now offering a 20% discount to visitors, young and old alike, to combat their losses. And the drop in attendance also means short lines—so it might be a good time to finally check out those adorable lion cubs (it's just to bad the old platypusary isn't still around) or see bear cubs frolicking, as they are in this video:
Meanwhile, how are the animals faring in the heat? Up in Boston the zoo serves some of its animals frozen blood popsicles to help cool them off—but a rep from the Bronx Zoo told us that isn't the case here (he did note, however, "we sometimes give some of the animals ice, but [they] have everything they need to keep themselves comfortable in all kinds of weather."
