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With a good end-of-year bump from its "ZooLights" display, Utah's Hogle Zoo finished 2014 with its second highest annual visitation total — 1,219,309.
That was 2,054 less than in 2012, when the long-awaited Rocky Shores exhibit opened, and 16 percent better than the 1,051,413 visitors who came through the turnstiles in 2013.
"Without question, it was a banner year," Zoo Executive Director Craig Dinsmore said Thursday.
Like 2012 with Rocky Shores, the zoo benefited last year from an exhibit opening — African Savanna. "It was well received and very popular with our guests," he said of the exhibit that reintroduced lions to the zoo, added a nyala and revitalized habitat for Hogle's giraffes.
But what really pleased Dinsmore was the number 96,822. That was the visitation figure between Nov. 29 and Dec. 31 for ZooLights, topping the previous record of 76,208, also set in 2012.
A new individual-night record also was set Dec. 18, when 6,868 people saw the zoo grounds adorned in lights.
"Those numbers are very gratifying because it suggests to us ZooLights is established and becoming a family tradition that people want to do at the holidays," Dinsmore said.
He acknowledged that warm weather for much of December probably helped boost the total.
"We're not going to set 96,000 as the benchmark for every year to beat," Dinsmore said, "but it shows that the potential is there if all the factors come together. I'm hopeful ZooLights has arrived."
Zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen said Oct. 25 was the busiest day of 2014. The annual Boo at the Zoo bash attracted 13,121 — most wearing trick-or-treat costumes.
Throughout the year, visitors remarked repeatedly that they were pleased to have the internal railway back along with the Leon the Lion drinking fountain, she added, also citing compliments for the zoo's expanded parking and a wheelchair ramp.
Dinsmore is optimistic about 2015, too.
He plans to replace a play area for little children that was displaced by the African Savanna. The new facility will be built where the monkey house used to be, adjacent to Lighthouse Point splash zone.
Plans are developing to allow the public to feed the giraffes, Dinsmore said, adding that he expects high public interest in seeing the zoo's orphaned baby orangutan as he gets more acclimated to life with his keepers.
The young male, whose name will be picked in a public process later, was born Nov. 4
A crowning jewel for Dinsmore will be playing host Sept. 17-21 to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual convention.
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