Hogle Zoo: One million visitors in '09

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Utah's Hogle Zoo welcomed its millionth visitor of the year on Thursday evening -- the first time the Salt Lake City animal park has hit that mark in its 98-year history.

Zoo officials had long said one million visitors was a target they hoped to break this year, after falling just short in 2008. They got plenty of help from a bumper crop of baby animals -- including an elephant, giraffe, tigers and snow leopards -- that helped draw in visitors throughout the year.

Pat and Ray Drake, who were attending Hogle's annual Zoolights event with their grandson, Nick Leese, were recognized as the family that put the zoo over the mark.

The Drakes received a 10-year Hogle Zoo membership, a $500 shopping spree in the zoo's Wild Zootique and a weekend getaway in Park City.

"This is a great testament to the support of the community," said Hogle spokeswoman Holly Braithwaite. "It's wonderful not only for the zoo, but for all of Utah."

The ticket sales success was just one more reason to celebrate a year that was, in many respects, historic for the zoo.

In addition to the birth of the elephant calf, Zuri -- the first elephant birth in Utah since 1918 -- the zoo also completed work on the 7,200-square-foot L.S. Skaggs Animal Health Center.

Zoo officials also secured the release of a $33 million bond for improvements to park -- paving the way for a new exhibit featuring polar bears, seals and other Arctic wildlife.

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