Treetop Zoofari In Richmond Gives A Different Perspective
Adventure Junkies & Animal Lovers Find Themselves Converging At Metro Richmond Zoo Atop The Ziplining & Obstacle Course Above The Park
“If it was a movie about us, it would be called ‘We Made a Zoo’,” laughs Justin Andelin, general manager for Metro Richmond Zoo in Richmond, Virginia, while being asked about the movie “We Bought a Zoo.” The zoo was started by Justin’s father, Jim Andelin, in 1995. The Andelins grew up loving animals and having a lot of different animals. “My oldest brother came home crying one day because the teacher didn’t believe him when he said he had a monkey at home,” Andelin says, “So my dad brought the monkey for show-and-tell next week.” Jim Andelin had so many animals that schools and groups would come to visit their house to see all the different animals. Eventually, they bought some property with restrooms on it so school groups could more conveniently visit. That naturally led to opening a zoo in 1995.
Metro Richmond Zoo is a bit different from most zoos because it is still privately funded and operated, where most of its funding comes from ticket sales. They are ZAA accredited and not AZA accredited, however they work with all kinds of zoos throughout the country. “Zoos trade animals a lot to keep good genetics for breeding,” explains Andelin. One of their bigger programs is the Cheetah Breeding Center. In 2011, the zoo purchased land specifically for breeding cheetahs, something that is extremely hard in captivity. They have had great success breeding and “the genetics are really good,” Andelin says, meaning the parent cheetahs have different bloodlines and promote genetic diversity, a problem with animals in captivity.
“After seeing the success of adventure courses in another zoo, we decided to give it a shot,” explains Andelin. The adventure course, named Treetop Zoofari, has 15 ziplines and 42 challenges. There is a lower course for younger kids and people who are afraid of heights, and an advanced, high up course for older participants and people up for the challenge. “In many other adventure courses, they have multiple levels and you come down multiple times,” Andelin says, “but ours is a continuous course and you only come all the way down once at the end. Also, it is in a zoo so you are above the animals.” Andelin says the zoo made their adventure course to be as family friendly as possible, just like the zoo. “There are very challenging aspects to it,” he explains, “but you can bypass some of them if you are unable to do it.”
Of course, some of the ziplines go over the animals. “You are in the trees the whole time,” Andelin says, “and you don’t go over anything dangerous like bears or lions, but you go over quite a few different animals.” There are over 2000 animals in the zoo and going on the adventure course is a good way to get a view of them all. “It generally takes about 2-3 hours to get through the course,” Andelin says. All ziplines are exciting, but one of the most exciting ones takes people pretty low into an emu habitat. “About 60% of the time, the birds get excited and start chasing the people and try to nip at their feet,” Andelin laughs. He says it is a concern occasionally because some people get freaked out and try to kick the birds, though nothing has happened so far and, by and large, people really enjoy that part.
The Zoofari brings extra challenges, of course. “We have new trainings, new skills, and higher insurance,” explains Andelin. He says they also have to pay more attention to the health of the trees. “Since it is all in the trees, we need to make sure the trees are healthy as they kind of decide the route of the course,” Andelin says, “So we do a lot of preventative maintenance.”
The zoo itself prides itself on showing people how to appreciate the animals. “All the animals are ambassadors for their wild counterparts,” explains Andelin. He wants people to see and respect the animals in the zoo and then do their best to contribute to conservancy in the animal's native habitat and develop a love for the animals.
Treetop Zoofari also has an altruistic motive. “It promotes being outside and getting away from the TV,” Andelin says. People can come enjoy the course and, also, build confidence by solving challenges. He notices that they are reaching demographics that they wouldn’t normally reach at a zoo. “People are coming that don’t really like zoos to enjoy the adventure course,” he explains. They have had some unique visitors to the course, including a one armed man. “We worked with him to find ways to stabilize while on the course and he got through it,” Andelin says. They have also had a blind girl come and do the course, who came with the Wounded Warrior Project.
At the private zoo, started and still run by the same family, there truly is something for everybody and every animal. Someone who grew up with so many animals has to have a favorite. “I like the orangutans and apes,” Andelin says, “Just their docile personality and the way they move is really cool.”
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Richmond North/Kings Dominion KOA, with 32 Deluxe cabins that accommodate groups up to 10, with two full bathrooms, central a/c, high-speed Wi-Fi and four flat-screen TVs equipped with DirecTV. RV Sites can easily handle everything from pop-ups to big rigs.