‘Please continue to enjoy the zoo with free admission’

“Please continue to enjoy the zoo with free admission.”

The directive was one of new Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda’s first official acts Tuesday, just a day after taking office, with the announcement that it will still cost nothing to visit Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens in Hilo after the beginning of next year.

Hawaiʻi County Department of Parks and Recreation plans to introduce admission fees at the zoo were suspended for further review and study.

“The Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens is one of the county’s gems and it is important that we continue to steward this facility and ensure that residents can enjoy it fairly and equitably,” said Alameda in the department’s announcement Tuesday. “Introducing admission fees is a big step that requires careful consideration from our administration with input from the public and community stakeholders.”

Costs of $4 per adult and $1 per child for Hawaiʻi residents and $12 per adult and $5 per child for non-residents to enter the facility would have gone into effect Jan. 2, 2025, under rule changes proposed by previous Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration.

Discounts for seniors, active military and people with disabilities, as well as deals for families, school trips and youth programs also would have been offered.

The zoo opened in 1978 and is part of the county’s Pana‘ewa Recreational Complex, which includes the Pana‘ewa Equestrian Center.

Proposed changes at the equestrian center were also put on hold.

Overseen by Parks and Recreation, talks about implementing admission fees to support zoo operations are not new. County and private donations have been its main source of funding for years.

Friends of the Pana‘ewa Zoo, a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting the zoo and its animals, has become a close-knit partner with the zoo, raising funds through the zoo gift shop, various other projects and fundraisers for programs and special events to fill in where the county’s budget and other private donations cannot.

While the Friends group, volunteers and private donations continue to support the zoo, the thought behind implementing admission fees was that the additional funds generated could help create of a more robust experience for guests.

More staff could be hired, more exhibits and more programs — all which would grow the zoo.

The new funds also would supplement efforts of Friends of the Pana‘ewa Zoo through playground improvements, more programming for zoo visitors and creating signage with extra informtion about the zoo’s animals.

However, the change was met with considerable backlash from the public.

“I ain’t paying for a zoo that I have visited for free since I was a kid,” commented Laci Leialoha on a post by Shannon Matson in the Hilo Happenings group on Facebook sharing information about a public meeting Nov. 29 for the proposed rule changes, which many thought was rushed and not timed well.

Leialoha and others also used an expletive referring to the feces of a male bovine to describe the proposed change.

Robbie Buckley commented the admission fees would only be the beginning. Next it will be parking fees.

“Never once have we been that we didn’t stuff money into the donation box. The kids always took all our change and put it in the spiral gravity thing,” wrote Buckley. “I think all this will do is cause us to not go anymore. No more birthdays there or anything else for that matter.”

Jess Leilani Baugues always wondered how the zoo is able to still get by without charging admission. It needs a lot of upkeep, and Bauges said it would be that bad to charge, but knows people have a hard time as it is right now and the zoo is one of the only free things to do with keiki on the island these days.

“I wonder if they could make a yearly pass or something? But affordable,” wrote Bauges.

Sheel Simone commented that island visitors should be the only ones to be charged admission if a fee is to be charged. Otherwise, similarly to how some other places operation, including ʻAkaka Falls State Park in Honomū on the Big Island’s Hāmākua Cost, someone who has a Hawaiʻi driver’s license or ID should be admitted free.

“In an attempt to make money, they will just end up losing money,” commented Casey Eberle.”

Scott Murray also questioned a part of the proposed rule changes that he inerpreted as him needing permission to even be admitted into the zoo.

“So according to this, because I use a walker, I have to get permission from the administrator before I can go to the zoo?” wrote Murray, referring to proposed rule No. 1 of the new general rules and regulations affecting zoo patrons that included wheeled medical and/or personal assistive devices may be permitted on the zoo grounds with prior approval of the zoo administrator. “Probably time to forward this to the [Americans with Disabilities Act] and see what they have to say.”

Big Island residents attending the Nov. 29 meeting also urged Parks and Recreation to reconsider its plan to implement admission fees and other zoo rule changes as well as increase stall deposit fees at the equestrian center.

“We will study this matter carefully before deciding if any such actions are warranted,” Alameda said in the department’s announcement Tuesday.

News reporter Nathan Christophel contributed to this story.