Como Zoo in Retrospect

Revisiting a beloved family spot through old photos and new research

By: Marie Ronnander

There’s a photo of my brother in Coke-bottle glasses, a wide grin cracked across his rosy face, clinging to a statue of a giant bronze tortoise stuck to our refrigerator. The picture was taken at Como Park Zoo when we were children, back when zoos seemed like magical places full of majestic wild beasts. Even now, the park brings back fond memories of the sweet, heavy air of the conservatory, hopping across the stones of the Japanese garden, or the sloth lazily hanging from his tree. 

As I grew older, however, I started noticing the depressing concrete confines of the sea lions or the small amount of space dedicated to the giraffes. Animals accustomed to vast amounts of space and warmer climates are forced to become Minnesota-dwellers, hunkering down for the winter in their cages. After time, I wondered how ethical it was to keep these animals in areas where they could barely run. 

With that being said, I’m impressed by how far the zoo has come in updating its habitats. For example, the sea lions recently received a $21 million makeover that provides more swimming space for the animals. Similarly, the Polar Bear Odyssey habitat has come a long way from its crude 1926 chain-linked cage. And the gorillas, as of 2018, have the largest all-mesh gorilla habitat in North America. Yet even with all these (expensive) improvements, the Twin Cities have managed to keep the zoo free all throughout.

My brother recently returned to Como Zoo while on break from his stint at Americorp and made a pilgrimage to his favorite statue. He re-took the famed photo, and when he showed it to me, I asked him what he thought about the zoo now that he’s a full-fledged adult. He chuckled and told me that, while his dreams of being a zoologist were never realized, he still loved the animals in Como. Sure, improvements are still needed, and they will likely always need updating, but it’s reassuring to know that the animals in the enclosures won’t go extinct if we take care of them. I strongly urge anyone who hasn’t visited the park to at least walk the conservatory—and maybe chip in a dollar to support the future of the animals.