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Courtesy Oregon Zoo

Yesterday brought the disturbing news that Metro—the government entity that represents Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties—had laid off 40 percent of their workforce due to severe loss of revenue from closures caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Along with land management, garbage collection, and recycling, Metro is also in charge of several recreational facilities that have been forced to close due to COVID-19, including the Oregon Convention Center, the Portland’5 Centers for the Performing Arts, the Expo Center, and the Oregon Zoo.

Remaining Metro employees may be subject to further reductions in work time, as well as possible furloughs. While this is surely a hardship for those who have been laid off and seen salary reductions, it raises the question of who will be chosen to remain onsite and maintain these locations, and in particular, will there be enough staff to properly take care of the animals currently residing at the Oregon Zoo?

The Mercury contacted Oregon Zoo director, Dr. Don Moore, to ask about how the zoo would be dealing with the loss of staff.

"As part of the Metro family, the Oregon Zoo will be greatly affected by the layoffs," Dr. Moore responded in an email. "We are carefully considering our path forward. The zoo, of course, must keep caring for the animals even if it doesn’t have visitors, and animal welfare will remain our highest priority."

Moore added despite the layoffs, the animals would "receive the same high-quality care as always" from their keepers and veterinary staff, who will also be getting support from zoo management to "have the resources and information [they need] to weather this difficult time."

Like other businesses in the area who have been financially crippled by the coronavirus, Moore says their priority is to "sustain our operations so that employees who are laid off can come back to work as soon as possible and we can continue to serve our community."

One activity that seems to be continuing unabated is the Oregon Zoo's much-lauded Twitter account, which continuously provides A-plus content like this:

Dr. Moore says the public can help sustain the zoo (and the animals who live there) during this difficult time by donating to the Oregon Zoo Foundation here.