Small agencies like the zoo have big management woes

When my daughter was a baby in the early 1970s, we’d visit the Honolulu Zoo most Sunday mornings so my wife could sleep in after a long week of nighttime breast feedings.

In her infancy, she’d gurgle happily on a blanket under a banyan tree; as she grew, she’d toddle around the lawn, rousting the pigeons looking for a handout.

She’d cruise in her stroller past the animals and her curious eyes would size up the exotic creatures that then could be observed from very close up.

The exhibits weren’t as elaborate back then and modern standards of display have since evolved, but the animals were well cared for and seemed content enough.

Honolulu Zoo was a clean, well-maintained jewel on the edge of Waikiki, something to be proud of.

That’s why it’s so painful to see the steady deterioration in recent times as I’ve taken my grandchildren for several zoo visits a year.

Many exhibits are empty or run down, and the water in some of the animal enclosures looks downright rank. Large areas are usually closed to the public for renovations that never seem to conclude.

The city’s zoo management is in chaos, with steep budget cuts and four directors resigning in the last five years; the last two had no zoo experience and both returned to the mainland in less than a year.

The turmoil leaves zoo employees perpetually disgruntled, and zoo management is in constant conflict with the Honolulu Zoo Society, which collects money to support the facility but gives little of it back.

The Honolulu Zoo has flown a banner at the entrance proclaiming its national accreditation, but everybody in the know doubts the zoo would be re-accredited if a team from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums visited today — a reality the zoo will face in January.

The zoo won re-accreditation in 2011 only after being put on "deferral" status for a time for long delays in completing the new elephant enclosure.

Loss of accreditation could mean the zoo would have to return some premier animals that are here on loan from other zoos.

Ahead of the January inspection, the Caldwell administration is rushing to hire a new director from local candidates, straighten out the management problems and fix the most glaring physical deficiencies.

It’s a pattern that’s at the root of the zoo’s problems: The city pulls out the stops to win accreditation, then badly neglects the zoo until the next inspection draws near.

In the scheme of things, the Honolulu Zoo is one of the city’s smallest agencies.

If the city can’t run the zoo competently, how can we have confidence in its management of bigger functions that have billions of dollars at stake?

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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.