Freebies Overwhelm Zoo : 70th Birthday Bash Lures Nearly 40,000 Animal Lovers to San Diego’s Pet Park

“Are these people enjoying this?” taxi driver Doug Tilleskjor asked Monday as he pointed to the cars and trucks inching their way along Park Boulevard near the San Diego Zoo, which celebrated its 70th birthday Sunday by offering free admission.

“It’s bumper-to-bumper people,” said Tina Shain, one of the people who was, in fact, enjoying herself as she snapped a photograph of her 7-year-old son, Tito, sitting in the clutches of Mbongo, a statue of a Belgian Congo gorilla that sits just inside the zoo’s main entrance.

And so it went Monday as an avalanche of people poured through the zoo’s turnstiles for a freebie, breaking the zoo’s all-time attendance record and creating heavy congestion on nearby streets and major highways.

About an hour after the zoo opened at 9 a.m., its 3,200-space parking lot was jammed, forcing zoogoers to find parking elsewhere, zoo spokeswoman Jean Gertmenian said. By noon, 20,249 people had passed through the turnstiles, and by the time the zoo closed its gates at 4:10 p.m., 39,033 had paid the zoo a visit. The previous record was set in 1965 when 38,545 visited the zoo after a private company lured people there with free admission.

Last year, when the zoo also honored its birthday with free admission, 21,300 showed up, Gertmenian said. On a typical autumn Monday morning, about 5,000 people might visit the zoo, she said.

“I would call it very nice but quite a shock,” Gertmenian said, referring to the crowds.

Just getting to the zoo was difficult, and some people were forced to park their cars three-quarters of a mile away and walk to the entrance, zoo officials said. San Diego police said that besides slow conditions on Park Boulevard, traffic on Interstate 5 and California 163 near the zoo was backed up in both directions for about a mile between noon and 3 p.m. The northbound off-ramp from California 163 at Richmond Street also was closed from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. because of the congestion.

“No one told us about the free admission, so it caught us by surprise,” San Diego Police Officer Rey Armstrong said as he steered traffic away from the zoo’s main entrance.

Gertmenian said the zoo apparently was a victim of its own promotions. Unlike last year’s 69th birthday party, the zoo ballyhooed its 70th with a six-month promotional campaign featuring television and newspaper advertising and other gimmicks. But no one expected nearly 40,000 people to show up.

“I guess you could say it caught us a little by surprise,” Otis Lambert, a zoo security officer, said as he stood next to the pink flamingos and answered a non-stop stream of questions from zoo visitors. By noon, 10 to 15 children had been reported missing by their parents, he said. On a typical autumn day, four or five might be reported missing all day.

“It’s unreal. Terrible, we’re swamped,” zoo grounds attendant Stephen Pry said, explaining that zoo management always decreases the number of attendants it employs after Labor Day when the summer tourist season is declared over. “We can’t keep up.”

Many of those who came to the zoo said free admission was the reason. And the crowds did not bother them that much, they said.

“It’s the only way I can afford it with four kids,” Marsha Deiter said as she munched on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Deiter, who lives in El Cajon, had managed to escape the hot sun by finding some shade to park the strollers carrying her twin 6-month-old boys. Her other two young sons sat nearby on the ground.

“I’ve never seen so many kids in one place before,” said Kass Speerly, who had offered to help escort about 20 children from a church school to the zoo. Nevertheless, Speerly, who had never visited the zoo before, said she thought it was a good idea to offer free admission because some people cannot afford the admission price. Admission is $6.50 for adults and $2.50 for children.

“People who under regular circumstances couldn’t come to the zoo, can come to the zoo,” Speerly said.

Peggy Manchee, who came with her two children and a friend, said she had not visited the zoo for five or six years. The crowd did not bother her, she said. Her 10-year-old son, Michael, was not bothered by the crowd, either.

“They’re rad,” he said.

Sandy Madison was sitting with her 2-year-old sister, Camille, waiting for her stepmother to return from a crowded concession stand. She explained that this was the first time she had been to the zoo, and planned to come back because of the wonderful time she was having.

“Overall, it’s just like one big happy family out here,” the Point Loma resident said.

Things were not going as well for Tony Crow, leaning against a zoo vehicle parked in the shade. The San Diego resident admitted he had been talked into coming to the park by his wife, Yoly, and was a little disappointed.

“The only thing free is the general admission,” he said, referring to the fact that patrons must pay for such attractions as bus tours and the cable car ride.

Crow said he had arrived about 11 a.m., and by 1 p.m. he had had enough of the crowds and lines. He said he would probably return to the zoo another day when it was less hectic.

“I hope she gets her popcorn and she’ll want to go,” he said, pointing to his wife, who was waiting in a line.