The MEMernet was wild for the white stuff last weekend. It was that “good snow,” making snowmen, snowballs, and snow sledding all easy and fun and driving not so dangerous.
“These children give added meaning to ‘birdie’ while taking flight Saturday above the Overton Park golf course,” said Tom Bailey on Facebook.
The Memphis Zoo’s socials were blown up last weekend. Reels showed tigers playing, a grizzly bear rolling in the snow, and Babu, a mandrill, knocking over a snowman.
Posted to Facebook by Memphis Zoo
There was also lots of love out there for the often-maligned city and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW). Redditors tipped their hats to MLGW’s tree-trimming efforts, which helped to keep the lights on, and to the city for keeping the roads clear. Wow.
CA for Arts?
Posted to Facebook by Jay Etkin
Art gallery own Jay Etkin wants to turn the former Commercial Appeal building on Union into the Flow Museum of Art & Culture. Etkin said he is in talks with city, county, and state leaders on the idea.
The building is on the auction block at the end of the month. Another idea would turn the building into a vocation training center for youth (see here).
Sophia, Charlotte, and Drake Newman with Hunter, McNeilly, and Miller Cowan (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Memphis Zoo was aglow for the holidays with its annual Truist Zoo Lights.
Attire was heavy coats on chilly nights for visitors who drank hot chocolate and took photos standing in front of festive light displays. They kept their coats on, but removed their shoes to don skates at the ice-skating rink.
Sienna Dawson and Aubree Green
Nicole Cupo and Patrick Croce
Jahnearean Joy and Myashanti EdwardsDavid and Debbie McAnally, Chris Buckley, Cindy Buckley, and Carolyn Jackson Alissa and Anthony Martin, Caleb Fuller, and Peyton Brown Kristyn Martin and Keiyoma DabneyBryson McArter, Jessica McArter, and Janae Topes
Morgan, Maverick, and Tony Morgan
Zoo Lights has been going on “at least 20 years,” says Memphis Zoo communications specialist Rebecca Winchester.
“This year’s event was successful. It is always wonderful welcoming the community back to Memphis Zoo.”
Veronica Chacin and Diego Sanchez Carlo Duran and Eliza Seaton Li Mayblum, Jordan Kamerzink, and Adeline JanoviceIan Cox and Joe Craig Matt Quick and Katie Fye Dakota Wilson and Ajay Jone
And, she says, “We look forward to providing the Memphis community with this holiday tradition every year.”
Asked how many lights were displayed, Winchester says. “I do not know the exact number of lights. However, it does take an entire month to set up.”
Zoe, Portia, Enzo, and Ashton Jeffries
Winchester did know how many people viewed those lights. “From my understanding, we have seen over 45,000 guests so far this season.”
Patrick Morris, Kimberly Morris, Brenda Morris, and Herman Morris (Photos: Michael Donahue)
People still wore animal print outfits to the Zoo Rendezvous, but pink definitely was the color of choice at the Memphis Zoo fundraiser.
“Barbie” was the theme of this year’s event, which was held September 7th and drew more than 3,000 people.
Maddie Caldwell and Andrew GeraciGreg and Dory GastonJade and Marcus McCall
People were invited “to dress as their own Barbie,” says Erica Kelsey, Memphis Zoo special events and corporate sponsorship manager. They were encouraged to express themselves “in Barbie form.”
The event featured 50 restaurants, 15 food trucks, 17 specialty bars, and five full bars.
Charlie and Emily SullivanKaty, Susan, and Tripp Thompson Savannah Jeffrey and Arnold Medal
Paula & Raiford’s Disco was a new addition. The downtown hotspot replaced Blind Bear, which had been a staple at the event until it recently closed. When thinking of what would be a good replacement for Blind Bear, Kelsey thought, “The party is at Raiford’s.”
“It was a great addition to the Zoo Rendezvous this year,” Kelsey says. She says owner Paula Raiford told her, “I’m locked in for years to come.”
What makes the Zoo Rendezvous so special? “I think Memphians have a special love in their heart for the zoo. Everyone wants to support the zoo in some capacity.”
Scientists at the Memphis Zoo have — for the first time in the world — successfully produced the first reptile offspring using frozen semen and artificial insemination.
The team achieved the feat through its work to preserve the Louisiana pinesnake. The Memphis Zoo’s Science team is led by Dr. Steve Reichling, Beth Roberts, and previous post-doctoral scientist Dr. Mark Sandfoss. The team collected, froze, and later thawed semen, which was then used to successfully inseminate a female Louisiana pinesnake.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
“Today, the future of endangered reptiles got a little brighter,” Reichling said.
Reptiles are often overlooked in such breeding methods, the zoo said in a news release. The concept of a “frozen zoo” has primarily focused on mammals, birds, and amphibians. The zoo’s method used in snakes demonstrated its potential in reptile conservation worldwide, it said.
“The emergence of these three hatchlings summed up five years of reproductive research and 30 years of Memphis Zoo’s use of cutting-edge science and dedication to save the Louisiana pinesnake from extinction,” said Roberts, Senior Reproductive Scientist at Memphis Zoo.
Testing at Auburn University confirmed that the offspring were sired by the male snake donor.
“We see this success as a huge step forward to enable future efforts to improve the genetic health of this species and other threatened reptile species,” said Dr. Tonia Schwartz, Associate Professor in Auburn’s Department of Biological Sciences.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
The Louisiana pinesnake is one of the rarest snakes in North America. Habitat loss continues to threaten their survival. So, researchers said the ability to use frozen semen offers new hope for maintaining genetic diversity in the species and ensuring its long-term survival. The zoo team plans to continue its work in reptile conservation, building on its research, and collaborating with other institutions worldwide.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
“Memphis Zoo is setting an example for the global community,” said Sandfoss, who spearheaded the research. “We’ve shown that it’s possible to use cryopreserved genetic material to aid in the recovery of an endangered species, paving the way for similar efforts with other reptile species in the future.”
“We just secured $393+ MILLION through the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] to fully replace the I-55 bridge connecting America through #Memphis,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) posted late last week. “As @POTUS would say, it’s a ‘Big **** Deal’! And it sure is — it’s likely the largest single investment the federal government has ever made in Memphis.”
Cohen and iPhone
Posted to YouTube by Corey Strong
In a new political ad, Corey Strong looked back to 2007 when the iPhone was introduced and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) was first elected to Congress, noting that Cohen had been around “longer than the iPhone.”
“What have we seen?” Strong asks. “Do we have the infrastructure we need to succeed? Have we seen the growth that neighboring areas have seen? No.”
The Zoo
Posted to Facebook by Juicy J
Juicy J’s new album Memphis Zoo (released last week) features amazing cover art (right). Sharks swim in a glass Pyramid aquarium. A grizzly bear plays basketball. A masked-up giraffe holds a ring of keys, promising escape.
The Memphis Zoo plans to invest $250 million over the next 20 years on a comprehensive campus plan to “fortify our reputation as a world-class zoo.”
Zoo president and CEO Matt Thompson announced the plan in an email sent Monday morning to zoo members and community stakeholders. That email came with a link to a survey seeking opinions to guide the planning process.
“As we look to the next twenty years and beyond, we seek to invest upwards of $250 million to reimagine this home for wildlife, to unlock opportunities for animal care and conservation, and strengthen our position as a community amenity through guest education and enhancement,” Thompson wrote. “This comprehensive campus plan aims to improve outdated priority areas across our campus and will create world-class animal exhibits and unforgettable family memories for decades to come.”
The plan calls for general infrastructure improvements but will focus on these exhibits: Great Lawn and Stingray (coming in 2025), Africa, Penguins, Oceans to Forests Journey, Nature Adventure and Ambassadors, Weird and Wonderful, and South America.
The first exhibit set for improvement is the Africa Veldt, home to “some of our most iconic and loved species, the African elephants and giraffes.” The plan could increase habitat space there by four times and cost $75 million.
“The existing facilities are dated and the habitat provides insufficient space for new and improved levels of care for our elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hyenas, and mixed hoofstock,” Thompson said. “Our reimagined habitat will increase acreage by four times to improve naturalistic features by unlocking time-shared and mixed-species spaces.
“The improved infrastructure will also provide the community with new ways to connect and learn about wildlife with a new Africa lodge and immersive guest experiences such as a new giraffe feeding zone.”
Zoo officials have hired CCS Fundraising, a strategic fundraising consulting firm, to guide its campaign planning efforts. The zoo said a “vital step” of their work will be to gather feedback and advice from leaders and friends of the zoo on the scope, leadership, timing, and key messaging of a potential major fundraising campaign for the first phase of these efforts.
Cosmic forces painted the skies around Memphis with the dazzling colors of the northern lights over the weekend.
“I actually gasped when I went outside and saw the pink hue in the sky between Arlington and Millington,” tweeted Jason L.
“Fabulous”
Posted to X by Memphis Zoo
The Memphis Zoo wished a happy Mother’s Day on X with this photo of mom Wendy and her new calf, Fitz, born last month. To all moms, the zoo said, “Keep being fabulous.”
Never-ending Elvis
Posted to X by Argo Memphis
The whole “post a picture that says you’re from Memphis” thing is still making the rounds on X. Argo Memphis wasn’t playing with the meme above, but it certainly qualifies.
A new giraffe was born at the Memphis Zoo this week.
Fitz is six feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. He was born Tuesday, April 2nd, which is also his father Niklas’ birthday.
Fitz is Niklas’ 10th calf and the fourth calf for mother Wendy. Fitz will be on exhibit at the African Veldt section of the zoo, exploring and playing close to his mother.
“If the weather is nice, Fitz will be out on exhibit first thing in the morning and be out for a few hours each day,” the zoo said in a statement.
In the wild, giraffes as a species are undergoing what has been termed a “silent extinction” as they’re rapidly disappearing in their native habitat. The population overall has declined 40 percent in the last 30 years.
“This calf’s birth is very significant and is part of a Species Survival Plan,” the zoo said. “Species Survival Plans manage the breeding of a species to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable.”
Memphis Police Department Chief CJ Davis did not win immediate support from the Memphis City Council to keep her job last week. But the final decision may come next week.
More than 77 percent of 106 voters in an X poll by council chairman JB Smiley Jr. last week said they did not want Davis as top cop anymore.
Damn Weather
Snow and cold temperatures were forecast for Memphis before press time. To prepare, The Damn Weather of Memphis asked Facebook friends about uniquely Memphis weather preparations.
One stocks a Yeti cooler with Tops food. Another showed a “full carb sellout” with empty bread shelves at the Germantown Kroger. Most suggested stocking up on alcohol, lots of alcohol.
Lion Tale
Posted to Facebook by John Hinant
That urban myth about a Memphis Zoo lion used as the original MGM logo lion surfaced again in the Historic Memphis Facebook group last week. The myth has been denied by zoo officials at least as far back as the 1950s.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland speaks at a news conference Tuesday during an update on the plan to maneuver resources around Overton Park to end Greensward parking forever. (Credit: Toby Sells)
Moves are underway to make real a plan unveiled in March 2022 that will enlarge Overton Park, add parking for the Memphis Zoo, and forever end parking on the park’s Greensward.
(Credit: Overton Park Conservancy)
A Tuesday news conference updating the project came a year and seven months after officials signed a plan to end the decades-old use of the Greensward for overflow parking. Many of those same officials met on that large field Tuesday to outline some of the movements making their plan a reality. Much go the new activity comes thanks to $3 million in federal funding, announced in July 2021 and secured by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis).
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland was voted into office one year after tensions between park activists and zoo leaders began to mount. The Greensward issue has been a mainstay on the Strickland administration’s agenda from when it began in 2016 to nearly its end later this year. (Follow the link above for details.)
Strickland outlined several projects in motion now to make that plan a reality:
• The City of Memphis Public Works and General Services personnel have vacated 281 East Parkway and moved to the Coca-Cola facility off of Hollywood by Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. (Some of these 21 acres will become parkland once again.)
• Zoo maintenance has begun moving and relocating some of their equipment to that 281 East Parkway facility.
• The city has performed preliminary design to demolish and regrade the existing city of Memphis facility located off East Parkway.
• The city has performed preliminary design to the demolition, regrade, paving, and re-striping of the existing zoo lot located on North Parkway east of University Street.
• The city is also working with Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) to identify and move any power or light poles within the project area.
Tina Sullivan, executive director of Overton Park Conservancy (OPC), noted minor adjustments to the park’s original plan for the Greensward. Also, she said no solid plans have yet been made for the space in the southeast corner of the park that will be open once the city has vacated it.
One of the original plans imagined an earthen berm to be built around portions of the Greensward, especially where the field bordered the zoo’s main parking lot. Instead, a shaded walking trail will be added all around the Greensward to give visitors access to it and a shady spot to sit.
(Credit: Overton Park via Facebook)
Also, improvements around Rainbow Lake will “naturalize and beautify” it to “look more like a real lake rather than a concrete pond.” The Rainbow Lake Pavillion will be replaced with a new facility that will allow rentals and offer some outdoor education classroom space.
(Credit: Overton Park Conservancy)(Credit: Overton Park Conservancy)
Some of these changes were seen on renderings present during Tuesday’s news conference. Though, Sullivan said those were ideas more than concrete plans.
Tuesday’s event featured many thanks to the many organizations who worked together for these many years to make a plan that worked and to execute that plan.
“Well, the Greensward’s been saved and Jim Strickland had a lot to do with it,” Cohen said, noting that his help came during the “fourth quarter” of the game. “He received a lot of gruff, which he did not deserve because he was working quietly to get this done.”
To which, Strickland later returned the thanks, saying Cohen’s help with the federal funding “led us into a two-minute drive down the field to score a touchdown at the end,” continuing the football analogy.
Of special note, though, is the new relationship formed between zoo leaders and those from OPC. Much of the early work on this issue seemed adversarial between the two. However, former zoo president and CEO Jim Dean seemingly brought a cooperative spirit to the situation, helping to create a new way forward that not only solved the parking situation but yielded 17 acres of zoo property back to the park.
During Tuesday’s event, Sullivan called new zoo president and CEO Matt Thompson “my new best friend” and Thompson called that a “mutual feeling.”
