“Shout-out to whoever grew this at the Memphis Zoo,” Jimmy Cassidy wrote on Facebook last week. The post blew up with 274 comments and 889 shares as of press time. The “um, actually” crowd jumped in hot to point out the plant is “a weed, not the weed you think lol.”
Holy Weather
Posted to Facebook by WREG
Facebook commenters loved and hated WREG for using a Bible verse in a weather report last week.
Evan Hurst asked why a news station was posting Bible verses, to which Rich Martin replied, “Because we can. Now go f.” Hurst responded with, “Go ‘f’? You can type the word, big guy. Jesus already knows you thought it.”
Memphis AF
Posted to Twitter by Kollege Kidd
“Ja Morant’s rookie card got Young Dolph and Key Glock on it,” tweeted Kollege Kidd. Yes, that was way back in May but it’s still [fire emoji]. H/T to MemphisAsFuck.
City leaders, the Memphis Zoo, and the Overton Park Conservancy made final Monday a parking plan that came after years of protests, battles at Memphis City Hall, and a host of proposals. It’s a plan that will forever end parking on the park’s Greensward.
Credit: Memphis Zoo, city of Memphis, Overton Park Conservancy
The zoo has parked cars on the Greensward for decades (at least since the 1980s) in a handshake agreement with city. Grumbling about the deal and the cars goes back at least as long as the deal has been in place.
Vehicles periodically cut deep, hard, muddy ruts on a northern edge of the Greensward, rendering it useless for recreation. Sometime around early 2014 an ad hoc group blocked-off the greensward with orange traffic cones and sat around their barrier in camp chairs, daring anyone to pass. This was the opening salvo of what would be a nearly nine-year battle between park advocates and the public, the zoo, members of the Memphis City Council, and two mayors.
Flyer columnist Bruce VanWyngarden deftly summed up the next few years in a 2021 column.
”Things started getting really heated in 2014. Park lovers formed groups: Get Off Our Lawn (GOOL) and Citizens to Preserve Overton Park (CPOP). Activists stood on nearby street corners urging zoo patrons to park on nearby streets, rather than despoiling the Greensward. Aerial photographs were taken that showed just how much of the people’s parkland was being taken over by a private entity. The pictures got national attention. Protestors were arrested. Houses all over Midtown bore signs urging Memphis to Save the Greensward.
savethegreensward.org
“Then the zoo cut down some trees. [Activists held a second line for them and planted some new trees in protest.] Some activists threatened to begin spray-painting cars. A zoo sign at the park entrance was defaced. Things were tense.
“And then, in the winter of 2016, newly elected Mayor Jim Strickland managed to get both sides into mediation. After months of costly negotiation, a compromise was struck. The zoo would be allowed to enlarge its lot to 415 spaces, taking some of the Greensward, but with the great majority of the land being preserved. The zoo subsequently announced that it would build a parking garage on nearby Prentiss Place and wouldn’t need to expand its lot. Huzzah! Parking on the Greensward was a thing of the past. Peace reigned in the Kingdom.
“At least it did until last Friday night at 5:06 p.m., when the zoo and city issued a joint press release stating that the Prentiss garage project was being scrapped because it was too expensive and that the zoo would go back to the lot-expansion plan, and, oh, while it was being expanded, the zoo would once again be letting its customers park on the Greensward. Enjoy your weekend. Nothing to see here.”
No work was done, however, and not an inch of the Greensward was taken. Winter weather was rightfully blamed at the time.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
In 2018, Zoo CEO Chuck Brady — seen as a zoo-first hardliner and unrelenting negotiator — resigned. He was replaced in 2019 by Jim Dean, a native Memphian who had served as president of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
Dean was largely seen as a diplomatic compromiser who helped lead the zoo, park, and city through to the new plan that got the final approval Monday. Dean was replaced this year by Matt Thompson, the zoo’s former executive director and vice president (and the Zoo Dude personality on the zoo’s social channels).
Here’s how the zoo, park, and city described the new plan in a rare joint statement after Monday’s signing of the new memorandum of understanding:
“The new plan, which has been approved by both the conservancy and zoo boards of directors, would move the zoo’s current maintenance area to the park’s southeast corner, making use of existing buildings in the northern portion of what is now the city’s general services area.
Credit: Overton Park Conservancy
“The zoo’s existing maintenance area, located along North Parkway, would then be converted into parking. Along with some re-striping of the zoo’s main lot, this reconfiguration would add the 300 spaces the zoo needs without carving out a portion of the Greensward.
“Following the creation of the zoo’s new parking lot, the Greensward will be permanently closed to overflow parking. The conservancy is exploring the creation of a walking path around the perimeter of the Greensward to make the space even more accessible and increase its recreational potential. Overton Park will also look to remediate soil damage and install some landscaping that serves as a visual barrier between the Greensward and the zoo parking lots.
“Both organizations celebrate this historic day as they announce a permanent solution to the zoo’s parking needs that not only preserves the entire Overton Park Greensward, but restores 17 acres of mostly forested parkland that has been inaccessible for decades.”
Felicia Knightly at the Memphis Zoo animal hospital. (Photo Credit: Memphis Flyer)
The Memphis Zoo’s animal hospital recently received an $800,000 donation from Tommie Dunavant in honor of her husband, the late cotton entrepreneur Billy Dunavant.
“This is Billy’s gift. This is Billy’s request, and I am making it to that hospital,” she said.
“Billy made me the head of his foundation. He asked that I not give anything until the year after his death,” said Dunavant. “My Billy loved animals. The one thing that he always kept important was medical care for these animals.”
This donation was announced shortly after the Memphis Zoo announced a campaign to raise $1.5 million dollars for the zoo’s animal hospital.
The hospital was built in 1998, and according to the Memphis Zoo, the animal hospital “serves as a homebase for everything from check-ups and evaluations to major surgery.”
According to Matt Thompson, president and CEO of the Memphis Zoo, animals are at the forefront of what they do, however he said something that is not always at the forefront is “what happens with our animal health.” Thompson said this is the most important thing to them.
The Zoo said the animal hospital services more than 3,500 animals, encompassing 500 different species. As the number of animals began to increase, so did the needs of the hospital. According to the Zoo, some of the equipment that was used when the hospital first opened is still in use today.
“The customers, the patients here at the Memphis Zoo don’t have insurance, they don’t carry cash. We can’t always afford to upgrade things the way that we should,” said Thompson.
There are a number of major equipment needs of the hospital. At the top of the list is an OmniTom-Samsung 16-Slice Premium Small Animal CT Scanner that the zoo said costs $565,000. The Zoo also needs an LED lighting for their operating room, which comes in at $100,000. The hospital is also in need of facility upgrades that are totaled at $664,000, including a floor crane to lift large animals, and other pieces of equipment such as a veterinary dental X-ray system.
Felicia Knightly, senior veterinarian at the Zoo’s hospital, said that when they are conducting things such as scheduled wellness exams, they have an elective procedure schedule, and “they have to keep up with these kinds of things.” This also means that the Zoo needs consistent and reliable equipment.
“You have to maintain that conservation-minded wellness,” said Knightly. “When we bring an animal in here for a physical exam, I need to know that I have delivery of anesthesia.” Knightly said that the animals do not come on their own, and that they are not on a leash. Most of the time the animals are sedated, and Knightly said that she needs equipment that is “absolutely reliable.”
“Anesthesia is always a risk, but boy it’s a worse risk if you’ve got dated equipment, or equipment that isn’t up to snuff. For me, it’s just having things that aren’t dry-rotted, that haven’t been used for years and years and years. Some people say ‘just buy a new one,’ but we just can’t buy a new one. We’re a non-profit organization, and a lot of these things are quite expensive in the medical field.”
Zootoberfest kicks off this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Zoo)
Let’s just get in here and talk about the elephant in the room: The Memphis Zoo has a menagerie of events for folks of all ages this October, and like the many too cute animals there, it’s hard to pick a favorite.
On October 1st, the zoo will host its 11th annual Art for Elephants, where Gina, the matriarch of the elephant herd, will flex her creativity and paint a canvas with her trunk. Her masterpieces along with other items will be up for auction throughout the day, with the proceeds going to the charity Elephants for Africa.
“Gina is pretty talented,” says Rebecca Winchester, the zoo’s communications specialist. “She likes to blow a lot of air out of her trunk. Apparently, Gina does more abstract art and the other ones do more straight lines.”
In addition to painting that day, the elephant herd will enjoy “spooky Halloween-themed enrichment.”
And if you can’t get enough of the elephants, the zoo is also hosting its first Conservation & Cocktails on October 8th. At this adult-only, semi-formal event, also in support of Elephants for Africa, guests can enjoy live entertainment, elephant-themed cocktails named after the herd, a silent auction, and more.
Also, in October, the zoo will celebrate Zootoberfest on Saturdays and Sundays. Guests can purchase a $12, 17-ounce commemorative stein while supplies last. “We have tons of different local breweries that set up shop, including Crosstown, High Cotton, Meddlesome, Memphis Made, Wiseacre, Grind City, and Ghost River,” Winchester says. “You can go to each booth and get refills for $6. Then you can walk around the zoo and have beer.”
With so much going on this month, you’ll want to check out memphiszoo.org for more information on these events and others, including Penguin Palooza on October 8th, the Stranger Things-themed Zoo Boo beginning on October 14th, and Pancakes for Primates on October 15th.
Art for Elephants, Memphis Zoo, Saturday, October 1, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., included with admission.
Zootoberfest, Saturdays and Sundays, October 1-31, included with admission.
In the wake of the recent tragedies impacting our city, our feeling of safety, and our wellbeing, Memphis’ community spaces are doing what they do best — being there for us. Whether you need to meditate in a serene garden or watch penguins be penguins so you don’t have to think, the organizations you support are here to support you.
♥️ Memphis Botanic Garden is offering free regular admission on Friday, September 9th, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., to help Memphis heal and to offer a safe outdoor space for all to enjoy and find comfort and light in.
♥️ MoSH recognizes that Memphis needs some love and is offering free admission to all exhibits, movies, shows, and to the Lichterman Nature Center on Friday, September 9th, 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
♥️ Friday, September 9th, Memphis Zoo is offering free general admission to the community to reflect and relax and just exist with the animals. The zoo’s hours are 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m.
♥️ The Dixon Gallery & Gardens always has free admission and wants to remind us to take advantage of the oasis of safety, calm, and beauty there.
♥️ Memphis Rox will offer free admission on Friday, September 9th. No reservation or special equipment needed.
♥️ The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will offer free admission Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so that people may reflect, find constancy, and experience the beautiful possibilities of humanity.
We have included all the local sites we know are offering free admission tomorrow, but we may have missed a few. If you are associated with or know of another venue that should be included, please email calendar@memphisflyer.com.
The project to forever eliminate parking on the Overton Park Greensward got $3 million in federal funding Wednesday.
The U.S. House passed six spending bills Wednesday totaling more than $400 billion. Some of that money includes discretionary spending for projects all over the country, including the $3 million to further the Overton Park parking plan.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced the funding Thursday morning, noting that he voted for the bill that includes it. Cohen said the bill includes more than $17 million for Memphis projects, including $4 million for the renovation of the historic cobblestones at the river’s edge Downtown.
The new Overton Park parking plan was announced in March (more at the link below). It came after decades of complaints about Greensward parking, testy debates during Memphis City Hall meetings, a mediation process that ended at an impasse, a compromise plan that would have taken some acres from the Greensward, a hopeful new plan that would have built a parking deck on Prentiss Place and left the Greensward intact, and then the removal of that proposal after it proved too costly in favor of the previous compromise plan that would remove part of the Greensward.
The new plan preserves the entirety of the Greensward, restores 17 acres of parkland that has stood unused behind chainlink fences, swaps land between the park and the Memphis Zoo, and forever ends the zoo’s use of the Greensward for overflow parking.
Much work is to be done before that happens, though, said Tina Sullivan, executive director of the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC), which oversees the park for the city. The $3 million, she said, will help that work get done, make for quality work, and, maybe, get that work done more quickly.
Memphis Flyer: How big of a deal is this federal funding to the project?
Tina Sullivan: This is a huge deal. We knew we had this wonderful solution in hand and we knew we had the support of stakeholders on both sides and the city of Memphis. But we also knew it was going to cost a lot to implement, and that was gonna require everyone to go out and raise more money. Congressman Cohen delivered in getting this to sail through the House process.
I know there is still work to be done, and that we have a little bit more to go before it’s completely finalized, but this allows us to implement a better solution in a shorter timeframe than we would have. This will allow us to have a high-quality result on every piece of property that we’re going to touch with it.
What needs to be done?
TS: The project moves the zoo maintenance facility over to that southeast corner [of Overton Park] and allows the zoo to repave that current maintenance area [current home of the city’s General Services facility] for members parking.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in that southeast corner to make it ready for the zoo to move in and make it ready for the Conservancy to move in to the Southern portion of that. There is a lot of work to be done on the zoo’s current maintenance area demolishing buildings and designing a new parking lot over there.
A lot of work needs to be done on the Greensward. We’re going to need to remediate the Greensward. Our vision is to have some sort of permanent barrier between the zoo parking lot and the rest of the park. So, I think the “berm” that was discussed in our early negotiations, that may soften into something that’s a visual and a physical barrier, but maybe not. Maybe it’ll be something a little more appropriate to the design of the park. So, that still needs to be designed and then implemented.
Then, finally, part of this solution includes reclaiming that 17-acre tract of forest that’s been behind the zoo fence since for a couple of decades, at least. So, the zoo’s gonna need to move its exhibit space out from behind Rainbow Lake. And we need to take that big, chainlink fence down and move it over to establish a new zoo boundary in the forest. From there, we’ll have we’ll have some work to do in the forest, like invasive [plant] removal.
There is a large amount of work yet to be done. That’s going to cost a lot of money.
The Memphis Zoo welcomed a new elephant to its herd Wednesday. Kosti came to the zoo after spending most of her life with a private owner. The zoo will be Kosti’s “retirement destination,” according to the zoo.
“So far, Kosti has proven to be intelligent, socially appropriate, and has really enjoyed her mud wallow and watermelons!” the zoo said in a news release.
Credit: Memphis Zoo
Kosti has met with most of the zoo’s other elephants — Gina, Bambi, and Daisy — through the fence line, as seen in the photo above. However, another elephant, Asali, “is choosing to hang back right now.”
Jim Dean stepped down as president and CEO of the Memphis Zoo Wednesday.
Dean will be replaced by Matt Thompson, the zoo’s current executive director and vice president (and the Zoo Dude personality on the zoo’s social channels).
“It was an honor and a privilege to be able to come back home to Memphis and be a part of this amazing team and help in the great work they do every day,” Dean said in a statement Wednesday.
Dean is a native Memphian who served as president of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens before coming back to Memphis in 2019 to lead the zoo. Dean replaced former president and CEO Chuck Brady.
Dean was instrumental in leading the zoo through the final stages of the thorny parking issue that will, ultimately, end parking on the Overton Park Greensward forever. A news release from the zoo said Dean served on the board of the Overton Park Conservancy and “led many diplomatic conversations and initiatives with the city of Memphis.” He will remain involved in the project, the zoo said.
“Jim had a keen attention to guest experience and appearance of the zoo that significantly impacts guests’ view of the zoo as soon as they walk through the front gates,” said incoming president Thompson. “He also impacted the internal experience for the employees in many ways, most importantly though, he increased communication between departments across the entire zoo.”
Matt Thompson (Credit: Memphis Zoo)
Thompson has worked at the Memphis Zoo for 26 years. He began work there as a zookeeper and served later as assistant curator, curator, and Director of Animal Programs. In 2003, he was part of the team to escort the zoo’s pandas to Memphis from China. In 2019, he was named the zoo’s Chief Zoological Officer, overseeing the facility’s collection of more than 4,500 animals.
Ever since Back to the Future was released in 1985, people have been saying I look like the wild-haired Dr. Emmett Brown played by Christopher Lloyd.
That’s almost a 40-year span. I used to hate when people said that, but now that I’m older than Lloyd was when he made the movie, it’s sort of a compliment. According to Google, Lloyd was 46 when he made Back to the Future.
So, the first attraction I see at Zoo Rendezvous, which was held June 4th at the Memphis Zoo, was a DeLorean time machine with a Dr. Emmett Brown impersonator played by Jonathan Whistler. With Whistler’s wild hair (his was a wig), I believe we both said at the same time we had to have our photo taken together. Jinx.
The 1980s was the theme of this year’s Zoo Rendezvous, so the movie and the automobile fit perfectly.
The car belongs to David Peel, owner of Memphis Time Machines. It’s exactly the same model as the one used in the movie, Peel says. “DeLorean only made one model,” he says. “It was called the DMC-12. It stood for DeLorean Motor Company.”
His DeLorean was made in 1981, Peel says. “They made them in ’81, ’82, and I think they had a model they called ‘’83,’ but by ’83 they were no longer being made.”
Six thousand DeLoreans were imported to the country from Ireland, Peel says. “Nobody knows exactly how many are on the road today, but it’s believed it’s less than 2,000.”
An accident lawyer, Peel decided he wanted to do something else besides practice law. Once his three kids were out of the house and he became a grandfather, he said, “What do I want to do on the side?”
He thought, “I’d love to have a couple of old cars and play with them.”
And, he thought, “It’d be great to have cars I really like that people would effectively pay me to own.”
Peel specifically wanted ’80s cars. “Like these that were on my wall growing up. The Alpine [sound system] poster with the [Lamborghini] Countach.
“The DeLorean was originally owned by a friend of mine in Arlington,” he says. “I bought it from him and added a lot of functionality and lights and various things to it.”
Peel then bought a replica of a Lamborghini Countach, which he found in Illinois. He described the car, the same type used in the movies Cannonball Run and Speed Zone, as “a very unique animal.”
He rents out the cars for parties, reunions, conventions, fundraisers, and trade shows. “Trade show booths are a big one. If you have a DeLorean blowing smoke, people are going to come over and take pictures.”
In addition to Whistler as Brown, Peel’s daughter Megan played Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells) from the movie. Caleb Stoneking played the star — next to the DeLorean — Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox).
After the visit and photos with the DeLorean, I was ready to eat.
The first food station I stopped by was the one manned by Patrick’s Restaurant. I’ll have to say, that Cajun prime rib slider on a sweet sourdough bun is one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve eaten. And this wasn’t just something offered at an event, says Patrick’s Restaurant owner Mike Miller. It’s “every day at Patrick’s,” he says.
I can’t wait to get another one. I ate four or five of the sliders at Zoo Rendezvous. I also had a few little bowls of their banana pudding.
The Hot Fudge Pie from Westy’s is one of my all-time favorite Zoo Rendezvous food items, but I almost didn’t get one. I stayed in the same area two hours taking photos and visiting with old friends. Finally, when I ventured deeper into the zoo to fine one of the Hot Fudge Pies, someone told me the Westy’s booth had shut down. But then an old friend, Alex Abdo, suddenly rounded the corner with one of the desserts for me. He said he snagged one of the last ones. I devoured it quickly as that oh-do-delicious ice cream mixed with brownie melted.
Hot Fudge Pie from Westy’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Before I left, I ran into another old friend, Memphis Wrestling promoter/wrestler Dustin Starr. They had just finished putting on live Memphis Wrestling “as part of a feature for Zoo Rendezvous,” Starr says, in an actual ring set up in front of the zoo’s Cat House Cafe. Memphis Heritage champion Mike Anthony was holding the Memphis Heritage championship belt, which they let me hold. It’s actually heavy.
Mike Anthony at Zoo Rendezvous (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“Memphis Wrestling is held every Saturday at noon on CW30 Memphis,” Starr says.
This was the first year Zoo Rendezvous, which features live music and numerous food and drink stations, was held in the spring. It’s usually held in September.
Kathy and JW Gibson at Zoo Rendezvous (Credit: Michael Donahue)Vannette Myers and Angela Kneeland at Zoo Rendezvous (Credit: Michael Donahue)
They originally were going to hold Zoo Rendezvous last September, says Memphis Zoo chief marketing officer Nick Harmeier. “When the new variant popped up in fall, we didn’t feel like it was very responsible for us to put on a mass event like that, so we pushed it off to spring,” he says. “I think our plan is to bring it back to fall in 2023.”
But Harmeier, as well as other people I talked to, liked this year’s event in spring. “It got darker later,” Harmeier says. “So, you could walk around and see everybody. I just felt like it enhanced the experience, walking around and seeing everyone during the daylight.”
And people really got into Zoo Rendezvous’s ’80s theme. “I don’t think we’ve ever had that much participation with people dressing up like the theme.”
Part of using a 1980s theme was “a hat tip to Rendezvous and Huey’s, who started the event back in the 1980s.”
I suggested maybe they could do two Zoo Rendezvous events — one in spring and one in fall.
And to rewrite a 1981 Hall & Oates song title, I’ll add, “I Can Go for That — Yes Can Do.”
Michael Donahue, Quaneshia Farris, and Dennis Midgett at Zoo Rendezvous Rodney Baber, Sally Gentry, and Tom Hutton at Zoo Rendezvous (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jonathan Laredo and Sophia Bufalino at Zoo Rendezvous (Credit: Michael Donahue) We Saw You
Kira the endangered Amur leopard (Credit: Twycross Zoo)
Eagle-eyed visitors to the Memphis Zoo might “spot” a new addition to Cat Country. Kira, a female Amur leopard, has been relocated from Twycross Zoo in the U.K., where she was born in 2016, to the Memphis Zoo.
The move represents a partnership between the Memphis Zoo and Twycross Zoo as part of an international breeding program to help preserve the Amur leopard species. Zoo officials made the announcement as part of celebrations for Endangered Species Day, the third Friday in May.
Amur leopards are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with fewer than 100 left in the wild. Today, the last remaining wild populations of Amur leopards reside in China and Russia. Habitat loss, prey scarcity, poaching, and illegal trade are some of the threats facing the species in the wild.
“Kira’s arrival is a double win for the Memphis community,” said Memphis Zoo curator Dan Dembiec. “Not only are Amur leopards a gorgeous and dynamic species to see at the zoo, but this is also a real-life conservation story. With this species on the brink of extinction in the wild, zoos across the globe are collaboratively managing a breeding program that will ensure this species endures with the potential to reintroduce back to the wild.”
“This transfer of animals between the United States and the U.K. reinforces the commitment that both countries have in breeding this critically endangered cat,” said Michael Frushour, Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan program leader for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “By working together on a global scale, and sharing each other’s leopard population genetics, the species has a much better chance of survival. Continued and appropriate breeding of this critically endangered species will ultimately contribute to the Global Species Management Program for Amur leopards developing initiatives to hopefully one day reintroduce this leopard into protected areas in Russia and China.”
“Our community is proud to support the zoo in all their endeavors and this achievement should be celebrated. Culture, conservation, and education are important qualities in the City of Memphis, and we are excited to share this remarkable pairing with the community,” said Mayor Jim Strickland.
“We’re delighted to work in partnership with Memphis Zoo to help protect and preserve the Amur leopard species, one of the most endangered big cats in the world,” said Dr. Sharon Redrobe OBE, CEO at Twycross Zoo.
