Moapa zoo announces plans to reopen Saturday
Moapa’s most famous — and, well, only — zoo is opening back up to the public two months earlier than expected.
The Roos-N-More animal attraction, 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas, will hold its first “open zoo day” in more than two years this Saturday.
Zoo officials originally planned to reopen Labor Day weekend, but they decided to move up the date once they got the go-ahead from Clark County.
County regulators shuttered the family-run zoo in January 2014 after an inspection identified paperwork problems and code violations, including a lack of flush toilets or a commercial septic system.
The operation has survived on donations and revenue from private, guided tours ever since.
Clark County Commissioners gave Roos-N-More conditional approval in May to reopen with restrictions, including strict limits on the number and type of animals and an outright ban on breeding.
The hands-on zoo is now limited to no more than 150 mammals and 200 people on the property at a time.
The zoo’s new manager, Sara Richmond, said it’s well past time to get the gates open again. “We’ve been sitting here stagnant for too long,” she said.
Husband and wife veterinarians Jay and Valerie Holt opened Roos-N-More at their home in Moapa in 2008. The Holts are still very much involved, but earlier this year, they turned the finances and operation over to an 11-member board of directors, with Jay Holt as president.
The facility’s small staff and diehard group of volunteers are rushing around to get the place ready for its first crowds since 2014.
“If you know anyone who can clone us, that would be great,” Richmond joked.
Saturday’s zoo day will feature two sessions — one from 10 a.m. to noon and another from 2 to 4 p.m. — for up to 200 people each. Because of the limited space, tickets must be purchased online in advance at https://my.getinsellout.com/providers/roos-n-more/list.
Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for children age 2 to 17. Kids under 2 are free.
Additional money will buy you a VIP “meet-and-greet” with an otter, a monkey or some sloths.
Richmond said the zoo plans to open to the public each Saturday for the foreseeable future.
Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Find @RefriedBrean on Twitter.
