High cost to bear: Vilas Zoo at 100 years

As the Vilas Zoo kicks off its 100th year exhibiting animals, the beloved Madison institution is undergoing a transformation that began with a tragic death more than 20 years ago. In its most recent accreditation review, Vilas, one of only 15 free zoos out of 221 accredited zoos in North America, was flagged for several issues including insufficient staffing. To address those concerns, Dane County, which owns the zoo, asked the zoological society to fund three positions this year at a cost of $615,000 – the societyâ??s largest contribution ever toward operations. The zoological society last year hired veteran fundraiser Boris Frank, who teaches marketing at UW-Madison and has helped raise money for Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the UW Arboretum. Frank said his goal is to raise the $1 million for Arctic Passage this year, and he also wants to double zoo membership to 4,000.