Homer the Sloth Gnaws at Bankrupt Detroit as Zoo Becomes Burden
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Bubbles the chimp and Boo the grizzly are marquee attractions at the Detroit Zoo, furry cultural assets and financial liabilities in a municipal bankruptcy where still life is worth more than animal life.
As appraisers value city-owned Picassos and Van Goghs in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the zoo is under pressure to make expensive additions to draw more visitors, even as support from the insolvent city may disappear. And the 3,300 animals in Michigan’s biggest paid tourist attraction are not as valuable in an $18 billion bankruptcy as their fame suggests.