Riverbanks Zoo receives record $863,000 bequest

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is celebrating a bequest of $863,000, the single largest gift in its 37-year history.

Zoo officials said Tuesday that Melinda Poole Grizzell, who died in January, provided for the gift. They say Grizzell moved to South Carolina from San Diego 20 years ago and was a constant supporter of the zoo.

Zoo executive director Satch Krantz says the gift comes at a critical time for the organization, which needs to update its infrastructure and hasn’t been able to add a major new exhibit in a decade.

Grizzell’s son, Andrew, says he thinks his mother learned to love animals and support a local zoo because her father was a supporter of the zoo in San Diego.