Detroit Zoo sees more than 1.5 million visitors in 2017

More than 1.5 million people visited the Detroit Zoo last year.

The Detroit Zoological Society said Wednesday that the 2017 attendance was the second highest at the zoo. The total was boosted by an annual holiday light display that drew more than 151,000 visitors.

Nearly 1.7 million people visited the zoo in 2016. The popular Polk Penguin Conservation Center opened that April.

The zoo is north of Detroit in Royal Oak. It is operated by the zoological society.

This summer, the Dinosauria exhibit of more than 40 animatronicdinosaurs returns to the zoo. Three major renovation and expansion projects are expected to be completed, and a new habitat for Japanese giant salamanders will be unveiled at the National Amphibian Conservation Center.