Birmingham Zoo

Birmingham Zoo

Date opened	April 2, 1955 (April 2, 1955)
Location	Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Land area	122 acres (49 ha)
Coordinates	33°29′14.65″N 86°46′46.52″W
Number of animals	~800
Number of species	200+
Annual visitors	470,000 (2006)
Memberships	AZA, AAZK
Website	www.birminghamzoo.com

The Birmingham Zoo is a zoological park that opened in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama (USA). The 122-acre (49 ha) zoo is home to almost 800 animals representing over 200 species, including many endangered species from six continents.

The Zoo is managed by a private non-profit corporation. It is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), participates in AZA Species Survival Plans (SSP). It is located, along with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, in Lane Park, a 200-acre (81 ha) city-owned park near the western terminus of U.S. Highway 280 at U.S. Highway 31 on the southern slope of Red Mountain.

History

Early history

The origins of the Birmingham Zoo start with a small menagerie of exotic animals kept in a Southside firehouse. As the collection grew it was moved first to Magnolia Park (now Brother Bryan Park) and then to Avondale Park. At the time, the collection consisted mainly of non-exotic animals, except for "Miss Fancy," a lone elephant donated by the Birmingham Advertising Club which had purchased it as a promotional novelty from a struggling circus stranded in the city.

As the collection grew in size and scope, city leaders contacted the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm, which had drawn up plans for a system of parks in Birmingham, for advice about housing a zoological collection. They were put in contact with the few municipal zoos existing in that period and plans began for providing a new permanent home for the growing attraction.

Lane Park

Birmingham, under mayor A. O. Lane, had purchased land on the south of Red Mountain between 1889 and 1896. The former Red Mountain Cemetery, a pauper's cemetery was part of the parcel that was dedicated as a city park in 1934. The Works Progress Administration built a fish hatchery and a number of pavilions from the Hartselle sandstone quarried out of the mountain within the park's borders. The hatchery was fed by a natural spring and provided stock for recreational lakes in the region until the zoo took over the park.

The first source of post-World War II support for a new zoo came from the Birmingham Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1946 Elton B. Stephens chaired a Jaycees committee to create a new zoo for the city of Birmingham. In 1949, then Birmingham mayor, James R. Morgan, a key supporter of the development, began an initiative to help in the planning and development of a city zoo.

Jimmy Morgan Zoo

A zoo commission was also established, and it decided to build the zoo on 50 acres (20 ha) of land on the southern foot of Red Mountain with a budget of $250,000. A much larger parcel of land that included the zoo parcel was incorporated into the city of Birmingham and was named Lane Park, home of the zoo as well as the neighboring botanical gardens.

The budget would be spent to build six exhibits with the opening of the zoo that included "Monkey Island," an elephant house, bear moat, birdhouse, snake pit and seal pool. The funds were raised through private donations, charter memberships, and in-kind donations from a broad base of community and business supporters.

The zoo, once known as The Jimmy Morgan Zoo, opened its doors with Monkey Island as its first official exhibit on April 2, 1955. The Jimmy Morgan Zoo operated as a quasi-private venture until city of Birmingham decided to assume responsibility in November 1955. The city changed the name to the Birmingham Zoo, and set an annual budget of $663,000 for its first year under city control.

By the early 1960s, the Alabama Zoological Society was created as a non-profit support group to raise funds to supplement the escalating operational necessities, since funding for the zoo was inadequate to maintain and operate it at acceptable professional standards. A series of master plans were developed but never came to fruition due to lack of funding throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The need for significant improvements became increasingly evident by the 1990s.

The numerous financial demands on the city taking precedence led to the zoo's loss of accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the late 1990s due to concern about aging facilities and uncertainty over continued funding.

In 1999, members of the Alabama Zoological Society worked with Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington Jr. and other political leaders to set up a public-private partnership to operate the zoo. Strong community leaders were recruited to serve as the first board of directors of a new organization, Birmingham Zoo, Inc. (BZI) The new organization established a transitional funding package with contributions from four government entities to support BZI during its first five years of operation.

Early 21st century

BZI undertook an intense 18-month effort to address the most pressing and immediate problems so that the zoo could become accredited by the AZA once again, ranking the Zoo in the top 10% of animal holding facilities in the nation. The Zoo also received 501 (c)(3) status from the IRS, and the first major capital campaign was launched in January 2001.

William R. Foster, DVM, joined the Zoo as Chief Executive Officer in January 2004. Foster, a veterinarian and leading zoo management authority on the national scene, is past president of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and was president and executive director of the Louisville Zoo.

Since privatization the Birmingham Zoo has hosted traveling exhibits of bats, koalas and black-footed penguins, added a permanent Komodo dragon exhibit and interactive lorikeet aviary, and regained AZA accreditation. The Zoo completed the Junior League of Birmingham - Hugh Kaul Children's Zoo, a $15 million anchor exhibit dedicated to children and devoted to urban, rural and wild animals and environs of Alabama in April 2005, its 50th anniversary of operation.

In 2004, the Zoo's older Western Lowland Gorilla, Babec became the first gorilla to be implanted with a pacemaker due to advanced heart disease.

The zoo draws more than 450,000 visitors annually and, in 2005, was named Alabama's top tourist destination by the state's Bureau of Tourism and Travel. In 2006, the Birmingham Zoo drew more than 470,000 visitors making it second on the list of top tourist attractions in Alabama.

Attractions/Exhibits

Baby giraffe, Willow, with mother, Juno, in July 2008

Main Zoo

• Alligator Swamp (Now open after renovations)
• Bird Aviaries
• Camel Rides (19 March through 1 August only)
• Cassowary Exhibit
• Flamingo Lagoon
• Kangaroo Kountry
• Lorikeet Interactive Feeding and Observation Aviary
• Macaw Plaza
• Predator Building
• Predator Zone
• Primate Building
• Reptile Building
• Sea Lions and Red Diamond Sea Lion Splash Show
• Secretary Birds
• Tortoise Yard
• Waterfowl Ponds
• Wildlife Stage

Junior League of Birmingham-Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo

• Alabama Barn (contact area)
• Alabama Stream
• Alabama Wilds
• Contact Yard (contact area)
• Grandma's Back porch
• Granny's Butterfly House (Memorial Day through Labor Day)
• Granny's Goose Patch

Trails of Africa

• Boma Interactive and Experience Yard
• Giraffe Feeding Station
• Main Elephant Yard (Boma Yard)
• Pachyderm Building
• Rhino Encounter
• Savannah Hoofstock Yards
• Safari Cafe

Rhino Encounter

The rhino encounter where visitors can get close to the zoo's two white rhinos, Ajabu and Laptop. The iron bars are made to look like bamboo. The Birmingham zoo is one of the only zoos in the world that lets you get close up with a rhino. Guests can brush and clean one of the zoo's most prized animals.

Other facilities and activities

• Camel Ride (19 March through 1 August)
• Carousel
• Kudzoo Cafe
• Lorikeet Feeding
• Pelican Feeding
• Predator Zone
• Red Diamond Express and Birmingham Zoo Express Trains
• Safari Cafe
• Safari Peak Pavilion
• Sea Lion Splash Show
• Wildlife Show

Trails of Africa

Though currently only around 50 acres (200,000 m²) are developed at the zoo, approximately another 70 acres (280,000 m²) remain for future development.

In 2007, the zoo announced a major expansion called Trails of Africa. Under construction in 2010, this will be a 14 acre exhibit housing white rhinos, reticulated giraffes, ostriches, African elephants, greater kudu, red river hogs, Grevy's zebras, and many other animals. Although the exhibit is open, the grand opening scheduled for April 21, 2011. At this time, three elephants will be moved to the new facility. Trails of Africa will include a boma yard, safari cafe, waterhole exhibit, and many more small accessories. This will make the Birmingham zoo a national leader in the care and breeding of elephants. Future plans remain unknown for the Trails of Africa.

External links

Media related to Birmingham Zoo at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website