Louisville Zoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 38°12′19″N 85°42′19″W / 38.20528°N 85.70528°W
 Entrance to Louisville Zoo |
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| Date opened | 1969 |
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| Location | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Land area | 135 acres (0.55 km²) |
| Number of animals | 1,300 |
| Memberships | AZA, AAM |
| Major exhibits | Gorilla Forest, Islands |
| Website | http://www.louisvillezoo.com/ |
Founded in 1969, the Louisville Zoo, or the Louisville Zoological Garden, is a 135 acre (0.55 km²) zoo in Louisville, Kentucky, situated in the city's Poplar Level neighborhood. The "State Zoo of Kentucky" currently exhibits over 1,300 animals in naturalistic and mixed animal settings representing both geographical areas and biomes or habitats.
The Louisville Zoo is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the American Association of Museums (AAM). During the 2006-07 season, the zoo set an all-time yearly attendance record with 810,546 visitors.[1]
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[edit] Vision and Mission
The mission of the Louisville Zoo is "To better the bond between the people and our planet."
[edit] History
The Louisville Zoo was founded in 1969, on land acquired by the City of Louisville in the 1960s from the estate of Ben Collins. Much of the initial funding was donated by local philanthropist James Graham Brown.
[edit] Glacier Run
In 2007, the zoo opened a new exhibit known as Glacier Run Splash Park, a large splash park for the children to cool off on hot summer days. The splash park is part of a new $25 million anchor exhibit for the zoo called Glacier Run.
The exhibit, which is scheduled to open in 2011, will be a 4.3-acre outdoor exhibit based on the theme of an old gold-mining town bordered by a glacier. It will feature polar bears, arctic foxes, snowy owls, reindeer and other arctic animals.
The exhibit also will include classrooms, party rooms available for rental, viewing areas above and below water, and a 200-seat outdoor auditorium for watching animal training demonstrations.
[edit] Exhibits
The Louisville Zoo has six geographic settings within the zoo: The Islands, African Veldt, Asian Plains, North and South America Panorama, Aquatics and the Australian Outback.
[edit] Gorilla Forest
The zoo was awarded the 2003 Association of Zoos and Aquariums Exhibit Award for its four-acre exhibit "Gorilla Forest".[2]. The exhibit currently houses eleven Western Lowland Gorillas, three Patas Monkeys and four Pygmy Hippopotamus.
Inside the circular Gorilla Sanctuary, visitors are separated only by glass and can get nose to nose with the gorillas. And there are several different outdoor vantage points to the see the gorillas playing and relaxing.[3].
[edit] Herpaquarium
The HerpAquarium features 100 species of reptiles, amphibians and fish from around the world.
A notable resident of the HerpAquarium is a six-foot long rare white American Alligator named King Louie. He is named after King Louis XVI, which the city of Louisville is also named after.[4]
The Louisville Zoo currently houses a group of the critically endangered Panamanian golden frogs. The Louisville zoo is working to preserve this species of frog from extinction. Their numbers have declined in the wild partly due to the chytrid fungus and habitat destruction.
On March 31, 2006, the zoo added a bachelor group of seven vampire bats obtained from the Philadelphia Zoo. And another 10 males from the Sedgwick County Zoo were added to the group in late may 2006. Eventually the exhibit will house around 40 bats. The exhibit is designed to look like an old mine shaft. Zoo guests can get an up-close view of the bats flying, eating and raising families.[5]
[edit] Islands
The zoo has a distinctive zoological exhibit called "Islands", which is the first exhibit in the world that uses a system of rotating a variety of animals into one exhibit. This way, the animals can explore different habitats throughout the day, as they would in the wild. This helps to give the animals needed stimulation and heightens their awarness. Moreover, the exhibit is the first to have natural predator and prey in the same space. There are three outdoor exhibit areas and one indoor area. All animals in this exhibit are endangered or threatened species. The animals that are on display here change from day to day so that visitors will have a new and different experience with each visit to the zoo. The animals that can be seen in this exhibit include the Sumatran Tiger, Orangutan, Siamang, Babirusa and the Malayan Tapir.[6]
The Islands Pavilion is an indoor area that houses many species of birds, including the White-throated Ground-dove. The zoo was the first zoo in the world to hatch this rare dove in captivity. The first hatchling was born on October 17, 2006 and a second followed on December 1, 2006.[7] Some of the other birds species included in the Islands Pavilion are the Mariana Fruit Dove, Madagascar Fody and the Rockhopper Penguin. The Pavilion also houses the Rodrigues Fruit Bat, Cuban Crocodile and the Komodo Dragon.
[edit] Wallaroo Walkabout
The new Wallaroo Walkabout that opened in 2007 lets guests walk directly through the exhibit which is home to the Wallaroo and Red-necked Wallaby, as well as some Australian birds including the Kookaburra, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Emu and the Tawny Frogmouth.
[edit] Lorikeet Landing
Lorikeet landing is an Australian exhibit that is a walkthrough aviary filled with several brightly colored birds known as Lorikeets. Visitors can feed nectar to the birds right out of their hands. The lorikeet species at the Louisville Zoo are the Black-winged Lory, Green-naped Lorikeet, Perfect Lorikeet, Red Lory and the Swainson's Lorikeet.[8].
[edit] Activities
During October, the zoo hosts the "World's Largest Halloween Party", one of the largest Halloween parties in the United States.
The zoo also includes a "Zoo Key System". At the front of the park, a key, usually in the shape of an animal, may be purchased. Around the park, visitors can insert these keys into Zoo Key boxes for a song and/or information about the animal.
Often when an animal is born in the zoo, the zoo holds a contest where participants send in ideas for names.
[edit] Notable residents
- Mojo, a patas monkey previously owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.[9]
- Scotty, an African elephant, is the first elephant ever born in the Louisville Zoo's history and the first born in Kentucky.[10]
- The Louisville Zoo has hand-raised three baby siamangs—Sungai, Zoli and Zain—and is thought to be the only Zoo to ever hand raise three baby siamangs this young.[11]
- The zoo is also home to several Black-footed Ferrets, as it participates in the Black-footed Ferret breeding program. The ferrets are one of the most endangered species in North America.[citation needed]
- Bakari (Whose name is Swahili for hopeful) the Masai Giraffe was born with angular limb deformity, and had periosteal stripping performed on his leg. He is the first giraffe to undergo this procedure. [12]
[edit] Species List
Mammals
Reptiles & Amphibians
Birds
Fish
Insects & Spiders
[edit] Mishaps
On June 1, 2009 the zoo train had derailed the tracks. Three open-air cars and the engine went of the tracks and caused the passenger car to topple over. The incident injured 22 people. An Indiana family that was on the train when the accident happened has sued the Louisville Zoo. Amy and Darren Bamforth filed the lawsuit on June 10, 2009. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages as well as a court order preventing the zoo from altering or destroying the train while the lawsuit proceeds. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is investigating. A spokesman for the zoo declined to comment. The zoo train is currently closed.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Zoo sets attendance record". The Courier-Journal. 2007-07-09. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070709/NEWS01/707090486. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ "The Louisville Zoo Wins Coveted AZA Exhibit Award". http://www.aza.org/HonorsAwards/Exh_LouisvilleZoo/. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
- ^ "Inside Gorilla Forest". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/collection/exhibits/gforest/gf-inside.htm. Retrieved February 4th 2009.
- ^ "Rare white alligator". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/collection/animals/whitealligator.htm. Retrieved February 4th 2009.
- ^ "Furry little blood suckers now at Zoo". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR-bats.htm. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ "Islands Rotational Exhibit". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/collection/exhibits/islands/index.htm. Retrieved February 4th 2009.
- ^ "Media Release, Worlds first captive hatching". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2007-01-17%20grounddove.htm. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ "Lorikeet Landing". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/collection/exhibits/lorikeet/index.htm. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ Louisville Zoo - Media Advisory - Tony Stewart’s former pet monkey, Mojo, now resides at the Louisville Zoo
- ^ "Baby Elephant, First to be born in Louisville". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2007-03-19%20elephant.htm. Retrieved September 2008.
- ^ "3 Baby Siamangs". http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2007-09-06%20sungai.htm. Retrieved September 2008.
- ^ "[hhttp://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2009-03-17_bakari.htm 3 Bakari]". hhttp://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2009-03-17_bakari.htm. Retrieved September 2008.
[edit] External links
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