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Coordinates: 39°08′42″N 84°30′29″W / 39.145°N 84.508°W / 39.145; -84.508
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'''Marge Schott-Unnewehr Elephant Reserve'''
'''Marge Schott-Unnewehr Elephant Reserve'''
*[[Indian elephant|Asian Elephant]]s (''Elephas maximus indicus'')
*[[Indian elephant|Asian Elephant]]s (''Elephas maximus indicus'') (''Elephas maximus hirsutus'')


'''P&G Discovery Forest'''
'''P&G Discovery Forest'''

Revision as of 03:40, 20 August 2011

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
Map
39°08′42″N 84°30′29″W / 39.145°N 84.508°W / 39.145; -84.508
Date opened1875
LocationCincinnati, Ohio, USA
Land area65.4 acres (26.5 ha)+
No. of animals1,896
No. of species508
Annual visitors1.2 million+
MembershipsAZA[1]
Websitewww.cincinnatizoo.org

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is the second-oldest zoo in the United States and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened in 1875, just 14 months after the Philadelphia Zoo on July 1, 1874. The Reptile House is the oldest zoo building in America, dating from 1875.

The Cincinnati Zoo is located in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Avondale. It was founded on 65.4 acres (26.5 ha) in the middle of the city, and since then it has acquired some of the surrounding blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati's outer suburbs. The zoo conducts breeding programs, and was the first to successfully breed California Sea Lions. The zoo also has other breeding programs including Cheetahs, Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tigers, Western Lowland Gorillas, Pottos, and Masai giraffes. Three Bonobos were born at the zoo last year, two in March and one in May, along with another birth in December 2003. The Cincinnati Zoo was the home of Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, which died there in 1914. It was also home to the last living Carolina parakeet in 1918.

Rated by peer zoological parks as one of the best zoos in the nation, the Cincinnati Zoo continues to set the standard for conservation, education and preservation of wild animals and wild spaces. Over 1.2 million people visit the Zoo annually. The Zoo features more than 500 animal and 3,000 plant species, making it one of the largest Zoo collections in the country.[2]

History

Japanese Macaques on one of the "monkey islands"
Reptile house built in 1875

In 1872, Andrew Erkenbrecher and several other residents created the Society for the Acclimatization of Birds in Cincinnati to acquire insect-eating birds to control a severe outbreak of caterpillars. A collection of approximately 1,000 birds imported from Europe in 1872 was housed in Burnet Woods before being released. The 'Acclimatization Society of Cincinnati' was established in 1873 as similar organizations with imperial aims proliferated in Moscow, Berlin, London and Melbourne in the late nineteenth century.[3]

The Zoological Society of Cincinnati established a zoo, consisting of just over sixty-six acres in Blakely Woods. The land was purchased by Andrew Erkenbrecher and leased to the Zoological Society for 99 years. This site was acquired in 1874 and the zoo officially opened its doors to the public on September 18, 1875, making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest intentionally constructed zoo in the United States.[4] The Zoo opened with 769 animals on display. Admission was 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.[5]

Founded by Jonathan Schoonover of Cincinnati and designed by the landscape engineer Theodor Fundeisen, The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was originally named the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. Architect James W. McLaughlin, who constructed the zoo's first buildings, designed the earliest completed zoological exhibits in the United States.[4] The Zoo's original animal collection consisted of eight monkeys, two Grizzly bears, three White-tailed deer, six raccoons, two elk, a buffalo, a Spotted Hyena, a tiger, an American alligator, a circus elephant, and over four hundred birds, including a crow. The zoo also is home to some common peafowls.

The first guide book about the Cincinnati Zoo was written in 1876 in German. The founders of the zoo, including its first general manager, were German immigrants and the city had quite a large German-speaking population. The first English-language edition (illustrated) was published in 1893.[6]

In 1878 the first sea lion was born in captivity, and the first pair of giraffes were acquired by the zoo (Daisy and Abe).[5]

In the first 20 years of its existence, the zoo experienced many financial difficulties, and despite having to sell 22 acres to pay off debt in 1886,[5] it went into receivership in 1898. The Cincinnati Zoological Company was able to bring the zoo out of receivership and keep it going. The Cincinnati Traction Company purchased it in 1901 and operated the zoo for 16 years. In 1917, the Cincinnati Zoological Park Association, funded by donations from philanthropists Mary Emery and Anna Sinton Taft, took over management of the zoo. In 1932 the city purchased the zoo and now runs it through the Board of Park Commissioners.

In 1931 the zoo procured what was at the time the only trained Gorilla in the world. Suzie was originally captured in the Belgian Congo, and brought to the United States on Graf Zeppelin in August 1929. When she arrived at the zoo, Suzie had just finished a tour of North America. Although experts had said she had no more than six months to live when she arrived in America, she lived for 21 years and died at the Cincinnati zoo on October 29, 1947. Her body was donated to the University of Cincinnati, where her skeleton was used for many years, and destroyed in a fire in 1974.[7]

In 1951 the original Monkey House was converted into the Reptile House.[5]

In addition to its live animal exhibits, the zoo houses refreshments stands, a dance hall, roads, walkways, and picnic grounds. Between 1920 and 1972, the Cincinnati Summer Opera performed in an open-air pavilion and were broadcast by NBC radio.

In 1987, the zoo was designated as a National Historic Landmark due to its significant architecture featured in the Elephant House, the Reptile House, and the Passenger Pigeon Memorial. The Zoo's Reptile House is the oldest existing Zoo building in the country, dating from 1875.[2]

An Southern Brazilian Ocelot asleep at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Animals and Exhibits

Animals at the zoo have held several records, including the longest living alligator in captivity at the time (at about 70 years of age),[5] the fastest cheetah in captivity,[8] and the largest Komodo dragon (who died in 2005). The zoo was the first in the United States to put an aye-aye on display, and after losing its last aye-aye in 1993, it finally acquired another in 2011: a 6-year old transferred from the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina.[9]

Wildlife Canyon

Eagle Eyrie

Reptile House The nation's oldest zoo building

Pythons

Gator Exhibit

Lizards

Tortoises

Rattlesnakes

Vipers

Other Snakes

Amphibians

Major Mitchell's Cockatoo Island

rotates with

Monkey Island

Gorilla World

Night Hunters

Outdoor Exhibits

Martha the last known passenger pigeon.
  • Siberian Lynx ((Lynx lynx)
  • Cougar (Now on Exhibit) (Puma concolo)
  • Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) will open with Cat Canyon expansion in 2012
  • Malayan tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni)will also open in the Cat Canyon expansion in 2012

Passenger Pigeon Memorial - Martha, the last known passenger pigeon that died at the Zoo in 1914.

World of the Insect The Nation's #1 rated Insect House

Ants

Beetles

Cockroaches

Grasshoppers

Scorpions

Spiders

Walking Sticks

Other Various Bugs and Insects

Insect-like Mammals,Insect Predators

Butterfly Rainforest

Lemur Lookout

Dragons!

Otto M. Budig Family Foundation Manatee Springs Features Florida wildlife, including

Florida Greenhouse

Featured Exhibit

Indoor Aquatic Exhibit

Featured Exhibits

Manatee Exhibit

Infamous Plant Invaders

Florida

Biodiversity

Mixed Species Snake Exhibit

Siegfried & Roy's White Lions of Timbavati

Great American Wings of Wonder Bird Show Amphitheatre

Birds and other animals used in the show

Rhino Reserve

Tiger Canyon - Will Close in August 2011 for outdoor Cat Canyon expansion, will reopen in 2012

Jungle Trails

'Tropical Asian Animals trail

Tropical Asian Animals Indoor Exhibits

rotates indoor and out with

Tropical Asian Animals Trail Continued

rotates indoor and out with

'Tropical African Animal trail

Tropical African Animals Indoor Exhibits

Kroger Lords of the Arctic -

Bear Line

Wings of the World

Outdoor Aviaries and Islands

The Amazon

'Australasia

Montane

Grasslands

Wetlands

Assorted Aviary Row

Arctic Islands

Arctic Sea Cliffs

Sub-antarctic Coast

Spaulding Lorikeet Landing

Wolf Woods

Sea Lions

Penguin Walkabout

Spaulding Children's Zoo

Nursery

Petting Yard

Blakely's Barn

Other Exhibits

Gibbon Islands- Siamang

Gibbon Islands Whoever is changing this, the gibbons are not part of the Children's zoo!

Red Pandas

Swan Lake

Wetland Trails

Dobsa Giraffe Ridge

Marge Schott-Unnewehr Elephant Reserve

P&G Discovery Forest

Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW)

The Cincinnati zoo has been active in breeding animals to help save species, starting as early as 1880 with the first hatching of a Trumpeter Swan in a zoo, as well as four passenger pigeons. This was followed in 1882 with the first American bison born in captivity.[5]

In 1981 the zoo established the Carl H. Lindner Jr. Family Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife for the purpose of using science and technology to understand, preserve, and propagate endangered flora and fauna and facilitate the conservation of global biodiversity.

Principal research programs
  • Animal division: Research primarily focuses on reproductive physiology and the development of assisted reproduction for a variety of taxon including primates, felids, rhinos, amphibians and birds.;
  • Plant division: Research focuses on "in vitro" collection, propagation and cryopreservation of endangered plants across the U.S.;
  • For both research divisions, the Frozen Zoo plays a major role. In it are stored over 2,500 specimens representing approximately 60 animal and 65 plant species.
Breeding successes

The zoo leads the world in small cat births.[10] The first artificial insemination of an exotic feline species (Persian leopard) was accomplished the same year that CREW opened.[5] It was the first zoo to breed ocelots,[11] Indian rhinos,[12] and Pallas's cats using artificial insemination,[13] and the first to breed a Sumatran Rhino in over 112 years.[14] In 1995, it set a U.S. record with six gorilla births in one year.[5] All of this activity has earned it the nickname "The Sexiest Zoo in America".[15]

The future

African Savannah

The Zoo is currently building the 8-acre (3.2 ha) Africa Savannah exhibit, which will be the largest animal exhibit in the Zoo's history. Phase I, the first of the four phases, includes an expanded yard for Masai Giraffes, a new Greater Flamingo and an East African Crowned Crane exhibit and a new and improved Cheetah Encounter.[16][17] When completed, the African Savannah will feature Olive Baboons, African Wild Dogs, a new Cheetah exhibit, a hoof stock yard that will contain various Antelope (Lesser Kudu, Bontebok, and Common Eland have been rumored), Grévy's Zebras, Kori Bustards and Ostriches, and Nile Hippos will also be exhibited. There will also be a new restaurant, and kopje exhibit. There is a possibility that the Slender-tailed Meerkats will return for the exhibit. Rumors of a walk-through Impala exhibit have also floated about. The exhibit is expected to be finished by 2014. The exhibit will occupy what formerly was the main zoo parking lot off Dury Avenue.[citation needed]

Cat Canyon

Once the Night Hunters building transformation is complete, the Nocturnal House Closed. The Nocturnal House will unfortunately be turned into offices, and the back wall of the indoor Komodo dragon exhibit will be expanded. The Night Hunters exhibit is phase one of a larger outdoor Cat Canyon expansion which is scheduled to open by summer 2012. The expanded Cat Canyon will link the Night Hunters experience with the current Tiger Canyon exhibits and include new space for Malayan tigers, Pumas and Snow Leopards.[18]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b "History, Mission, and Vision". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. ^ David Livingtsone, Human Acclimatization: Perspectives on a Contested Field of Inquiry in Science, Medicine and Geography, History of Science, 25:4 (December, 1987), 364
  4. ^ a b Painter, Sue Ann (2006). Architecture In Cincinnati. Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821417010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cincinnati Zoo". cincinnativiews.net. Don Prout. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. ^ Solski, Leszek (2006). "The Zoo and Aquarium Guide Book: Its Evolution and Uncertain Future". International Zoo News. 53 (5): 260–273.
  7. ^ "Suzie, the Graf Zeppelin Gorilla". cincinnativiews.net. Don Prout. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Every Day is Amazing at the Cincinnati Zoo". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Zoo's babies are a year-round thing". news.cincinnati.com. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  10. ^ "Small Cat Signature Project". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Endangered Ocelot Born Following Novel Artificial Insemination Procedure". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  12. ^ Curley, Michelle (27 October 2010). "Nikki Gave Birth This Morning". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  13. ^ "Pallas' Cats Born from Artificial Insemination". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  14. ^ "Rhino Signature Project". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  15. ^ "The Top 10 Zoos in America". wrsol.com. USA Travel Guide. 9 February 2009. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  16. ^ "African Savannah". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  17. ^ "A look at the zoo's plan for expansion" (PDF). news.cincinnati.com. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  18. ^ "Night Hunters". cincinnatizoo.org. Cincinnati Zoo. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

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