Houston Zoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Houston Zoo | |
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| Date opened | September 1922 |
| Location | Houston, Texas, USA |
| Land area | 55 acres (0.22 km² |
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| # of Animals | 4,500 |
| # of Species | 500 |
| Accreditations/ Memberships |
AZA |
| Website | |
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The Houston Zoo is a 55-acre zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas. Housing over 4,500 animals belonging to over 500 species, the zoo receives 1.5 million visitors each year and is the seventh most visited zoo in the nation.[1] The zoo is accredited by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) assuring the highest standards of animal care and husbandry.[2]
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[edit] History
The Houston Zoo was first established in September 1922 in Sam Houston Park, near downtown. In 1921, the city of Houston purchased several animals for an initial collection. The facility was relocated to Hermann Park, where it resides today. The zoo did not have admission fees until 1988, when they were first established by former mayor Kathryn J. Whitmire.
[edit] Exhibits and facilities
- The Reptile and Amphibian building, constructed in 1960, is the primary facility for the amphibian species. Additional amphibian facilities include Texas Wetlands and the Ethel G. and Allen H. Carruth Natural Encounters exhibits.
- The John P. McGovern Children's Zoo provides six different animal habitats designed to allow guests to get closer to the animals. The children's zoo also includes an area where children can touch and pet domestic animals such as goats and sheep, a water playground and wildlife carousel.
- The zoo houses 290 specimens of over 230 species of birds in multiple facilities, including the Fischer Bird Gardens, a tropical bird house and an open-air Pheasant Run.
- Over one thousand fish and marine animals from around the world are housed in the Kipp Aquarium.
- Janice Suber McNair Asian Elephant Habitat
- The Giant Eland Exhibit. The Houston Zoo is the only zoo in Texas that houses this rare species.
- The Reptile House contains eighty separate displays housing more than 300 specimens. The house includes one of only fourteen leucistic American alligator exihibits in the world.
[edit] Conservation
The zoo is an active partner in the AZA's Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program, a population management and conservation program for selected species housed in North American zoos.
The zoo supports forty SSP conservation projects that assist in the survival of threatened wildlife and habitats. Wildlife conservation projects include the golden frog, Attwater's Prairie Chicken, chimney swift, Bornean orangutans and pygmy elephants, Komodo dragon, Siberian tiger, Spectacled bear, Snow leopard, Gorilla and numerous other endangered animals.
Curators of the zoo are involved with the AZA Taxon Advisory Groups, animal experts responsible for making recommendations and evaluations for rearing of species at other zoo facilities.
[edit] 2006 Elephant Birth
On October 1st, 2006, an Asian elephant named "Shanti" gave birth to an 384 pound male calf - the "largest elephant calf ever delivered in a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums."[1] The Houston Zoo website had set up a poll to decide what to name it. The choices in this poll were Colossus, Guinness, Sundar, Janu, and Mac. The name "Mac" was chosen. The father of the calf is named "Thailand."
[edit] Infrastructure
The zoo is served by bus service provided by Metro and an offsite light rail station on the Red Line of the METRORail light rail system.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
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Conservation biology | List of zoos | List of zoo associations | Zoological Garden | Menagerie | Tourist attraction | Wildlife Conservation | Endangered species |
