Louisville Zoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Louisville Zoo | |
 Entrance to Louisville Zoo
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| Date opened | 1969 |
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Land area | 135 acres (0.55 km²) |
| Number of Animals | 1,300 |
| Accreditations/ Memberships |
AZA, AAM |
| Major exhibits | Gorilla Forest, Islands |
| Website | |
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] 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.
In 1994 an elephant used for rides picked up a visitor with its trunk, injuring the man after the elephant threw the man down.[2]
[edit] Exhibits and activities
The zoo was awarded the 2003 Association of Zoos and Aquariums Exhibit Award for its "Gorilla Forest".[3] Also notable is the zoo's exhibit of a rare albino alligator.
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. Moreover, the exhibit is the first to have natural predator and prey in the same space.
Often when an animal is born in the zoo, the zoo holds a contest where participants send in ideas for names.
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.
During mid to late-October, the zoo hosts the "World's Largest Halloween Party", one of the largest Halloween parties in the United States. The zoo is currently constructing a new exhibit known as Glacier Run, which began with the opening of a small splash park. The exhibit itself will replace the current polar bear exhibit.
[edit] Notable residents
- Mojo, a patas monkey previously owned by NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.[4]
[edit] Image gallery
 Western Lowland Gorilla at the Louisville Zoo |
[edit] References
- ^ "Zoo sets attendance record", The Courier-Journal, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Kosair Shrine Circus Comes to Louisville with Cruel and Dangerous Elephant Rides | The Humane Society of the United States
- ^ The Louisville Zoo Wins Coveted AZA Exhibit Award. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2008-05-22%20mojo.htm
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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