| Date opened | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Location | Little Rock, Arkansas, USA |
| Land area | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| Number of animals | 725 [1] |
| Number of species | 200 [1] |
| Memberships | AZA[2] |
| Website | http://www.littlerockzoo.com |
The Little Rock Zoo was founded in 1926 and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is presently home to more than 725 animals representing over 200 species, and covers an area of 33 acres (13 ha). The Zoo is split into four zones, North, South, East, and West.
The Arkansas Zoological Foundation is a private 501 c (3) organization that raises funds for Zoo development.[1]
The Little Rock Zoo is a department of the city of Little Rock. It is the largest zoo in Arkansas, and the only Arkansas zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).[1]
Contents |
The Little Rock Zoo was started in 1926 with just two animals: an abandoned timber wolf and a circus-trained bear. Over the years it has grown to include 725 animals representing more than 200 species.[1]
The first buildings at the zoo were made of local stone and built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). These buildings were built in the 1930's and were home to primates, reptiles, birds, and big cats. They are still in use, and the cat house was renovated into a restaurant with the feel of an African style lodge.[1]
The current big cat exhibit was built in the 1980s along with other exhibits for great apes, crocodiles, alligators, sloth bears, and river otters. Lemur island opened in the 1990s, and an African Lion Exhibit was also added at this time, as well as the Civitan Pavilion for special events and the Civitan Amphitheater for educational programming.[1]
The Zoo acquired a Children’s Farm with an interactive contact yard and train station and in 2001 the Board of director's approved a new Zoo Master Plan, which will included a new African Veldt Exhibit.
The newly restored Over the Jumps carousel, a fully restored antique carousel, made its home at the Little Rock Zoo in the October of 2007.
An African penguin exhibit opened on March 5, 2011.
The Zoo lost Mary the elephant to abdominal cancer on May 5, 2011.
The Zoo acquired two elephants, Jewell and Zina, from the Ringling Brothers Center for Elephant Conservation on June 8, 2011, to be companions to Ellen, an elephant living at the Little Rock Zoo since 1954.
The Zoo lost Ellen the elephant to a heart attack on July 5, 2011.
The Zoo is home to many animals and most of them are spread out throughout the zoo into different areas according to their environment, species, or diet. These exhibits are made to fit the animal's needs and mimic their surrounding environment as effectively as possible to ensure that the animal is comfortable and not stressed in its new home.
This list includes some of the major exhibits at the Little Rock Zoo.
The Little Rock Zoo participates in the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP), and has contributed to the survival of many threatened and endangered species.[7]
The Little Rock Zoo intends to create a zoogeographic zoo to help the public learn about the habitats and create a more natural zoo for the animals. The included renovations and additions include an Arkansas Farmstead exhibit with native species and information on the importance of agriculture to the state, the continent of Asia, which will be located where the Greats Apes exhibit is at present, with a larger elephant exhibit, orangutans, blackbuck antelope, Sarus cranes, and other Asian species, the continent of Africa with a new giraffe barn, the African Veldt mixed species exhibit, a new cheetah habitat, the African forest area, and the African Outpost, a new entry complex located north of Zoo Drive complete with a new restaurant, carnival style rides, and an ice cream parlor and a New Discovery Center education center with new rooms, exhibits, and education animals.[8]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Little_Rock_Zoo Little Rock Zoo] at Wikimedia Commons
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||