| Date opened | 1909 |
|---|---|
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, USA |
| Land area | 64 acres (26 ha) |
| Number of species | 435 |
| Memberships | AZA [1] |
| Website | www.fortworthzoo.org |
The Fort Worth Zoo is a zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Founded in 1909 with one lion, two bear cubs, an alligator, a coyote, a peacock and a few rabbits, the Zoo now is home to 5000 native and exotic animals; has been named as a top zoo in the nation by Family Life magazine, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today and one of the top zoos in the South by Southern Living Reader's Choice Awards; and has been placed in the top 10 zoos in the United States.
The Fort Worth Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Contents |
When the Fort Worth zoo opened in 1909, it had one lion, two bear cubs, an alligator, a coyote, a peacock and a few rabbits. From its opening until 1991, the zoo was owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Although the city collected money from the community to purchase new animals, the Zoological society (now the Fort Worth Zoological Association) was formed in 1939 to help raise additional funds.[2]
Monkey Island was created in 1937 with funds from the Works Progress Administration. In 1949 this exhibit became a sea lion pool, and by 1970 it had been converted to house small South American mammals. Storks and cranes called it home in the 1980s, and it was converted again in the early 1990s to house alligators. Now it contains Parrot Paradise.[3]
The Herpetarium was completed in the summer of 1960 and was an indoor exhibit measuring 117 by 55 feet (17 m). Boasting the largest exhibit of reptiles and amphibians in the world (with 175 vivaria and about 200 species), the facility also included a zoo hospital and quarantine room. Features such as refrigerated air, operational skylights, temperature controlled water, switch operated emergency alarms, and state-of-the-art service facilities, made the Herpetarium a marvel of technology for its time. Innovative exhibits such as a display of giant snakes with curved non-reflective glass (creating the illusion of an open-fronted exhibit) were especially popular attractions. The main public area included five exhibit halls covering various geographic regions and another area that was devoted exclusively to amphibians. There were also special exhibits teaching the identification of native venomous snakes and treatment for snakebite.[4]
In October 1991 the Fort Worth Zoological Association assumed management of the zoo under a contract with the city. In 1992 the zoo opened the first two of a series of exhibits: World of Primates and Asian Falls. During the rest of the decade, the zoo opened Raptor Canyon, Asian Rhino Ridge, and an education center in 1993, a cheetah exhibit in 1994, Flamingo Bay, a Komodo dragon exhibit, and Insect City in 1995, Meerkat Mounds in 1997, a new veterninary center in 1998, and Thundering Plains (now closed) in 1999.[2]
The first decade of the new millennium saw the opening of Texas Wild! in 2001 to showcase native Texas animals, Parrot Paradise in 2004, Great Barrier Reef in 2005 as part of a renovated Australian Outback exhibit, and the penguin exhibit in 2008. This decade also saw the closing of the original Herpetarium in 2009 to be replaced by the Museum of Living Art in 2010.[2]
Current zoo exhibits include Penguins, World of Primates, Asian Falls, Raptor Canyon, Cheetahs, Flamingo Bay, Meerkat Mounds, Australian Outback, African Savannah, Parrot Paradise, Texas Wild! and the Museum of Living Art (MOLA).
This indoor exhibit is home to a colony of African black-footed penguins, and includes a beach and an underwater viewing area.[3]
Opened in 1992, World of Primates is a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) exhibit that includes both indoor and outdoor habitats. The atrium is a tropical rainforest in which visitors can observe a group of chimpanzees or black-and-white colobus monkeys, as well as one of the zoos gorilla groups. Once through the atrium, visitors take a winding boardwalk past other primates including a second gorilla group, orangutans, mandrills, and white-cheeked gibbons.[3]
Asian Falls was opened in 1992, and includes the Asian elephant complex. Once past the elephants, visitors can observe the animals from a boardwalk that gives a bird's-eye view of rhinos and takes them past other animals including the zoos white tigers, Malayan tigers, and a group of sun bears, as well as hoofstock that are endemic to Asia including tufted deer and anoa.[3]
Raptor canyon is an aviary that opened in 1993 and that is home to crowned eagles, Andean condor, a milky eagle owl, harpy eagles, and bateleur eagles.[3]
The Cheetah exhibit was opened in 1994 and is home to the zoos cheetahs. Two other enclosures in this exhibit are home to bongos and warthogs.[3]
Flamingo bay is home to the 70 or so flamingos at the zoo. The exhibit includes three species of flamingo, including Chilean flamingos and lesser flamingos, both of which have been successfully bred in captivity here.[3]
This exhibit was opened in 1997 and features an entire colony of the extremely social meerkats. Visitors can view the meerkats through a plexiglass wall, a bubble window in one of the outer walls, or from a boardwalk which provides a bird's-eye view of the colony.[3]
This exhibit has been renovated and now includes the Great Barrier Reef exhibit in addition to being home to the zoos red kangaroos and wallabies. The Great Barrier Reef exhibit is a collection of Australian aquatic animals in three tanks containing more than 10,000 US gallons (38,000 l; 8,300 imp gal) of water. The exhibit includes 500 animals representing 86 species, including clownfish, blacktip reef sharks, angelfish, brain corals, moray eels and sea apples.[3]
African Savannah is home to rhinos, giraffes, and ostriches, which can be viewed from an elevated boardwalk.[3]
Parrot Paradise was opened on the zoo's upper path between the lions and Raptor Canyon in 2004. It is a free-flight aviary featuring cockatiels and parakeets.[3]
Texas Wild was opened in 2001 to display the many animals that call Texas their home. Texas Hill Country is home to animals in the Texas waterways, and includes a carousel with hand-painted ponies. Texas Town includes a Play Barn and the Texas Hall of Wonders, and prepares visitors for the rest of the exhibit. High Plains and Prairies represents the Panhandle and Northwestern Texas, and is home to swift foxes, black-footed ferrets, black-tailed prairie dogs and burrowing owls. Pineywoods and Swamps represents East Texas, and includes river otters, alligators, and black bears. Gulf Coast is home to Southern Texas animals including the aquatic animals and waterfowl of the delta marsh, and includes an aviary that is home to birds including the roseate spoonbill and white and brown pelicans. Brush country represents Southern Texas, and includes bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, jaguars, ocelots, and coati, as well as birds of prey such as the Aplomado falcon, bald eagle, and Harris hawk. Mountains and Desert completes the tour in a mine shaft where visitors can see bats, dung beetles, Texas horned lizards, Western diamondback rattlesnakes, and other animals endemic to the area.[5]
The Museum of Living Art is a $19 million, 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) herpetarium built to replace the original Herpetarium at the zoo. The facility housed more than 5,000 animals representing more than 100 species. Residents include a saltwater crocodile, a Burmese python, Fly River turtles, golden lion tamarins, two-toed sloths, yellow spotted climbing toads, a Chinese giant salamander, and a king cobra. The zoos Komodo dragons will find a new home here with both indoor and outdoor exhibits.[3]
The Fort Worth Zoo hosts the Turtle Survival Alliance. It was founded in 2001 as an IUCN task group to help stabilize populations of Asian fresh water turtles. It works with countries where endangered species of turtles appear, helping them develop a plan for conserving and sustaining their turtle populations, mostly emphasizing captive breeding and rescue.[6]
The zoo features an unusual Texas sized sculpture. A furious 40-foot iguana sculpture named 'Iggy', was lowered by helicopter onto the roof of the animal hospital in June 2010. Created by Austin artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade, the sculpture is owned by Fort Worth oilman Lee M. Bass.[7]
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||