Dallas Zoo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dallas Zoo

Entrance to the Dallas Zoo
Date opened	1888
Location	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Land area	106 acres (43 ha)
Coordinates	32°44′24″N 96°48′54″W / 32.74000°N 96.81500°W / 32.74000; -96.81500
No. of animals	2,000+
No. of species	406
Annual visitors	1+ million
Memberships	AZA, WAZA
Major exhibits	Gorilla Research Center, Endangered Tiger Habitat, Chimpanzee Forest, Simmons Hippo Outpost, Penguin Cove, Giants of the Savanna

Dallas Zoo (also called the Dallas Zoological Park) is a 106-acre (43 ha) zoo located 3 mi (5 km) south of downtown Dallas, Texas, in Marsalis Park. Established in 1888, it is the oldest and largest zoological park in Texas and is managed by the non-profit Dallas Zoological Society. It is home to over 2,000 animals representing 406 species. It is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

In 2009, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved the construction of the 11 acres (4.5 ha) Giants of the Savanna Exhibit, and also voted to privatize the zoo. In recent years, attendance has surged. In 2015, the zoo achieved an annual attendance of 1 million+ visitors for the first time. The Dallas Zoological Society is supported by over 25,500 membership households. The DZS manages all fundraising, membership, special events, food services, retail operation, volunteer programs, marketing, and public relations for the zoo under management contract with the City of Dallas.

History

Historical photographs of the early days of the zoo, 1917

The zoo was established in 1888. The zoo's first purchase was two deer and two mountain lions for $60 from a private seller in Colorado City, Colorado. The animals were placed in pens and put on display in City Park. In the 1890s, the Dallas City Council approved funding for the zoo and more animals were purchased and added to the zoo's collection. The zoo called City Park home until 1910, when it was relocated to Fair Park. In 1912, the zoo moved to 36 acres (15 ha) in Marsalis Park which the city had purchased in 1909, from which it has expanded to its current size. Under the leadership of Zoo Commissioner William H. Atwell, the zoo acquired many more animals as well as exhibits. In the 1920s, a special Zoo Commission was created by the city and the collection was further developed with the acquisition of numerous specimens from game hunter and trapper Frank Buck. In the Depression era of the 1930s, the facilities at the zoo underwent extensive renovation funded by the Works Progress Administration.

Giraffes, zebras, antelopes and elephants in Giants of the Savanna

The Dallas Zoological Society was established in 1955 to support the zoo.

By the 1960s, the zoo was a popular and profitable attraction. In 1966, the zoo displayed over five hundred species of animals. However, by the 1980s, attitudes began to change from the profit-driven display of animals towards scientific research and the humane treatment of animals strongly advocated by the AZA. More emphasis was put on saving endangered species, partly by breeding animals in captivity. The Dallas Zoo cooperated with this program and was accredited in 1985. Around the same time, Zoo Director Warren J. Iliff proposed an addition to be known as the Wilds of Africa. Herbert W. Reimer, a New York architect, designed the Wilds of Africa with a "zoogeographic grouping" of African animals. In addition to a nature trail, he further envisioned a slow moving monorail that visitors could ride and observe as if on safari. Two bond measures, amounting to $30.4 million, brought the expansion from the drawing board in 1983 to its opening in June 1990.

On June 14, 1996, rail and bus service arrived at the zoo. Dallas Zoo station opened on the first phase of the Red Line. The connection to DART made getting to the zoo significantly more convenient.

In 1997, the 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m²) Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit opened to the public.

On May 8, 1999, the 2-acre (0.81 ha), $4.5 million ExxonMobil Endangered Tiger Habitat opened.

On September 3, 2008, the zoo announced it had received the largest gift in its 120-year history, a $5 million donation from Harold Simmons. This donation, as well as other factors, allowed the zoo to fast track the construction of the Giants of the Savanna habitat.

On August 12, 2009, the Dallas City Council voted unanimously to turn the zoo over to private management. On October 1, 2009, the zoo's management responsibilities, animals, and employees were officially turned over to the Dallas Zoological Society.

On May 28, 2010, the Giants of the Savanna habitat opened to national acclaim.

On April 1, 2015, the Dinosaur exhibit opened hosting over 20 animatronic dinosaurs.

Exhibits

A Hadada ibis (Bostrychia hagedash brevirostris) is perched on the arm of a Dallas zookeeper before flight

The zoo is divided into two major regions: ZooNorth and Wilds of Africa. ZooNorth is the original and oldest section of the zoo. The Wilds of Africa region was constructed seventy-eight years after ZooNorth and is accessed from ZooNorth via a tunnel beneath Clarendon Drive. It includes Giants of the Savanna, which was opened in 2010. Visitors can download the Dallas Zoo iPhone app to assist them in navigating the zoo. The zoo app is free and provides information about hours, admission, parking, directions, animals, membership, educational programs, and special events, as well as maps. The zoo is the first in the United States to offer visitors such an app in both English and Spanish.

ZooNorth

ZooNorth is the original and oldest section of the zoo. It features a wide range of exhibits including the Otter Outpost, Galápagos tortoises, Lacerte Family Children's Zoo, and Bug U!. Other habitats at ZooNorth include Wings of Wonder (featuring Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Andean Condor, King Vulture, African Fish Eagle, Harpy Eagle, Red-Legged Seriema,) Sumatran Tigers, Sloth, Toucan, Maned Wolf, Tamarin Treetops, Capybara, Clouded Leopard, Forest Tortoise and the Flamingo Pond. The Hill, one of the original parts of the zoo, was closed as many of the animals there were moved to the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit. The Wildlife Amphitheater is home to SOAR! A Festival of Flight. Primate Place features monkeys, with species from Africa and South America. ZooNorth is also home to the Pierre A. Fontaine Bird & Reptile Building where visitors are encouraged to learn about endangered reptiles, amphibians, and what can be done to save them.

Endangered Tiger Habitat

Tiger using tree as scratching post

The ExxonMobil Endangered Tiger Habitat is a 2-acre (0.81 ha), $4.5 million habitat that opened on May 8, 1999, and resembles a forest in the process of regrowth after logging. A glass viewing area and pathways allow the visitor to observe Sumatran tigers and Malayan tigers. The tigers' lush exhibits feature sun and shade, shallow pools with deep channels, running streams with hot rocks, perching rocks, and climbing/clawing trees. The observation area of the exhibit consists of two buildings; House of Tiger and House of Man, designed in the Thai pole house style. The complex acts as a bridge spanning the Valley of the Tiger placing the visitors in the center of the tiger's landscape.

Children's Zoo

The Lacerte Family Children's Zoo in ZooNorth is home to the Nature Exchange, the JC Penney Discovery House, the UnderZone, a petting zoo, and pony rides. It also features an artificial creek that children are encouraged to splash around in.

BUG U!

An exhibit that teaches children about the zoo's extensive collection of invertebrates (i.e. a termite colony, honey bee colony, Texas leafcutter ants, black widows, and brown recluse spiders).

Wilds of Africa

Dallas Zoo's African lion

The other half of the zoo is the Wilds of Africa. Opened in 1990, it was the first exhibit to feature all of the major habitats of Africa. Visitors can visit the rain forests, mountains, woodlands, rivers, deserts, and bush of Africa. The Nature Trail takes visitors through the rain forest past two large, naturalistic gorilla habitats. Nile crocodiles, wattled cranes, and a few other animals are seen before the Forest Aviary. In the middle of the forest is the Kopje, home to klipspringers. The rain forest/watering hole is also home to hippopotamus and okapi, which the zoo, in the case of the latter, is famous for in both its breeding and research. About 20 percent of okapi in zoos in the U.S. and Japan can trace their lineage back to it.

Penguin Cove

Penguin Cove is home to about a dozen African penguins. The penguins can be seen above and under the water as they walk and swim around their exhibit.

Chimpanzee Forest

Chimpanzee Forest

The 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m²) Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit opened in 1997. Visitors can observe the chimpanzees from the open air viewing station or from the floor-to-ceiling observation windows. Chimpanzee Forest features a waterfall, stream, climbing structures, trees and rocks that are heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. Another feature is an artificial termite mound where the chimpanzees can fish with long sticks for special treats, such as peanut butter and honey. In addition to their food from the zoo commissary, there are more than 40 edible plants in their area for them to forage on.

Gorilla Research Center

Juba and B'wenzi in the bachelor habitat

Shana and Zola in the bachelor habitat

Originally opened in 1990, the Gorilla Research Center is a 2-acre (0.81 ha) habitat featuring a lush naturalistic landscape. The habitat was designed in a way that encourages the gorillas to roam freely in an environment that replicates, as closely as possible, their native equatorial forest habitat. The exhibit includes two areas, separated by a wall, which provide enough room for two gorilla troops. The exhibit closed in 2004 and reopened in 2006 after undergoing a $2.2 million renovation to raise the exhibit walls from 12 feet to 15 feet and add a visitor's center.

The visitor's center is known as the Gorilla Research Station. It features high vantage points and floor-to-ceiling windows where visitors can view both troop habitats and have their questions answered by on site gorilla guides. The habitat is currently home to two troops of western gorillas; a bachelor troop and a family troop. The bachelors are named Juba, B'wenzi, Shana, and Zola. Juba and B'wenzi came to the Dallas Zoo in 2011 and Shana and Zola, half-brothers, arrived in 2013. Zola gained Internet fame in 2011 when video of him "break dancing" went viral. The family troop members are silverback Marcus, Shanta, Saambili (born in 2018), Megan, her son Mbani (born in 2019) and Asha. The goal was for former silverback Patrick and one of the females to breed but in September 2013) the plan was abandoned due to Patrick's lack of interest in reproducing. He was relocated to Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, S.C. in 2013.

Crocodile Isle

Crocodile Isle allows visitors to view Nile crocodiles from behind glass. Visitors can watch crocodiles swim, lounge in the sun, and even devour their food at public feedings.

Forest Aviary

The Forest Aviary contains colorful and exotic birds native only to Africa in a habitat featuring a wooded landscape, rock cliffs, and a tranquil stream.

Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari (Former)

Dallas Zoo Monorail

The Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari was a 20-minute, one-mile, narrated monorail ride, which traveled around the watering hole (hippopotamus) rain forest (okapi), mountain (Nubian ibex), woodlands (Grévy's zebra), river (waterbuck, great white pelicans, Goliath herons, blue cranes), arid desert (scimitar-horned oryx, addra gazelle), semi-arid desert (addax, gemsbok, ostrich) and bush (gerenuk, black crowned cranes, greater kudu, Thomson's gazelle, marabou storks) exhibits.

The monorail featured aerial views of the Simmons Hippo Outpost, Chimpanzee Forest, Nile crocodile, and Penguin Cove exhibits, which are accessible via the Nature Trail. The monorail originally opened in 1990 but after two decades of use and over a million passengers, the attraction began to show its age with aging infrastructure and several electrical outages that left passengers stranded on the tour. The final incident in August 2014 prompted zoo officials to shut down the attraction for evaluation. Following the evaluation the DZS decided a $3 million renovation was in order. On March 25, 2016, the Monorail Safari reopened as the Wilds of Africa Adventure Safari featuring a new sound system, an upgraded station, air-conditioning, upgraded mechanical and electrical components and new graphics on the individual cars. Additionally, a diesel powered tug was on standby to nudge the trains back to the station in the event of a power failure. The Adventure Safari Monorail permanently closed in 2020.

Giants of the Savanna

Elephants in the Giants of the Savanna habitat

Phase II of the Wilds of Africa, Giants of the Savanna, opened on May 28, 2010. This is an 11-acre (4.5 ha) expansion to the current Wilds of Africa, and features six female and two male African bush elephants, a large herd of reticulated giraffes, African lions, South African cheetahs, impala, ostriches,vulturine guineafowl, warthogs, red river hogs and the newest attraction African wild dogs. Visitors have the opportunity to feed lettuce leaves and rye crackers to the herd of giraffe at the Giraffe Feeding Station. Five of the eleven acres are dedicated to the eight African bush elephants; Jenny, Gypsy, Kamba, Congo, Tendaji, Mlilo, Zola, and Okubili (Ajabu died in May 2023). The elephants' facilities are state of the art with padded floors and a community room with seven feet of dirt that allows the pachyderms to indulge their natural inclination for digging. The exhibit was the first in North America to mix elephants with giraffes, zebras, ostriches, impala, and guineafowl. On March 11, 2016, five new African elephants arrived from Eswatini's Hlane Royal National Park in order to survive a drought. Two years later, Nolwazi and her daughter Amahle were transferred to Fresno Chaffee Zoo in Fresno, California.

Also in the exhibit is a pride of four lions and an African painted dog pack. In between the lion and painted dog exhibits, there is a "Predator Encounter" area where the keepers give educational talks. Climate controlled rocks draw the lions to a floor-to-ceiling bay window at the Serengeti Grill, where they sit or lay within mere inches of diners.

Awards

On October 6, 2011, the zoo received special recognition from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for the Giants of the Savanna Habitat. The $32.5 million habitat is the first in North America, as well as one of the first on the planet, to combine a variety of large species in a single exhibit in order to re-create the landscape of the African savanna.

Conservation

The zoo is highly proactive in species preservation and conservation efforts and participates in over 40 Species Survival Plans (SSP) with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The following is a list of the Species Survival Plans (SSP) that the zoo is involved with

A Rhinoceros Hornbill at the zoo

The zoo supports many conservation projects including Okapi Conservation - Epulu Research Station, Zaire, International Rhino Foundation, Chimp Haven, Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, Gray's Monitor Lizard In The Philippines, Taxon Advisory Groups (Tag), Bowling For Rhinos, and the Thailand Hornbill Project - Adopt A Hornbill Nest. In addition to conservation, sustainability efforts by the zoo include growing bamboo and cabbage to function as part of the landscape aesthetic throughout the zoo. The overgrowth is harvested and used as food for the zoo's herbivores.

Cell Phone Recycling

The zoo collects and recycles cell phones through a program called ECO-CELL. The objective of both the zoo and ECO-CELL is to reduce coltan mining. Coltan is a raw material used in the manufacturing process of cell phones and it is mined almost exclusively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mining results in a loss of habitat for gorillas, elephants, okapi and many others. For every cell phone recycled through ECO-CELL, the zoo receives a donation to its conservation fund. ECO-CELL has partnerships with over 110 zoos and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Events

Safari Nights is the zoo's concert series that takes place on eight consecutive Saturday nights during the summer season.

Zoo To Do is the zoo's annual fundraising gala. Patrons of this exclusive event have the opportunity to view the animals, enjoy food from some of Dallas’ top chefs, bid on auction items, and dance.

Dollar Day at the zoo is held one day in July and one day in November. The zoo shows its appreciation to the community for its support with $1 admission all day. Families can look for dollar deals on food, drinks and gifts throughout the zoo.

Zoo Lights is the zoo's Christmas celebration event. Visitors can drive through a one-mile long trail that has over one million lights. Many of the lights are in the shape of zoo animals.

Future

Hippos in the water

In Spring 2017, hippos returned to the zoo for the first time since the death of their last hippo 15 years back with the opening of Simmons Hippo Outpost. In February 2016 ground was broken on the $13.5 million, 3.5 acre immersive habitat that houses four Nile hippos; one male (Gus) and three females (Boipelo, Addy, and Kalo). The habitat features an overlook deck and an underwater viewing area.

The Dallas Zoo Conservation Education & Science Center is a proposed 70,400 sq ft (6,540 m²) facility that will be located adjacent to ZooNorth. The facility will be a teaching laboratory for conservation of the world ecology systems and will be LEED certified silver level category. It will include research, teaching and interpretive facilities, and will become the new entrance to the zoo. This project is currently in the design phase and on hold pending funding.

Transportation

The nearest DART station is Dallas Zoo on the Red Line. The zoo is also served by bus routes 19, 515 and 522.

Every Monday and Tuesday, from March through December, the zoo offers $2 off admission to visitors who present their same-day DART pass at the Dallas Zoo ticket booth.