Denver Zoo facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Denver Zoo
Entrance pavilion
Date opened	1896
Location	Denver, Colorado, United States
Land area	80 acres (32 ha)
Coordinates	39°45′N 104°57′W / 39.750°N 104.950°W / 39.750; -104.950
No. of animals	3,500 (2018)
No. of species	550 (2018)
Annual visitors	2.2 million
Memberships	AZA, WAZA
Major exhibits	Predator Ridge, Northern Shores, Tropical Discovery, Toyota Elephant Passage, Primate Panorama, Bear Mountain

The Denver Zoo is a super cool place to visit in Denver, Colorado. It's an 80-acre (32 ha) zoo that's not for profit, meaning it uses its money to care for animals and teach people. It opened way back in 1896 and is one of the most popular places to visit in Colorado!

The zoo started with just one orphaned black bear. Over the years, it became famous for using natural-looking homes for animals instead of cages. Places like Bear Mountain, Primate Panorama, and Predator Ridge show off this idea. Toyota Elephant Passage, which opened in 2012, is another amazing example.

Denver Zoo is a top-notch zoo, approved by groups like the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). It's even known as one of the "Greenest Zoos in the Country" because it cares so much about the environment!

Discovering the Denver Zoo's History

How the Zoo Began: Early Years

The Denver Zoo started in 1896 with a little black bear cub named Billy Bryan. The mayor of Denver received Billy as a gift and then gave him to the City Park keeper, Alexander J. Graham. This bear was the very first animal at the zoo!

Soon, other animals joined, like local ducks, prairie dogs, and pronghorn antelope. The zoo also had a flock of beautiful Chinese pheasants. As the zoo grew, it focused on animals native to the area, like large herds of bison and elk.

In 1905, some red squirrels were added. They multiplied so fast that they caused problems for the birds! Instead of shooting them, many squirrels were moved to the Denver Mountain Parks.

Growing Up: Mid-20th Century

Cross-section view of a proposed bear pit, showing bear living space with trees and rocks, pedestrian areas, and automobile parking, about 1917.

The south tip of Bear Mountain was originally intended for monkeys but now houses North American porcupine.

Memorial marker to Velox

In 1906, Mayor Robert W. Speer wanted to make the zoo better. He said, "Prison bars can be done away with!" He wanted natural-looking areas with "concrete rocks, waterfalls, trees." Victor H. Borcherdt became the zoo director and helped make this happen.

Borcherdt designed the famous Bear Mountain exhibit, which opened in 1918. This huge structure is 43 ft (13 m) tall and 185 ft (56 m) long. It was built to look like real mountains, using special concrete. Instead of bars, hidden moats kept the animals safe. It was one of the first exhibits in the U.S. to use this natural style! It first housed polar bears and grizzly bears.

The south part of Bear Mountain looked like Mesa Verde National Park. It first had monkeys, but then California sea lions lived there. A famous polar bear named Velox lived there from 1941 to 1961. She was even a mascot for a U.S. Army group! A special stone at the zoo remembers her.

After 1918, not much changed at the zoo until the 1950s. Monkey Island was built in 1937. In 1950, the Denver Zoological Foundation was created. That same year, the zoo got its first elephant, Cookie! A Children's Zoo opened in 1951.

The zoo kept adding new homes for animals:

Feline House (1964)
Giraffe House (1966)
Animal Hospital (1969)
Bird World (1975)
Mountain Sheep Habitat (1979)
Northern Shores (1987) for polar bears and other cold-weather animals.
Wolf Pack Woods (1988)

Bear Mountain was renovated in the late 1980s. It reopened with grizzly bears and Asiatic black bears.

Modern Zoo: 1990s to Today

Interior of Denver Zoo's Tropical Discovery

In 1993, the zoo opened the amazing $11.5 million Tropical Discovery exhibit. This indoor tropical garden has glass pyramids and is home to many fish, reptiles, and amphibians. It doubled the number of species at the zoo! It also has over 250 types of plants.

In 1994, two polar bear cubs, Klondike and Snow, were born. Their mother didn't care for them, so zoo staff raised them. They became very popular! A bronze statue at the zoo remembers their story.

In 2009, the Denver Zoo was the first zoo in the U.S. to get a special certification (ISO 14001) for being environmentally friendly. That same year, an endangered aye-aye was born at the zoo. It was the first time this species was conceived and born in a North American zoo!

In 2012, the zoo opened the huge $50 million Toyota Elephant Passage. This exhibit is one of the biggest homes for elephants in the world!

The zoo also helps animals in the wild. In 2015, it welcomed 20 Lake Titicaca frogs from Peru. It was the first zoo outside South America to breed these rare frogs! The zoo also released Andean condors in Colombia.

In 2024, the zoo announced it got 570 acres of land in Weld County. This new area, called the Lembke Family Preserve, will help the zoo with its breeding and reintroduction programs. It won't be open to the public, but it's a huge step for conservation!

Amazing Animal Homes: Denver Zoo Exhibits

The Denver Zoo has about 3,500 animals from 550 different species! You can see animals from all over the world. The zoo is set up in a big loop, with exhibits inside and outside this path.

Primates: Our Closest Relatives

Primate Panorama showcases orangutans

Gorilla at the zoo

Primate Panorama is a 7 acres (2.8 ha) area for apes and other large primates. Tree-dwelling apes and monkeys live in huge wire mesh tents that are four stories high! In these tents, primates like Wolf's guenons and siamangs can climb on vines. Western lowland gorillas have one of the biggest gorilla homes in the world. Sumatran orangutans also have their own outdoor area.

Jewels of the Emerald Forest is a building near Primate Panorama. It has a path through rainforest scenes with small primates like the aye-aye and golden lion tamarin. An island exhibit nearby rotates different lemur species, like ring-tailed lemurs.

The Shamba area looks like a village in Africa. It's home to red river hogs and mandrills. You can also see rhinoceros hornbills in an aviary.

Monkey Island was built in 1937 and updated in 1950. Its hooded capuchins moved to the Emerald Forest building in 2023. The Monkey House nearby is a historic building that used to house primates.

Big Cats and More: The Predator Zone

Predator Ridge is designed to represent the African savanna

Lion at the zoo

Predator Ridge opened in 2004 and is often the first exhibit visitors see. It looks like the African savanna. It has three separate areas where animals like Southern African lions and spotted hyenas can rotate. This rotation helps keep them interested because they smell each other's scents! A habitat for African penguins, with an underwater viewing pool, opened in 2021.

The Edge is a cool exhibit for the zoo's Amur tigers. It looks like the pine forests of Russia. It has two yards with big pools and pathways that go over visitors' heads. This gives the tigers lots of space to explore. It opened in 2017.

The Feline House was built in 1964. It's now closed and being changed for new exhibits like Stingray Cove. Some outdoor yards are now home to smaller animals like bald eagles. Soon, a Geoffroy's cat rescued from smuggling will be displayed here.

You can also find clouded leopards in the Toyota Elephant Passage.

Hoofed Animals: Grazers and Runners

Hoofed mammals usually live in the center of the zoo's main path. You can see animals like Grevy's zebras, reticulated giraffes, Bactrian camels, and okapis. There are also many types of antelopes, such as addax and lesser kudu. The Denver Zoo is one of the few zoos that breeds Przewalski's horses, a rare wild horse. You might also spot red kangaroos and African wild dogs here.

Mountain Sheep Habitat opened in 1979. It has two natural-looking "mountains" for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Birds: Feathers and Flight

Green-winged Macaw (Ara chloropterus)

Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica)

The original aviary at the zoo is now home to Andean condors.

Lorikeet Adventure, the Nurture Trail, and the Avian Propagation Center all opened in 2006. In Lorikeet Adventure, you can walk inside a big tent and even feed different kinds of lorikeets! The Nurture Trail has exhibits for red-crowned cranes and grey crowned cranes. The Avian Propagation Center helps the zoo breed and raise many types of birds.

The Forest Aviary in Primate Panorama is a huge 7,500-square-foot (700 m²) area with lots of plants. Visitors can walk inside with birds like Indian peafowl and hornbills.

The zoo's new Flamingo Habitat opened in 2023. It has pools and marshes for Chilean and American flamingoes, just like their homes in the Andes mountains.

You can also see Humboldt penguins north of Bear Mountain.

Tropical Discovery: A Rainforest Adventure

Lake Titicaca frogs in Tropical Discovery.

Tropical Discovery opened in 1993. It's like walking through different tropical places! You can see mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and insects. You'll see a South American river with fish, a cave with different kinds of bats, and a "Mayan temple" with venomous snakes like the king cobra. In the Rainforest area, you might spot capybaras, sloths, and colorful poison dart frogs. There's also a coral reef with clownfish and lionfish.

Dragons of Komodo opened in 1999 and is one of the biggest Komodo dragon exhibits in the country. Besides Komodo dragons, it also has other island reptiles like rhinoceros iguanas.

Toyota Elephant Passage: A Giant Home

Asian elephant

One of the gibbon islands at the elephant exhibit

Toyota Elephant Passage is a massive $50 million, 10-acre (4.0 ha) exhibit. When it opened, it was the largest home for male elephants in the world! It can house up to 12 elephants. This allows the zoo to study how male elephants live together in the wild. The exhibit is home to Asian elephants, greater one-horned rhinoceros, and Malayan tapirs. These animals can move between different habitats, just like in Predator Ridge.

The exhibit has over 2 miles (3.2 km) of trails for the animals and huge pools. Northern white-cheeked gibbons swing right over a boardwalk where visitors walk! You can also see clouded leopards and sarus cranes nearby. There's an indoor area for smaller animals like fishing cats and Asian small-clawed otters. This exhibit is very important for breeding endangered animals like the Indian rhino and Asian elephant.

The exhibit opened with two female elephants and two male elephants. In 2013, a male elephant named Billy came all the way from Belgium by plane! This was a big deal because it helped mix the elephant families from different parts of the world. In 2018, two more male elephants, Chuck and Jake, joined, making Denver's herd the largest group of male Asian elephants in the world!

In 2020, the first greater one-horned rhino calf in the zoo's history was born here!

This exhibit is also very green, earning a special "LEED Platinum" award for its environmentally friendly design.

Down Under: Australia and New Zealand

Down Under is a new exhibit that explores the amazing animals and plants of Australia and New Zealand. It will have the zoo's first "conservation station" where you can learn how to help protect animals. The exhibit will look like the animals' natural homes. You'll be able to walk through a wallaby yard and see matschie's tree kangaroos, Southern cassowaries, and keas. Down Under is planned to open in 2024.

Harmony Hill: Bears and Wildlife Solutions

Harmony Hill is a home for grizzly bears. It looks like a fictional state park. Next to it, there's another habitat designed to look like a backyard. This helps teach people how to live safely with wildlife. This habitat is home to two rescued leucistic raccoons (raccoons with very light fur). Harmony Hill opened in 2019.

Northern Shores: Cool Water Animals

This exhibit opened in 1987 and is a great home for California sea lions. It has many pools, islands for sunbathing, and underwater viewing windows. You can watch the sea lions swim and play!

Pachyderm Habitat: Rhinos and Hippos

Hippopotamus

Opened in 1959, the Pachyderm Habitat is currently home to Black rhinoceros and river hippopotamus. The elephants and tapirs moved to Toyota Elephant Passage in 2012. Since 2015, this area also has a special place for kids called the Be a Zookeeper Zone. Here, kids can learn what it's like to be a zookeeper or meet small animals.

Bear Mountain: A Historic Landmark

This historic exhibit, opened in 1918, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was one of the first zoo exhibits in North America to use natural-looking concrete rocks instead of bars. It was updated between 1987 and 1989. Now, it's home to smaller animals like cinereous vultures.

Stingray Cove: Touch and Learn

Stingray Cove is a seasonal exhibit where you can touch and feed rays! It has an 18,000-gallon outdoor aquarium with cownose rays, bamboo sharks, southern stingrays, and other cool fish. You can gently touch the rays as they swim by. There's a small extra cost to enter and feed the rays. It opened in June 2020.

Traveling Exhibits: Special Visitors

The Denver Zoo often hosts special traveling exhibits. These exhibits help teach people about conservation. Past exhibits have included amazing art made from LEGO bricks and art made from ocean trash!

Fun and Learning: Other Zoo Facilities

Endangered Species Carousel

Train station at the zoo

The Conservation Carousel has hand-carved wooden animals that look like some of the zoo's most popular residents. You can ride on a polar bear, a giraffe, or a baby gorilla!

The Denver Zoo Railroad takes you on a quick ride around the zoo's carousel meadow. It's the first zoo train in the U.S. that runs on natural gas!

The 4D Theater is near the Asian hoofstock exhibits. While you wait, you can see art and hear music celebrating central Asian culture.

The Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Animal Hospital was finished in 2021. It has a special CT scanner and is twice as big as the old hospital. The Schlessman Family Foundation Visitor and Education Center lets visitors watch through windows as vets work on animals!

The Gates Wildlife Conservation Education Center has classrooms and meeting rooms for learning and events.

The Wild Encounters outdoor amphitheater is a place where you can watch live animal presentations.

Helping Animals: Education and Conservation

The Denver Zoo offers many ways to learn about animals! You can watch sea lion demonstrations, elephant demonstrations, and predator demonstrations. There are also special programs at Wildlife Plaza and the Wild Encounters amphitheater.

The Denver Zoo is part of a program with Miami University that offers a Master's degree in Biology. Students learn online and get hands-on experience at the zoo!

The zoo is also a big part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan. This plan helps zoos work together to protect endangered species. The Denver Zoo also works with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to help save frogs and other amphibians around the world. For example, they work with conservationists in Peru to save the endangered Lake Titicaca frog. They've also had great success breeding boreal toads, which are endangered in some western states. They've released over 600 young toads back into the wild!

The Denver Zoo has a long history of helping the American bison. It was one of the first zoos to help save this species from extinction. Even though the zoo doesn't have bison anymore, it helps manage a herd in New Mexico and has contributed animals to other herds in Colorado.

In 2024, the zoo will start using the 570-acre Lembke Family Preserve in Weld County. This new land will be used for breeding programs and to temporarily house animals during renovations. Later, it will become a conservation center to help reintroduce species back into the wild!

The zoo's conservation work is managed by its Department of Conservation Biology. This team works on hundreds of projects around the world to help save different species.

Special Events at the Zoo

Wild Fall is a fun event in October with fall and Halloween-themed activities. It focuses on nature education during the daytime.

Zoo Lights is a magical event in December evenings. You can walk through a wonderland of lights, many of which are animated and look like animals at the zoo!

Images for kids

Cross-section view of a proposed bear pit, showing bear living space with trees and rocks, pedestrian areas, and automobile parking, about 1917.
The south tip of Bear Mountain was originally intended for monkeys but now houses North American porcupine.
Memorial marker to Velox
Interior of Denver Zoo's Tropical Discovery
Primate Panorama showcases orangutans
Gorilla at the zoo
Predator Ridge is designed to represent the African savanna
Lion at the zoo
Green-winged Macaw (Ara chloropterus)
Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica)
Lake Titicaca frogs in Tropical Discovery.
Asian elephant
One of the gibbon islands at the elephant exhibit
Hippopotamus
Endangered Species Carousel
Train station at the zoo
Trumpeter hornbill with zookeeper