Oregon Zoo facts for kids

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Oregon Zoo

Main entrance in January 2024.
Date opened	1888; 137 years ago (1888)
Location	Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, United States
Land area	64 acres (26 ha)
Coordinates	45°30′30″N 122°42′53″W / 45.50833°N 122.71472°W / 45.50833; -122.71472
No. of animals	1,800
No. of species	232
Annual visitors	1.7 million
Memberships	AZA WAZA
Major exhibits	The Great Northwest, Africa Savanna, Africa Rainforest, Elephant Lands

The Oregon Zoo is a super cool place to visit in Portland, Oregon. It's located in Washington Park, about two miles southwest of downtown. Guess what? It's the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River! It first opened way back in 1888.

This huge zoo covers 64 acres and is home to over 1,800 animals from more than 230 different species. This includes 19 species that are endangered and 9 that are threatened. The zoo also has amazing plants in its animal exhibits and special gardens. You can even ride the Washington Park & Zoo Railway inside the zoo!

The Oregon Zoo is Oregon's biggest and most popular place to visit. Over 1.7 million people came to the zoo in 2018. The zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

History of the Oregon Zoo

How the Zoo Started

Washington Park was known as City Park until 1909. Charles M. Meyers was the first park keeper and he transformed the wilderness area into a park filled with drives, walkways, gardens, lawns and a zoo.

The Oregon Zoo began in 1888. This makes it the oldest zoo in North America west of the Mississippi River. It all started with two bears! A man named Richard Knight bought them. He was a pharmacist who collected animals from his friends who traveled by sea.

He kept his animal collection behind his drug store. When it became too much work, he wanted to sell them to the city of Portland. Instead, the city gave him two circus cages. They let him put the bears in these cages at City Park, which is now called Washington Park.

Caring for the bears was still up to Knight and his friends. So, he offered to donate the bears and their cages to the city. The Portland City Council accepted his offer on November 7, 1888. This is how the Portland Zoo began! It was in Washington Park and sometimes called the Washington Park Zoo.

By 1894, the zoo had over 300 animals. In 1925, the zoo moved to where the Portland Japanese Garden is today, still inside Washington Park.

Moving to a New Home

The zoo moved again in 1958–59 to its current spot. This new location was in Hoyt Park, which later became part of Washington Park. The Portland Zoo Railway was built to connect the zoo to its old site and other attractions.

Animals started moving in spring 1958. The new zoo opened to the public in stages. The railway opened first in June 1958. The old zoo stayed open for a while, but the new zoo fully opened on July 3, 1959. It was then called the Portland Zoological Gardens.

Famous Elephants at the Zoo

The zoo became very popular in 1953 when an Asian elephant named Rosy arrived. It became world-famous in 1962 when an Asian elephant named "Packy" was born. He was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years!

Packy grew to be the tallest Asian elephant in the United States. The Oregon Zoo has had 28 elephant calves born there, including seven from Packy. This makes it the most successful zoo for elephant breeding in the world! On August 23, 2008, Rosy's granddaughter, Rose-Tu, gave birth to a son named Samudra. He was the first third-generation elephant born in a North American zoo.

Sadly, Packy passed away in 2017 at 54 years old.

The Zoo Joins Metro

Until 1971, the city ran the zoo. Then, the Portland Zoological Society took over. In 1976, local voters approved a plan for the zoo to be managed by the Metropolitan Service District, now called Metro. Metro has continued to expand the zoo with help from donors and volunteers.

Later in 1976, Metro renamed the zoo the Washington Park Zoo. The railway was renamed the Washington Park and Zoo Railway two years later. In April 1998, the Metro Council changed the zoo's name again to the Oregon Zoo.

In September 1998, the zoo became easy to reach by MAX light rail. A special underground station, Washington Park station, opened right at the zoo.

In November 2008, voters approved $125 million for zoo improvements. This money helped update old exhibits and teach more people about conservation. The zoo had a record 1.6 million visitors in 2008-2009, partly because of a new baby elephant.

Explore the Exhibits

Africa Rainforest

Opened in 1991, the Africa Rainforest exhibit covers 1.3 acres. It cost $4.3 million to build. Besides animals, you'll see artwork and a mock safari station. Animals here include Rodrigues fruit bats, straw-colored fruit bats, spotted-necked otters, West African slender-snouted crocodiles, and crested porcupines.

The rainforest has three main parts:

The Bamba Du Jon Swamp, with West African lungfish, African bullfrogs, and reptiles.
The rainforest aviary, where you can see lesser flamingos, hadada ibises, and white-faced whistling ducks.
The main rainforest area.

Africa Savanna

Giraffe at the Africa Savanna exhibit.

The Africa Savanna exhibit opened in April 1989 and is 4 acres big. It features animals from East Africa, including a bird house and areas for large mammals. You can see eastern black rhinos, bontebok, Speke's gazelle, naked mole-rats, red-tailed monkeys, Masai and reticulated giraffe, and African spurred tortoises.

The zoo used to have a plains zebra and two hippos, but they moved to other zoos.

Predators of the Serengeti is a 2.5-acre part of the Africa Savanna. It opened in 2009. Here you'll find African predators like lions, cheetahs, and African wild dogs. Other animals nearby include common dwarf mongooses, ring-tailed lemurs, northern red-billed hornbills, and a Central African rock python. The zoo welcomed new lions from other zoos. In 2013 and 2014, two lionesses, Neka and Kya, gave birth to several cubs!

Discovery Plaza

Amur leopard

The Discovery Plaza exhibit now houses red pandas and Amur tigers. It's designed to look like a northern Asian forest. This area used to have Amur leopards, including Boris, who was one of the oldest Amur leopards in zoos.

Elephant Lands

Packy (left) and Rose-Tu, two Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo

The popular elephant exhibit is home to three female Asian elephants (Sung-Surin "Shine", Rose-Tu, and Chendra) and two male elephants (Samudra and Samson). All were born at the zoo except Chendra, who was rescued as an orphan, and Samson, who came from another zoo. Chendra is the first Borneo elephant in the United States. In 2012, Rose-Tu gave birth to a female calf named Lily.

This exhibit was recently made much bigger, from 1.5 acres to 6 acres! It now has different types of land like meadows, forests, and mud wallows. It also has a special feeding system to make the elephants search for food, just like in the wild. An eco-friendly heating system keeps them warm all year. The new habitat was finished in autumn 2015.

Great Northwest

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with a zookeeper at a live show.

Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) at Steller Cove.

This exhibit shows wildlife from the western parts of the Pacific Northwest. It has eight areas: Black Bear Ridge, Eagle Canyon, Cascade Stream and Pond, Cougar Crossing, Cascade Crest, Trillium Creek Family Farm, and Steller Cove. The Cascade Canyon Trail connects most of these exhibits and has a cool suspension bridge.

Cascade Crest opened in 1998 and looks like a mountain. It has a snow cave and alpine trees. The only animals here are mountain goats.

Black Bear Ridge is home to American black bears. This area opened in 2007.

Eagle Canyon has two bald eagles and opened in 2004.

Cascade Stream and Pond is the oldest Great Northwest exhibit, opened in 1982. It features North American beavers, North American river otters, painted turtles, and many kinds of ducks.

Cougar Crossing has two cougars, Chinook and Paiute. This area opened in 2006.

Next to Cougar Crossing is Condors of the Columbia. Three California condors moved into this new exhibit in 2014. These condors are part of a special breeding program.

The Trillium Creek Family Farm opened in 2004. Here, high school students teach visitors about local farming. You can see domestic animals like pygmy and Pygora goats and chickens.

The final area of the Great Northwest Exhibit is Steller Cove. It shows animals and plants from the Oregon Coast. This exhibit opened in 2000 and has a tide pool and kelp forest with harbor seals and sea otters.

Nature Exploration Station

The Nature Exploration Station is part of the zoo's education center, opened in 2017. It has fun, interactive exhibits. There's also an insect zoo with living insects and other arthropods. Some of these insects are raised to be released into the wild! You might see Australian walking sticks, emperor scorpions, giant African millipedes, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and Mexican redknee tarantulas.

Penguinarium

Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in the Penguinarium.

The zoo has a Penguinarium where you can see Humboldt penguins. It was first built in 1959 and updated in 1982 to look like the Peruvian coast. It was remodeled again in 2011 to save water.

Polar Passage

Opened in 2021, Polar Passage features polar bears. This exhibit looks like the Arctic tundra and coast. It has natural plants, high spots for long views, and both shallow and deep saltwater pools.

Primate Forest

The Primate Forest has two main parts. The Red Ape Reserve opened in 2010 and houses Bornean and Sumatran orangutans and northern white-cheeked gibbons. A chimpanzee habitat opened in 2021.

The zoo was home to Inji, the world's oldest Sumatran orangutan. She celebrated her 59th birthday in 2019. Inji passed away in 2021.

Behind the Scenes Animals

The zoo also cares for some animals that aren't always on public display. These include Blue and Gold macaws, rabbits, Toucans, reptiles, a kinkajou, a prehensile-tailed porcupine, and a two-toed sloth.

Other Fun Attractions

Wildlife Live! summer shows (when the weather is nice)
Summer concert series
Zoolights: a beautiful light display during December holidays
Washington Park and Zoo Railway
Carousel

How to Get There

Parking at the Oregon Zoo costs $2 per hour, up to $8 per day. You can easily get to the Oregon Zoo using the MAX light rail system. The Washington Park light rail station is right there!

Gallery

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
Tiger
Rhinoceros
One of the peacocks roaming free in the zoo.
Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx)
Hypericum calycinum, one of the many flowering plants at the zoo.
Blue Grecian butterfly
American black bear (Ursus americanus)
Hippopotamus
Rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus)
Lyle Lovett performing at one of the events at the zoo.

Conservation Efforts at the Zoo

United States Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton at a zoo event highlighting the conservation work of different condor species, with the Andean condor in view.

The Oregon Zoo works with wildlife groups to help save endangered species. This includes California condors, western pond turtles, northern leopard frogs, and different types of butterflies. Through its Future for Wildlife program, the zoo gives money to projects that help wild animals and their homes in the Pacific Northwest.

The zoo also has a project where people help watch American pikas. It was the first zoo to successfully breed critically endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits and Oregon silverspot butterflies!

The zoo's conservation plan focuses on four areas: the Pacific Northwest, the Arctic, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. In 2012, the Oregon Zoo was the first zoo to get blood samples from polar bears without using anesthesia. This helped start an important polar bear conservation program. The zoo now works with the U.S. Geological Survey to study polar bear diets and movements. In Borneo, the zoo helps elephant conservation by funding park rangers. They also work with groups in Malaysia and Indonesia to reduce problems between humans and wildlife.

Helping California Condors

In 2001, the zoo joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program. California Condors lay only one egg every one to two years, so they reproduce slowly. In 2003, the first six condor breeding pairs came to the zoo's Johnsson Center for Wildlife Conservation. By 2019, 79 chicks had hatched, and over 50 Oregon Zoo-raised birds have been released into the wild!

The zoo also teaches people about not using lead for hunting. Lead poisoning is a big cause of condor deaths in the wild.

Saving Pacific Northwest Frogs and Turtles

From 1998 to 2012, the zoo helped save endangered Oregon spotted frogs. They now work on a "head-start" program for northern leopard frogs. Frog eggs are collected and hatched at the zoo. The young frogs are then released into the wild to help create a healthy population. This project works with other zoos to save Pacific Northwest frog species. These frogs are in danger because their homes are disappearing, and a deadly fungus is spreading.

The Oregon Zoo's Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project has helped create two new groups of western pond turtles. These tiny turtles were almost gone in the Columbia River Gorge because of invasive bullfrogs. Baby pond turtles are collected and raised at the zoo until they are big enough to be safe in the wild. More than 1,500 turtles have been released since 1990!

Protecting Butterflies

In 1999, the Oregon Zoo joined a program to save the Oregon silverspot butterfly. This butterfly used to be found from California to British Columbia but now only lives in a few small areas. The zoo raises around 2,000 butterflies from larvae and releases them each year on the Oregon coast. For this work, the zoo won an award in 2012. In 2019, the Oregon Zoo successfully bred a silverspot butterfly in captivity for the first time ever!

The zoo also works with the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Inmates volunteer to help raise and care for the critically endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly. Over 28,000 Taylor's checkerspot butterflies have been raised and released.

Borneo Elephants and Palm Oil

The Oregon Zoo's program for Borneo Elephants helps projects in Sabah, Malaysia. These projects aim to reduce problems between humans and wildlife. They also create safe paths for elephants and other animals in areas where forests have been changed. The zoo works with groups to help people and elephants live together.

The Oregon Zoo is also part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This group works to make sure palm oil is produced in a way that is good for the environment and people. The zoo has promised to only use RSPO certified palm oil.