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Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium facts for kids
The entrance to PDZA
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| Date opened | 1905 |
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| Location | Tacoma, Washington, US |
| Land area | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| Coordinates | 47°18′17″N 122°31′15″W / 47.3048°N 122.5207°W |
| Annual visitors | 732,000 (2015) |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Major exhibits | Kid's Zone, Arctic Tundra, Rocky Shores, Asian Forest Sanctuary, Red Wolf Woods, South Pacific Aquarium, Pacific Seas Aquarium |
The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (often called PDZA) is a special place in Tacoma, Washington, USA. It's the only spot in the Pacific Northwest that combines a zoo and an aquarium!
This amazing park is owned by Metro Parks Tacoma. It covers about 29 acres (12 hectares) inside Point Defiance Park. Here, you can find over 9,000 animals from 367 different species.
The zoo first opened its doors in 1905. The aquarium started separately in 1935 near Commencement Bay. Later, in 1963, it moved to join the zoo. Both the zoo and aquarium are officially approved by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means they meet high standards for animal care and education. It's one of the most popular places to visit in Pierce County, Washington, with over 600,000 visitors each year!
Contents
Exploring the History of PDZA
The Point Defiance Zoo opened in 1905. It moved to its current spot in 1914. The Point Defiance Park Aquarium first opened by the water in 1936. It was a separate place from the zoo back then.
By the late 1940s, some of the zoo buildings were getting old. They needed to be rebuilt. The old animal house was replaced with a new one. This new building had strong sandstone walls and thick viewing windows. It was home to big cats and white-cheeked gibbons.
In the 1960s, the aquarium became part of the zoo. A new aquarium, called the North Pacific Aquarium, was built on the zoo grounds in 1963. This aquarium closed in 2018 when the new Pacific Seas Aquarium opened.
Near the end of the 1960s, a special breeding program began. This program was for red wolves. These wolves had been declared an endangered species in 1967.
In the early 1970s, some of the older animal cages were wearing out. In 1977, people voted to provide $7 million for zoo improvements. With this money, the zoo opened the Arctic Tundra area in 1981. The Rocky Shores area followed in 1982. More funds in 1986 helped build the South Pacific Aquarium, which opened in 1989.
The zoo faced some challenges in the 1990s. But in 1999, more money was raised through a special vote and a local sales tax increase. With over $35 million, the zoo built many new things. These included a new animal hospital and an outdoor animal theater. They also created the Asian Forest Sanctuary and much of the Kids' Zone. The main entrance was also updated.
In 2008, a new part of Kids' Zone called Animal Avenue opened. The red wolf exhibit was updated and reopened in 2010. A new exhibit for clouded leopards, called Cats of the Canopy, opened on August 27, 2011.
Zoolights: A Winter Wonderland
Since 1988, the zoo has hosted a special event called Zoolights. This happens during the holiday season, usually from November to January. The zoo lights up with more than 800,000 sparkling lights!
Zoolights features unique displays and special maps to guide visitors. It truly transforms the zoo into a winter wonderland. In recent years, visitors have needed to buy tickets online ahead of time.
Amazing Animal Exhibits
The exhibits at PDZA are designed to show different ecosystems. These are natural environments found around the Pacific Ocean. You can explore areas like Southeast Asia, the Pacific Northwest, the cold tundra, and various aquatic (water) environments.
Asian Forest Sanctuary
This large exhibit covers 5 acres (2.0 hectares). It opened on July 1, 2004. It looks like the forests of Southeast Asia. You'll see a waterfall, streams, and plants like bamboo. The animals here are rotated to different parts of the exhibit each day.
The Asian Forest Sanctuary is home to Sumatran tigers and northern white-cheeked gibbons. You can also see siamangs and an Asian elephant.
An expansion called Cats of the Canopy opened in 2011. This area focuses on the clouded leopard. Visitors can watch these cats through a wide glass window. The cats can also climb high through the trees in their twenty-foot-tall home.
In 2019, an endangered male Malayan tapir named Kazu was born here.
Rocky Shores
Opened in 1982, this exhibit looks like the coastline of Cape Flattery, Washington. It's home to many marine animals. You can see harbor seals, California sea lions, and sea otters. There are also birds like horned puffins, common murres, and tufted puffins. Each animal has its own pool.
In the middle of the exhibit, there's a building where you can watch the animals swim underwater. This area used to have beluga whales. Today, it houses Pacific walruses named Balzik and Lakina.
Arctic Tundra
This exhibit opened in 1981. It forms a half-circle at one end of the zoo. Outside the pathway, you'll find Muskoxen and reindeer in a large meadow. Inside the pathway, a Polar bear and Arctic fox live.
The polar bear habitat includes a deep pool. You can view the polar bear both above and underwater. The zoo's last polar bear, Blizzard, passed away in May 2022.
The Aquariums
The zoo has two amazing aquariums: the Pacific Seas Aquarium and the South Pacific Aquarium. Each one showcases sea creatures from different parts of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Seas Aquarium opened in September 2018. It replaced the older North Pacific Aquarium. Its Baja Bay tank is home to scalloped hammerheads, spotted eagle rays, and green sea turtles. Other cool features include a 10,000-US-gallon (38,000 L) Puget Sound tank. There's also a kelp forest tank and a cold water invertebrate touch tank. You can see jellyfish, schooling fish, a giant Pacific octopus, and Japanese spider crabs. This aquarium was built using modern, eco-friendly systems. It even collects rainwater for its water supply.
The South Pacific Aquarium opened in 1989. It looks like the warm, tropical Pacific environments. It has two coral reef tanks and a lagoon exhibit. There's also a touch tank where you can gently feel some animals. The lagoon has small fish and eels. The 250,000-US-gallon (950,000 L) Outer Reef tank is home to large sharks. These include nurse sharks, blacktip reef sharks, sand tiger sharks, and sandbar sharks. In the touch tank, you can find stingrays, epaulette sharks, and whitespotted bamboo sharks.
Red Wolf Woods
This habitat was rebuilt in 2009 and reopened in the summer of 2010. It features two separate meadows with a rocky creek and a hollow log. The conservation center here looks like an old farm building.
Kids' Zone
The Kids' Zone is a fun area for younger visitors. It has animals like Nigerian dwarf goats and Parma Wallabies. There are also colorful play structures. A petting zoo lets kids interact with animals, like feeding goats.
Animal Avenue is an expansion of the children's zoo. Here, you can meet different animals. These include meerkats, ring-tailed lemurs, and black and white ruffed lemurs.
Other parts of the Kids' Zone are called Magical Movement and Contact Junction.
Botanical Garden
The Point Defiance Zoo is also a certified Botanical Garden. It has a wide variety of plants! You can see over 50 types of bamboo. There are also large meadows filled with colorful Lobelia tupa flowers. Many fragrant perennials attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Throughout the zoo grounds, you'll find many different trees and shrubs. The garden has plants from the Baja Peninsula and the Southern Hemisphere. There are also plants from Alaska, the Southeastern United States, and wildflowers. You can explore a desert garden, plants from the Asian Forest Sanctuary, and native Northwest plants.
The landscaping helps show how animals, plants, and people need to live together. The zoo has hundreds of plant varieties, both for beauty and for purpose. The Zoo Horticulturist even offers monthly tours of the botanical garden.
Other Exhibits to Explore
Beyond the main areas, you can find other interesting exhibits. There's an artificial tide pool where you can learn about ocean life. A habitat for Magellanic penguins is also a popular spot. During certain seasons, there's a special exhibit for budgies. You might also spot Indian Peafowl roaming freely around the zoo grounds!
The zoo used to offer camel rides. When they built the Nature Play Garden, the Dromedary Camels moved back to their owners at a local farm.
Conservation Efforts
One of the zoo's most important conservation projects is with the red wolf. In 1969, the zoo started collecting wild red wolves. They successfully bred them for the first time in 1977. By 1980, all the remaining wild red wolves were brought into captivity.
In 1984, the zoo received approval to start a Species Survival Plan. This plan helps manage the breeding of endangered animals in zoos. By 1987, there were enough red wolves in captivity to release some back into the wild. These reintroduced wolves continue to survive and have pups in the wild. By 2002, there were 175 red wolves in zoos and about 100 in the wild. One challenge for wild red wolves is breeding with coyotes.
The zoo also works to protect other endangered animals. In 2021, there was an effort to breed endangered Sumatran tigers. These tigers are very rare, with only about 400 left in the wild. Breeding endangered animals can be difficult, and the zoo continues its important work to help these species survive.