Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens

cincinnatizoo.org


Opened 1875

City: Cincinnati

Country: USA

State:  Ohio

 

Species 510

 

The Cincinnati Zoo is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. It was founded on 65.4 acres (26.5 ha) in the middle of the city, and since then it has acquired some of the surrounding blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati's outer suburbs. The zoo conducts breeding programs, and was the first to successfully breed California sea lions. The zoo also has other breeding programs including South African cheetahs, Malayan tigers, western lowland gorillas, pottos, and Masai giraffes. The Cincinnati Zoo was the home of Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, which died there in 1914. It was also home to the last living Carolina parakeet in 1918.

Last visit 2014


Cincinnati Zoo
3400 Vine St
Cincinnati
OH 45220
USA

Phone nr 513-281-4700


Open minimum 10am-5pm (members from 9am)


Entrance

• Adult 27,- $
• Child 21,- $

Membership

• Adult 80,- $
• Family* 165,- $

* Cincinatti Family Basic Membership Cards are valid for 2 adults and theire children. Check on line for other membership levels

There are several daily feeding shows, for the time please ask at the till station.

Feel free to take as many pictures as you want. If you publicate the pictures online plese mention the Zoos name


History:

In 1872, Andrew Erkenbrecher and several other residents created the Society for the Acclimatization of Birds in Cincinnati to acquire insect-eating birds to control a severe outbreak of caterpillars. A collection of approximately 1,000 birds imported from Europe in 1872 was housed in Burnet Woods before being released. The 'Acclimatization Society of Cincinnati' was established in 1873 as similar organizations with imperial aims proliferated in Moscow, Berlin, London and Melbourne in the late nineteenth century. The Zoological Society of Cincinnati established a zoo, consisting of just over sixty-five acres in the cow pasture known as Blakely Woods. The land was purchased by Andrew Erkenbrecher and leased to the Zoological Society for 99 years. This site was acquired in 1874 and the zoo officially opened its doors to the public on September 18, 1875, making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest intentionally constructed zoo in the United States. The Zoo opened with 769 animals on display. Admission was 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children. Founded by Jonathan Schoonover of Cincinnati and designed by the landscape engineer Theodor Fundeisen, The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was originally named the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. Architect James W. McLaughlin, who constructed the zoo's first buildings, designed the earliest completed zoological exhibits in the United States. The Zoo's original animal collection consisted of eight monkeys, two Grizzly bears, three White-tailed deer, six raccoons, two elk, a buffalo, a Laughing Hyena, a tiger, an American alligator, a circus elephant, and over four hundred birds, including a crow. The zoo also is home to some common peafowls. The first guide book about the Cincinnati Zoo was written in 1876 in German. The founders of the zoo, including its first general manager, were German immigrants and the city had quite a large German-speaking population. The first English-language edition (illustrated) was published in 1893. In 1878, the first sea lion was born in captivity, and the first pair of giraffes were acquired by the zoo (Daisy and Abe). In its first 20 years the zoo experienced many financial difficulties, and despite selling 22 acres (8.9 ha) to pay off debt in 1886, it went into receivership in 1898. The Cincinnati Zoological Company was able to bring the zoo out of receivership and keep it going. The Cincinnati Traction Company purchased it in 1901 and operated the zoo for 16 years. In 1917, the Cincinnati Zoological Park Association, funded by donations from philanthropists Mary Emery and Anna Sinton Taft, took over management of the zoo. In 1932 the city purchased the zoo and now runs it through the Board of Park Commissioners. In 1931, Robert J. Sullivan permanently loaned the zoo a female gorilla named Susie. Captured in the Belgian Congo, Susie was first sold to a group of French explorers who sent her to France. In August 1929, Susie was transported from Europe to the United States aboard the Graf Zeppelin accompanied by William Dressman. After Susie completed a tour through the United States and Canada with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Sullivan purchased Susie for $4500.00 and loaned her to the zoo. Dressman, who stayed on as Susie’s trainer after she was loaned to the zoo, taught her how eat with a knife and fork and orchestrated two performances every day. Susie was so popular that on her birthday on August 7, 1936 more than 16,000 visitors flocked to the zoo. Susie remained one of the most popular animals at the zoo until her death on October 29, 1947. Her body was donated to the University of Cincinnati, where her skeleton remained on display until it was destroyed in a fire in 1974. In 1951, the original Monkey House (from 1875) was converted into the Reptile House, beeing the oldest animal house in the States. In 1987, parts of the zoo were designated as a National Historic Landmark, the Cincinnati Zoo Historic Structures, due to their significant architecture featured in the Elephant House, the Reptile House, and the Passenger Pigeon Memorial.  The Cincinnati Zoo was the home of Martha, the last living Passenger Pigeon, which died there in 1914. It was also home to the last living Carolina Parakeet in 1918. To prevent further extinction of zoo animals the zoo has a frozen zoo since 1982. Here different sperm types and embrios are kept. In 1995 the first test tube gorilla as born. 1998 the first elephant was born at the zoo and in 2001 even an Sumatran rhino.