San Francisco Zoo

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San Francisco Zoo


Date opened	1929
Location	San Francisco, California United States
Land area	0.51 k² (125 acres)
Coordinates	37°43′59″N, 122°30′11″WCoordinates: 37°43′59″N, 122°30′11″W
# of Animals	more than 930 [1]
# of Species	250
Accreditations/ Memberships	AZA
Website
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The San Francisco Zoo, (previously Fleishhacker Zoo) is a zoo in San Francisco, California housing more than 250 different animal species. It is located in the southwestern corner of the city, between the Great Highway and Lake Merced. The main entrance, once located on the north side across the street from the old Doggie Diner (only the restored doggie head remains of this San Francisco Historical Monument), has been moved to the west side of the zoo along the Great Highway and the Pacific Ocean. The western terminus of the L Taraval Muni Metro line is one block to the north of the zoo.

1 The Beginning of the San Francisco Zoo
2 The Zoo Grows
3 The Zoo Today
4 Projects
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] The Beginning of the San Francisco Zoo

The San Francisco Zoo was founded by banker and SF Parks Commission president Herbert Fleishhacker. Fleishhacker began planning for construction on a selected site in the southwest corner of San Francisco, adjacent to the Fleishhacker Pool, once the largest swimming pool in the United States. The area was also already home to a children’s playground, an original Michael Dentzel carousel, and the Mother’s Building, a haven for women and their children. Most of the exhibits were populated with animals transferred from Golden Gate Park, including two zebras, a cape buffalo, five rhesus monkeys, two spider monkeys, and three elephants–Virginia, Marjory and Babe.

[edit] The Zoo Grows

The first exhibits built in the 1930s cost US$3.5 million, which included Monkey Island, Lion House, Elephant House, a sea lion pool, an aviary and bear grottos. These spacious, moated enclosures were among the first bar-less exhibits in the country.

Over the following forty years, the Zoological Society became a powerful fundraising source for the SF Zoo, just as Fleishhacker had hoped when he envisioned “…a Zoological Society similar to those established in other large cities. The Zoological Society will aid the Parks Commission in the acquisition of rare animals and in the operation of the zoo.”^{[citation needed]} True to its charter, the Society immediately exerted its influence on the SF Zoo, obtaining more than 1,300 annual memberships in its first 10 years (nearly 25,000 today). It also funded important projects like the renovation of the Children’s Zoo in 1964, development of the African Scene in 1967, purchasing medical equipment for the new Zoo Hospital in 1975, and the establishment of the Avian Conservation Center in 1978.

[edit] The Zoo Today

In early 2006, the SF Zoo announced its offer to name a soon-to-hatch American bald eagle after comedian Stephen Colbert.^[1] The publicity and goodwill garnered from coverage of the event on the Colbert Report was a windfall for the zoo and the city of San Francisco. Steven Junior was born on April 17, 2006.

In November 2004, Tinkerbelle the elephant was moved to a sanctuary in the Sierras. Since Lula joined join her there in March 2005, there are no longer any elephants at the SF Zoo. The moves followed the highly publicized deaths of Calle (age 38) in March 2004 and Maybelle (age 43) a month later in April.^[2]

[edit] Projects

The SF Zoo today is a part of the species survival program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Some of their recent projects include:

Otter River (1994)
Feline Conservation Center (1994)
Spectacled bear exhibit renovation (1994)
Lion House outdoor enclosures (1994)
Eagle Island renovation (1995)
Australian WalkAbout (1995)
Flamingo Lake renovation (1995)
Monkey Island demolition (1995)
Hippopotamus exhibit renovation (1995)
Wart hog exhibit (1996)
Billabong (1996)
Aviary renovation (1996)
Ring-tailed lemur exhibit renovation (1996)
Children’s Zoo entrance (1996)
Kodiak bear exhibit (1996)
Avian Conservation Center (1997)
African lion cub exhibit (1997)
Aye-aye Forest (1997)
Asian elephant exhibit renovations (1997 and 1999)
Rainbow Landing (now Lorikeet Landing) (1998)
Outdoor aviary demolition (1998)
Restoration of Little Puffer (miniature railroad) (1998)

Primate Discovery Center terrace exhibit renovation (1998)
Children’s Zoo renovation (1999)
Puente al Sur* (1999)
Infrastructure replacement (1999)
Aviary renovation (2000)
Seal pool/bear exhibits (2000)
Connie and Bob Lurie Education Center (2001)
Koret Animal Resource Center (2001)
Expanded Children’s Zoo and Family Farm (2001)
Wetlands habitat (2001)
Cassowary Exhibit (2001)
Lipman Family Lemur Forest (2002)
Friend and Taube Entry Village (2002)
Leaping Lemur Café (2002)
Zoo Street and parking (2002)
Dentzel Carousel (2002)
African Savanna (2004)
African Savanna Giraffe Feedings (2006)
Black swan exhibit (2006)
Binnowee Landing and Feeding (formerly Lorikeet Landing) (2006)
Kunekune pig exhibit at the Family Farm (formerly the miniature pig exhibit) (2006)