Zoo
Atlanta
Zoo Atlanta is
by far the oldest animal habitat in the United States, and an American Zoo and
Aquarium Association-accredited wild life park and major attraction in the city
of Atlanta, Georgia. It is a 40-acre (16 hectare) zoo, located in the
city’s Grant Park that attracts around one million visitors every year.
Today, it features almost 1,000 animals representing 250 species from around
the world.
The Early History
The Zoo Atlanta of
today was established in 1889 as Grant Park Zoo from the remnants of a
traveling circus that had run afoul of its unpaid employees. The original
owner, “Popcorn George” Hall, sold his menagerie to a local lumber
merchant George Gress and it was during that time that the animals became the
centerpiece of the zoo in a 131-acre park donated to the city by a developer
named Lemuel P. Grant in 1883. The Zoo Atlanta was expanded by the addition in
the early 20th century of the animal collection of Asa Candler, the founder of
the Coca-Cola Company, who had established a private zoo on the grounds of his
estate, but had to sell it when it became a nuisance to his neighbors. Gress
also purchased the Cyclorama painting entitled “The Battle of
Atlanta”, which he moved next to the zoo as the Atlanta Cyclorama;
today’s another popular Atlanta attraction.
Over the years, the
Grant Park Zoo slowly became known as Municipal Zoo. Although the location was
open to all Americans, it is worth noting that both the zoo and the Cyclorama
accept whites only, and as noted, it would took almost 80 years to change this
perspective.
However, the Municipal Zoo gradually feel into disrepair
and in 1984 it was named one of the ten worst zoos in the country. Ashamed of
this, the city of Atlanta hired a new administrator who would manage the
property and Dr. Terry L. Maple of Georgia Tech was appointed to rehabilitate
the zoo. It was also Dr. Maple who worked hard to change the name to Zoo
Atlanta and brought in corporate sponsors to raise the needed funds, as well as
a number of citizens to help his work of making the Zoo Atlanta one that the
city could be proud of. Perhaps one of Dr. Maple’s greatest achievements
was the establishment and opening of the Ford African Rain Forest where all
primates run free.
Popular Animals in Zoo Atlanta
As
far as I know, the early and popular addition to Zoo Atlanta was “Clio the
Elephant”. It was reported that the money used to acquire the elephant was
given to a “penny campaign”, which is a popular way of raising money
at the early times. This campaign was aimed at the city’s children and
served as a marketing tool for the zoo itself. It is interesting to know that
“Clio the Elephant” was named in honor of Clio Hall, the wife of the
popular chief and future mayor.
In 1961, Willie B., the gorilla, came
to the Zoo Atlanta from his homeland in Cameroon. Originally, he represented
all that was wrong with the Zoo Atlanta. He had lived alone in an indoor cage
since being brought to the zoo, and he was only able to go outdoors for the
first time since he was captured in Africa and was introduced to and allowed to
interact with other gorillas. Willie B. had five offspring before his death in
2000, and until now a memorial service is held at the Zoo Atlanta which
attracted an overflow crowd of more than 3000 people.
Today, several
other animals were added to the zoo and one of the most popular animals is the
giant pandas, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, which are on loan from the Chengdu Zoo in
China. Zoo Atlanta is now recognized as one of the best in the United States.
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