Panda bear. AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza.
The Fort Worth Zoo celebrated its 100th birthday this month. The Dallas Zoo hit the 120 year mark last September. Not only have these two major zoos matured over the past century, but they have developed new concepts of what zoos are all about, from the old-fashioned notion of animals in cages on public display, to the recreation of natural habitats and the preservation – and propagation – of endangered species.
The Fort Worth Zoo contends that it is the ‘oldest continuous zoo site in Texas,’ and began its zoological collection back in 1909 with just one lion, some rabbits, one alligator, one coyote, one peacock, and two bear cubs. It currently has about 5,000 wild and wooly critters within its boundaries, and there are 41 species that the zoo supports under the Species Survival Plan. In 1991, what is now the Fort Worth Zoological Association, took over the management of the zoo from the city of Fort Worth and spearheaded major fundraising which has brought about an amazing rebirth for the zoo. In 1992, the Fort Worth Zoo held a grand re-opening which featured significant improvements and two new exhibits, the Asian Falls and a new primate exhibit, and since then, has added 15 permanent exhibits which draw in one million visitors each year.
The Dallas Zoo considers itself the largest zoo in Texas as it encompasses 95 acres of land just east of what is now Interstate Highway 35 E at the Marsalis Avenue exit, in the ‘suburbs’ of Oak Cliff, and because it was established in 1888, it was the ‘first zoological park in the Southwest.’ The zoo first began with two deer and two mountain lions which were kept in animal pens in Dallas’ City Park. The 1890s brought funding from the city for additional animals. City Park served as the home to the zoo until 1910, when newly acquired Fair Park briefly became home to the city’s growing zoological collection until the current location was purchased and developed. In the 1930s, world-renowned game trapper Frank Buck, who himself was born in Gainesville, Texas and raised in Dallas, contributed to the growth of the Dallas Zoo’s collection along with zoos throughout the world. The zoo’s facilities were improved in spite of the Great Depression, thanks to the Works Progress Administration. Travelers along I-35 will recognize the zoo’s landmark entrance, a 67.5 foot tall sculpted giraffe. The Dallas Zoo currently has 46 species under the Species Survival Plan.
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