Memphis Zoo - History

History

Early 1900s

The zoo was established on April 4, 1906 with $1,200 from the Memphis Park Commission. In August, 23 cages and concrete bear enclosures were built with another $3,628 thanks to the head of the Commission, Col. Robert Galloway.

Galloway Hall, the Memphis Zoo's first building, was finished in 1907. It was named in honor of Col. Galloway, but was later demolished to make room for newer exhibits.

The Carnivora Building was constructed in 1909 to house the first cats at the zoo. It was later replaced by Cat Country, and converted into an inner-zoo restaurant.

The Elephant House opened in 1910. The building is still used as the main building of the zoo's educational department, but the elephants were moved to the African Veldt exhibit.

In 1916, the Botanical Display Building opened. It was later converted into the Tropical Bird House.

The Memphis Zoo acquired a round barn from the Memphis Police Department in 1923, who used the building as their stable for the mounted horse patrol in the early 1900s. The zoo's round barn exhibit is a collection of exotic hoofstock and birds.

In 1936 the zoo's first primate exhibit, Monkey Island, was built. It was replaced in 1995 by Primate Canyon.

Mid-1900s

The Aquarium was completed in 1959. It is one of the oldest exhibits at the Memphis Zoo. The building houses aquatic life from both fresh and salt water environments. In 1979, it had major renovations.

The Herpetarium was constructed in 1960, located across from the Tropical Bird House. The Herpetarium is home to the zoo's snakes, alligators, lizards and frogs. Later in the year, the Pachyderm/Elephant exhibit was finished, and the elephants moved in from the old elephant house.

Late 1900s to Present

The zoo renovated its entrance in 1990.

Cat Country, a 3-acre (1.2 ha), open-air exhibit focused on both predators and prey of the cat world, opened in 1993. Tigers and lions share common space with Fennec Foxes and Meerkats. An Education Complex, Discovery Center, and the Elephant’s Trunk Zoo Shop also opened at this time. The Carnivora Building that formerly housed the zoo's large cats was remodeled into The Cat House Cafe, which opened in 1994.

Three new exhibits opened in 1995. Animals of the Night is devoted to nocturnal animals, and reverses their hours from normal so visitors can see them at their most active. Once Upon A Farm was built to resemble an early 1900s farm. 'Primate Canyon features naturalistic, outdoor exhibit areas for a variety of monkeys and apes.

Dragon’s Lair was opened in 1998 for the zoo's three Komodo dragons, and includes outdoor and indoor areas, allowing them to stay warm during the cool winter months. A new animal hospital was also finished in 1998, with separate holding and quarantine wings built on opposite ends of the building. The sick wing separates sick or injured animals from others and allows for proper recovery time. The quarantine wing is used for newly acquired animals, which are quarantined for at least 30 days upon arrival at the zoo before being introduced to their new homes. On September 18, 1998, two plaques were dedicated in memory of musician Jeff Buckley in the Memphis Zoo's Sumatran Tiger exhibit. His mother chose that location because of his great love of the Memphis Zoo and the tigers in particular. Jeff frequently visited the zoo, had plans to become a volunteer in 1997 and, according to his mother, never left the zoo without visiting the Butterflies: In Living Color exhibit, which also opened early in 1998. The exhibit was replaced by "Birds and Bees" in late May, 2009.

In April 2003, the Memphis Zoo became one of only four U.S. zoos to exhibit the Giant Panda. One male and one female Giant Panda ("Ya Ya" and "Le Le") share their 3-acre (1.2 ha) home with several other species native to China, in the first Memphis Zoo exhibit to be built as zoogeographical exhibit. The buildings, plant life and even the sounds of China are represented in this $16 million exhibit.

The Northwest Passage exhibit opened on March 1, 2006 with underwater viewing for Polar Bears and Sea Lions. The animals frequently interact with visitors, and the Sea Lions are fond of following and mimicking small children.

Butterflies: In Living Color! was renovated in 2007. The exhibit houses as many as 1,000 butterflies of 35 different species. There were 56 varieties of plants for the butterflies to feed on.

Construction of the Teton Trek exhibit started in February, 2008. The decision to clearcut 4 acres (1.6 ha) of old growth forest in the Old Forest Arboretum in order to build the exhibit drew sustained criticism by Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, which was reorganized in response to the forest reduction, and by Park Friends, Inc. Approximately 14 acres of forest adjacent to the Zoo were left out of the protective area to ease opposition from Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and zoo officials.

The Zoo had its largest single day attendance ever on March 17, 2009, with more than 20,450 visitors. In late May, 2009, the Birds and Bees exhibit opened in the former butterfly exhibit. The butterfly garden moved outside the aviary, and is still close to the original exhibit. Longtime zoo favorite "Ann" the reticulated python died on July 28. She was 18 years old. Teton Trek was opened on October 10, and winning artists of the Teton Trek Art Contest were recognized.