The Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, branded and commonly known as Zoo Miami, formerly known as Miami MetroZoo, is the largest and oldest zoological garden in Florida, and the only tropical zoo in the continental United States. It is located on the old Richmond Naval Air Station site, southwest of Miami in southern metropolitan Miami-Dade County, in the center of the census-designated places of Three Lakes (north), South Miami Heights (south), Palmetto Estates (east) and Richmond West (west). It houses over 2,000 animals on 740 acres (299 ha), 324 acres (131 ha) of which are developed. It is about 3 mi (5 km) around if walked on the path, and has over 100 exhibits.
The zoo's communications director is wildlife expert and photographer Ron Magill. He frequently appears on local talk shows and news stations, often promoting the zoo's animals.
The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Read more about Zoo Miami: History, Exhibits and Animals, Conservation, Future
Famous quotes containing the word zoo:
“The zoo cannot but disappoint. The public purpose of zoos is to offer visitors the opportunity of looking at animals. Yet nowhere in a zoo can a stranger encounter the look of an animal. At the most, the animal’s gaze flickers and passes on. They look sideways. They look blindly beyond.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)