Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium | |
---|---|
47°18′17″N 122°31′15″W / 47.3048°N 122.5207°W | |
Date opened | 1905[1] |
Location | Tacoma, Washington, US |
Land area | 27 acres (11 ha)[2] |
Annual visitors | 732,000 (2015)[3] |
Memberships | AZA[4] |
Major exhibits | Kid's Zone, Arctic Tundra, Rocky Shores, Asian Forest Sanctuary, Red Wolf Woods, South Pacific Aquarium, Pacific Seas Aquarium[5] |
Website | www |
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (PDZA) is the only combined
History
The Zoo was founded in 1905, and moved closer to its current location in 1914. The Point Defiance Park Aquarium opened on the waterfront in 1936 as an entity separate from the zoo.[7]
By the late 1940s, several Zoo buildings were in disrepair and had to be rebuilt. The 36-year-old animal house was demolished and a new one with sandstone walls and 3/4-inch-thick viewing windows was built in its place. It housed some big cats and
In the 1960s, the Point Defiance Park Aquarium had been incorporated into the Zoo. A new aquarium, now known as the North Pacific Aquarium, was built on Zoo grounds in 1963. The North Pacific Aquarium closed in 2018 with the opening of the Pacific Seas Aquarium.[7]
By the end of the decade, a breeding program was begun for red wolves, which had been declared an endangered species in 1967.[8]
Turn-of-the-century cages were deteriorating again in the early 1970s. After a $7 million bond measure was passed in 1977, the Zoo opened the Arctic Tundra complex in 1981 and the Rocky Shores area in 1982. With a smaller bond passed in 1986, the South Pacific Aquarium was built and then opened in 1989.[7]
The Zoo experienced financial trouble in the 1990s, culminating in the probation of its AZA accreditation in 1999. Another bond, passed in that year, and a local sales tax increase shored up funds for improvements. With over $35 million at its disposal, the Zoo built a new animal hospital, an outdoor animal theater, an Asian Forest Sanctuary, much of the Kids' Zone children's zoo, and a renovated entrance.[7]
In 2008, an addition to Kids' Zone, Animal Avenue, was opened. The red wolf exhibit was renovated and re-opened in 2010, and a clouded leopard exhibit called Cats of the Canopy opened on August 27, 2011.[9]
Beluga Whales
The zoo used to house
In March 2009 one of the two belugas, Qannik, died of a blood infection.[11] Beethoven, Qannik's tankmate, was sent to SeaWorld, San Antonio, on 5 June 2009.[12] Beethoven's brother, Turner, died three years earlier on 7 September 2006 of chronic liver failure, which resulted in Qannik being brought to the zoo in June 2007, soon after Beethoven had recovered from a severe infection.[13]
It's unknown yet if there will be new belugas since Beethoven's departure. None are scheduled to arrive any time in the foreseeable future and Rocky Shores currently (temporarily or permanently) houses
Zoolights
The zoo has been doing something called Zoolights since 1988. During the holiday season which is usually between November and January, there are more than 800,000 lights. The Zoolights have special displays and maps to go along with it. During this time, it is what you would call a winter wonderland. As of 2020, visitors have to purchase timed tickets online and guests who are five years or older have to wear masks throughout the zoo.[14]
Exhibits
The exhibits reflect the zoo's theme of ecosystems from the Pacific rim:[15] Southeast Asia, the Pacific Northwest, the tundra, and aquatic environments.
- Asian Forest Sanctuary
This 5 acre (2.0 ha) exhibit complex which opened on July 1, 2004[7] simulates the forests of southeast Asia with a waterfall, streams, and plants native to the region such as bamboo.[16] The complex is designed so that species are rotated to different parts of the exhibit each day.[7] Asian Forest Sanctuary includes Sumatran tigers, northern white-cheeked gibbons, siamangs, and an Asian elephant.[16]
An expansion called Cats of the Canopy opened on August 27, 2011 and focuses on the clouded leopard. Viewing is provided by a wide glass window along a gravelly stream bed and into a heated den. The twenty-foot high enclosure also allows the cats to climb through the trees.[17]
Kazu, an endangered male Malayan tapir, was born on July 12, 2019.[18]
- Rocky Shores
Completed in 1982,
- Arctic Tundra
1981 saw the opening of this exhibit area, which forms a semicircle at one end of the zoo. Muskoxen and reindeer are housed in a large meadow on the outside of the pathway's arc, while a Polar bear and Arctic fox live on the inside of the arc. The polar bear has an eleven-foot-deep pool with above- and underwater viewing.[19]
The zoo's last polar bear, Blizzard, passed away in May 2022 after being diagnosed with liver cancer in 2021. [20]
- The Aquariums
There are two aquariums: the Pacific Seas Aquarium and South Pacific Aquarium. They each house species from different parts of the Pacific Ocean. In September 2018, the Pacific Seas Aquarium opened, replacing the North Pacific Aquarium that opened in 1963. The Pacific Seas Aquarium’s Baja Bay tank features
The 1989-era South Pacific Aquarium simulates tropical Pacific environments, with two coral reef tanks, a lagoon exhibit, and a touch tank. The lagoon has small fish and eels, while the 250,000-US-gallon (950,000 L) Outer Reef tank has
- Red Wolf Woods
The habitat was rebuilt in 2009 and opened again in the summer of 2010.[22] The exhibit consists of two separate meadows with a rocky creek, hollow log, and other landscaping.[23] The conservation center is designed to look like an abandoned farm building.
- Kids' Zone
A number of animals are present including Nigerian dwarf goats, and Parma Wallabies. There are also colorful play structures[24] and a petting zoo with activities such as goat feeding present.[25]
Animal Avenue, a children's zoo expansion, allows people to meet a variety of species including
Along with two other sections of the Kids' Zone Magical Movement and Contact Junction.[26]
Botanical Garden
The certified
- Other exhibits
Unincorporated exhibits include an artificial tide pool, a
Conservation
One focus of the zoo's conservation work is the red wolf. Beginning in 1969, the zoo collected wild red wolves and successfully bred them for the first time in 1977.
A 2021 effort to breed endangered Sumatran tigers ended in the death of a six-year-old female tiger who was fatally wounded by her two-year-old potential mate. This was an attempt to save the endangered species considering there are roughly only four hundred Sumatran tigers left in the wild. [32]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium History". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
- ^ a b "Whales, walruses, more parking – but no Asian elephants – in Tacoma zoo's future". thenewstribune.com. The News Tribune. 3 July 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Glenn, Stacia. "Point Defiance Zoo sets attendance record". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Map" (PDF). pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Gale - Institution Finder".
- ^ a b c d e f g 100 Years at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. 2005
- ^ "Red wolf". Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Cats of the Canopy Grand Opening". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
- ^ ARCHBOLD, MIKE (April 23, 2009). "Last beluga to leave Point Defiance". The Olympian.
- ^ "Point Defiance Zoo's beluga whale dies after infection". seattletimes.nwsource.com. Seattle Times. 30 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009.
- ^ Mayfield, Travis (22 April 2009). "Pt. Defiance Zoo Sending Away Their Last Beluga". komonews.com. Fisher Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ "Beethoven gets a new buddy" (PDF). pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. 10 June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-18. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Zoolights: Holiday lights at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium". Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Animals & Exhibits". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Asian Forest Sanctuary". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
- ^ "Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Clouded Leopard Exhibit". jsdesignstudio.net. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ It’s a boy! Endangered tapir gives birth at Tacoma zoo by Siandhara Bonnet, The News Tribune, July 16, 2019
- ^ "Arctic Tundra". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Remembering Blizzard". Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
- ^ "Aquariums". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
- ^ "Red Wolves". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Red Wolf Exhibit". jsdesignstudio.net. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ "PDZA Kids' Zone". BCRA. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "A reopened summer of fun begins July 1 at Point Defiance Zoo and Northwest Trek". www.traveltacoma.com. 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Kids' Zone at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium: animals, playground". Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Botanical garden tours at Point Defiance Zoo. Meet our plants". Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Endangered Red Wolves" (PDF). fws.gov. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. October 1997. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "Red Wolf Conservation". pdza.org. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "The Red Wolf Species Survival Plan". fieldtripearth.org. North Carolina Zoo Society. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ Kelly BT, Beyer A, Phillips MK (2008). "Canis rufus". . Retrieved 12 January 2018. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered.
- ^ Staff, KOMO News (2021-10-04). "Point Defiance Zoo's Sumatran tiger dies after suffering severe injuries". KOMO. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
External links
- Media related to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website