Zoo Miami

Zoo Miami

Entrance from State Road 992.
Date opened	1948; 75 years ago (1948) (Crandon Park Zoo) July 4, 1980; 42 years ago (1980-07-04) (Miami MetroZoo)[1]
Location	Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
Coordinates	25°36′30″N 80°24′0″W / 25.60833°N 80.40000°W / 25.60833; -80.40000Coordinates: 25°36′30″N 80°24′0″W / 25.60833°N 80.40000°W / 25.60833; -80.40000
Land area	750 acres (304 ha) (324 acres (131 ha) developed)[2]
No. of animals	3,000[2]
No. of species	500[2]
Memberships	Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Major exhibits	100[2]
Website	www.zoomiami.org

The Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, also known as Zoo Miami, is a zoological park and garden near Miami and is the largest zoo in Florida. Originally established in 1948 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Zoo Miami relocated in 1980 as Miami MetroZoo to the former location of the Naval Air Station Richmond,^[3] southwest of Miami in southern unincorporated Miami-Dade County,^[4] surrounded by the census-designated places of Three Lakes (north), South Miami Heights (south), Palmetto Estates (east) and Richmond West (west).

The only tropical zoo in the continental United States, Zoo Miami houses over 3,000 animals of around 500 species on almost 750 acres (304 ha), 324 acres (131 ha) of which are developed. It is 4 mi (6 km) around if walked on the path, and features over 100 exhibits.^[2] The zoo's communications director is wildlife expert and photographer Ron Magill.^[5] Zoo Miami is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

History

Entrance sign with the old Zoo name

In 1965, Hurricane Betsy devastated the zoo and killed 250 animals. After the hurricane, there was talk of a new zoo for Dade County, but not until 11 December 1970 did Dade County officials apply for 600 acres (243 ha) of land in the Naval Air Station Richmond property. Construction began in 1975. The zoo opened on July 4, 1980,^[1] as Miami MetroZoo, with a preview section of 12 exhibits; Asia, the first major exhibit, opened on December 12, 1981. A total of 38 exhibits, covering 200 acres (81 ha), were open to the public at this time.^[2]

In the 1980s, the zoo continued to expand. An additional 25 acres (10 ha), with six new African hoofed-mammal exhibits, opened in 1982, along with the zoo's monorail in 1984. After the closing of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans, the expo’s visitor monorails were moved to Florida to be re-purposed at Miami MetroZoo. The monorail operated until 2022.^[9][10] Wings of Asia, a 1.6-acre (0.6 ha) free-flight aviary, was opened in December 1984. Three additional African hoofed stock exhibits followed in 1985, and two new exhibits were opened in the African savanna section in 1986. The Australian section of the zoo was opened in 1989, and PAWS, the children's petting zoo, opened in 1989.^[2] The Asian Riverlife Experience opened in August 1990.

In 1992, the zoo suffered extensive damage when

By July 1993, many of the animals that were sent to other zoos and animal parks across the United States (during the zoo's reconstruction) had been returned to Miami, and over 7,000 new trees had been planted to begin restoring the zoo's tree canopy.^[12]

In 1994, stray dogs entered the zoo during off-hours, and killed five Thomson's gazelles and two Grant's gazelles.^[13]

In 1996, a

On July 4, 2010, the zoo was renamed the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, or Zoo Miami (for marketing and branding purposes). This was a part of the zoo's 30th anniversary celebration.[1]^[15] The zoo broke ground on a $43 million project that included an Everglades exhibit and a new state-of-the-art entryway.^[16] The Everglades exhibit opened on December 10, 2016.

In 2017, the zoo was struck by Hurricane Irma, which impacted South Florida on September 10. The Amazon and Beyond exhibit suffered the most damage, with widespread tree loss in that area. According to the zoo, one American flamingo, one Great hornbill, and a few other birds died reportedly due to stress.^[17] The zoo remained closed until October.^[18]

Conservation efforts

Zoo Miami supports conservation programs at the local, national and global level, and was a founding member of the AZA's Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI), a program designed to assemble governmental and non-governmental agencies to aid in the population recovery of vulnerable, threatened and endangered butterflies in North America.

The zoo has also provided financial help through the Zoo Miami Conservation Fund to upgrade captive-breeding facilities in Thailand’s zoos, notably for endangered clouded leopards and fishing cats.^[19]

Exhibits and animals

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  American flamingo exhibit

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  Florida: Mission Everglades

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  Samburu Giraffe Feeding Station

• 

  Amazon and Beyond

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  African elephant

There are five main exhibit sections in the zoo: Florida: Mission Everglades, Asia, Africa, Amazon and Beyond, and Australia. The zoo's main entry includes an entryway canopy structure, conjoining ticket booths and gift shop, and an adjacent American flamingo exhibit.^[16] At the junction of the zoo's main pathways, is the Conservation Action Center, an indoor pavilion featuring interactive exhibits themed to conservation and wildlife preservation. The property includes a large lake, called Lake Iguana. Zoo Miami is characterised by large cageless, moated exhibits.

From 1984 until 2022, an

Florida: Mission Everglades

The Florida: Mission Everglades exhibit features native fauna and flora species found in Florida, particularly from the state's Everglades region.^[20] Species displayed include American alligators, American crocodiles, North American river otters, American black bears, Florida panthers, bald eagles, brown pelicans and roseate spoonbills. The $33 million project features Lostman's River Ride, a gentle airboat ride attraction.

Asia

Carlita, a white tiger

, was an iconic showcase of the zoo for nearly two decades.

The zoo's orangutan exhibit once housed Nonja, a female Sumatran orangutan that was relocated from a Dutch zoo to Zoo Miami. She was widely believed to be the oldest living specimen of her species, until her death in 2007.^[21] Another notable resident was Carlita, a 21-year-old female white Bengal tiger, who resided in the zoo's tiger enclosure from 1994 until her death in 2013.^[22][23]

The Asian exhibit is home to 3 Asian elephants: an elderly bull named Dalip, an elderly female named Nellie and a young male named Ongard. Dalip (born on June 8, 1966, in Kerela), arrived at the old Crandon Park Zoo on Key Biscayne as a young calf in August 1967, along with his mate Seetna and he is the father to Spike (born on July 2, 1981, in Zoo Miami and he is Dalip's only surviving offspring) who currently lives in the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington. Seetena and Dalip were separated due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Both were separated during the storm, Seetna moved to Two Tails Ranch (Patricia Zerbini) and stayed there for breeding purposes but died of labor issues in 1996 while Dalip returned to Zoo Miami in 1995 where he has remained ever since.

The American Banker's Family Aviary, Wings of Asia is also located here. The aviary features 300 rare birds of 70 species in a

Eleven-year-old "Pongo," at sixteen feet the tallest giraffe in the zoo, was euthanized on January 4, 2021, after failing to recover from a foot injury.[27]

Amazon and Beyond

The zoo's impressive South America animal collection is widely acknowledged. Amazon and Beyond, situated in the zoo's northwest corner, opened on December 6, 2008. This area has 27 acres (10.9 ha) dedicated to the

The zoo's Australian habitat showcases specimens from throughout the region of Australia, Oceania, and the Pacific islands, including koalas, emus, cockatiels and Matschie's tree-kangaroos. Situated near this to habitat, is the 800-seat Sami Family Amphitheater, where daily animal presentations, concerts and cultural events are held. The amphitheater is named in memory of Albert and Winifred Sami, who anonymously donated an estimated $3 million to the zoo from 1993 until their deaths in 2007 and 2014, respectively.^[29] Zoo Miami recently celebrated the birth of a baby koala, who was actually born in May, 2019, but only emerged from its mothers pouch on January 8, 2020. The baby koala was named Hope in light of the recent fires that devastated Australia.^[30]

• Gallery
• 

  Wings of Asia Aviary

• 

  Tiger exhibit.

• 

  Sami Family Amphitheater

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  Bactrian camel exhibit

• 

  Zoo's former monorail system

Zoo Miami Foundation

The Zoo Miami Foundation is a group setup as the non-profit support organization of Zoo Miami. It was founded in 1956 and is responsible for improvements over the years of the zoo.^[31] Key members of the foundation include Senator Dwight M. Bullard and Diana L. Fitzgerald, among others.^[31]

See also

• Gold Coast Railroad Museum (adjacent to Zoo Miami)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zoo Miami.

• Official website
• Overview of the Florida: Mission Everglades and Front Entry Project