Misplaced Pages

#947052

31-497: Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889, when businessman George V. Gress purchased a bankrupt traveling circus and donated the animals to the city of Atlanta. City leaders opted to house the collection in Grant Park , which remains the zoo's present location. Original residents of the zoo included a black bear , a raccoon , a jaguar , a hyena , a gazelle , a Mexican hog , lionesses , monkeys , and camels . The zoo's collection expanded in

62-697: A linked monitor. Zoo Atlanta's Outback Station petting zoo is home to Saanen goats , Oberhasli goats , Nubian goats , Southdown babydoll sheep , Gulf Coast sheep , Nigerian dwarf goats , and two kunekune pigs . Aviaries throughout Zoo Atlanta are home to more than 50 species. These include but are not limited to Bali mynas , white-headed buffalo weavers , superb starling , golden pheasant , king vulture , hooded vulture , Indian peafowl , blue-throated macaw , milky eagle owl, southern ground hornbill , tawny frogmouth , blue-throated laughingthrush, blue crane , wattled crane , and white storks . Zoo Atlanta's flock of Chilean flamingos , visible just inside

93-491: A special events destination in 2019. Atlanta native Raymond B. King has served as president and CEO since 2010. Zoo Atlanta has a Board of Directors who are elected for three-year terms. Dennis W. Kelly served as President and CEO from 2003 to 2009. Dr. Terry Maple is Zoo Director Emeritus of Zoo Atlanta. In 1985, he assumed management responsibility for zoo operations of the Atlanta-Fulton County Zoo, Inc, which

124-516: Is a 131-acre green space and recreational area and is the fourth-largest park in the city, behind Chastain Park , Freedom Park and Piedmont Park . Zoo Atlanta , established in 1889 and originally known as the Grant Park Zoo, is located in the park and attracts more than 1 million visitors annually. Grant Park was established in 1883 when Lemuel P. Grant , a successful engineer and businessman, gave

155-403: Is a Chinese tradition. The names are Mei Lun and Mei Huan. A sixth and seventh cub, both female, were born September 3, 2016. Their names were announced on their 100th day of life: Ya Lun and Xi Lun. Like their older siblings, the twins and their parents ultimately traveled to China on October 14, 2024. Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Mei Lan, Xi Lan, Po, Mei Lun, Mei Huan, Ya Lun and Xi Lun currently reside at

186-584: Is focused on species impacted by the international wildlife trade . The complex is home to sun bears and Sumatran tigers . An adjacent area, Complex Carnivores, houses clouded leopards and binturongs . The Asian Forest houses giant otters , a Komodo dragon and a red panda , as well as Bornean and Sumatran orangutans . The Orangutan Learning Tree Project , launched at Zoo Atlanta in 2007, utilizes in-habitat touch screen technology to allow orangutans to engage in computer puzzles, games and problem-solving exercises while guests observe their activities on

217-612: The Atlanta Botanical Garden have established captive assurance colonies of Panamanian frogs threatened by the spread of chytrid fungus. (Chytrid is the cause of the infectious amphibian disease chytridiomycosis.) Built in 1921, the historic Savanna Hall was for decades the former home of the Atlanta Cyclorama painting "The Battle of Atlanta." The painting now resides at the Atlanta History Center. Zoo Atlanta

248-845: The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. Twenty-four western lowland gorillas have been born at the zoo since the opening of The Ford African Rain Forest in 1988. Kali and Kazi, a rare set of twins, were born at Zoo Atlanta on October 31, 2005. Zoo Atlanta also remains home to offspring of its best-known gorilla, Willie B. (ca. 1959–2000). The zoo is also home to six of Willie B.'s grandchildren: Merry Leigh (2011) and Mijadala (2016), born to Kudzoo; Anaka (2013), born to Sukari; Andi (2013) and Floyd (2019), born to Lulu. Others reside at other accredited zoos. Other famous gorillas who have lived at Zoo Atlanta include Ivan , who resided at

279-576: The NRHP . It is bordered by the Cabbagetown neighborhood on the north, Ormewood Park on the east, Boulevard Heights on the southeast, Chosewood Park on the south, and Summerhill and Peoplestown on the west. It includes the park, 48 acres or 35 hectares of Oakland Cemetery (established 1850), where Margaret Mitchell , Bobby Jones , 25 former mayors of Atlanta , six former governors of Georgia , and many Civil War dead are buried. It also includes

310-471: The 1930s with the personal donation of a private menagerie owned by Asa G. Candler, Jr. The 1950s and 1960s were decades of renovation and construction at the zoo, but by the early 1970s, many of its exhibits and facilities were outdated and showing signs of disrepair. In 1970, a small group of concerned citizens founded the Atlanta Zoological Society in hopes of raising funds and awareness for

341-542: The Atlanta Stockade; Fort Walker ; and the 1858 mansion of Lemuel P. Grant , for whom the park and neighborhood were named. The mansion is the oldest house still standing on its original location in Atlanta . The Grant Park Neighborhood Association represents local residents. Together with Inman Park , Grant Park contains the largest remaining area of Victorian architecture in Atlanta. Most buildings were built between

SECTION 10

#1733105558948

372-567: The City of Atlanta Parks Bureau commissioned a new master plan for the park. The consultants working on the plan met with a citizen advisory group that would eventually become the Grant Park Conservancy . The Conservancy works to raise funds to enhance and protect the park for the enjoyment of all its visitors. Grant Park, the intown neighborhood surrounding the park, is one of Atlanta's oldest and most important historic districts, listed on

403-552: The Zoo from 1994 to his passing in 2012, and Ozzie , who lived at the Zoo from 1988 until his passing in 2022. The Living Treehouse is an extension of The Ford African Rain Forest completed in 2004. The exhibit houses an aviary of African birds, as well as black-and-white ruffed lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs , with adjacent habitats for Angolan colobus monkeys, drills , Schmidt's guenons , and Wolf's guenons . In 2017, Zoo Atlanta introduced two crowned lemurs . Corridor to Change

434-441: The Zoo's Grand New View transformation, houses wildlife native to the grasslands and desert of Africa, including African elephants , lions , giraffes , plains zebras , ostriches , warthogs , meerkats , white rhinos , kori bustards , and a bontebok . Opened in 2015, Scaly Slimy Spectacular: The Amphibian and Reptile Experience was the world's first LEED Gold-certified amphibian and reptile complex. The complex, which replaced

465-455: The Zoo's former World of Reptiles, is home to more than 200 animals representing more than 70 species. Notable reproductive successes include Arakan forest turtles , a critically endangered species harvested nearly to extinction for food and traditional medicine. A rare Guatemalan beaded lizard hatched at Zoo Atlanta in March 2012. A critically endangered bog turtle hatched at Zoo Atlanta in 2022 for

496-555: The autumn sponsored by the Grant Park Neighborhood Association. [REDACTED] Media related to Grant Park, Atlanta at Wikimedia Commons Willie B. Willie B. ( c.  1957 – February 2, 2000) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo of Atlanta for 39 years, from 1961 until his death on February 2, 2000. He was named after the former mayor of Atlanta, William Berry Hartsfield . Willie B.

527-512: The city of Atlanta 100 acres (40  ha ) in the newly developed " suburb " where he lived. In 1890, the city acquired another 44 acres (18 ha) for the park and appointed its first park commissioner, Sidney Root . In 1903, the Olmsted Brothers (sons of Frederick Law Olmsted ) were hired to create a plan for the park. The original park included a lake, named Lake Abana, to handle storm-water runoff . A failed circus gave birth to

558-462: The eventual Zoo Atlanta when local lumber merchant George Gress purchased animals from the circus and donated them to the city in 1889. The city decided Grant Park was the best location for the zoo and carved space out for the attraction. Later zoo expansions and parking requirements caused the removal of a portion of the lake . In 1892, the circular painting of the Battle of Atlanta was exhibited in

589-425: The first time in 30 years. Amphibians Reptiles Zoo Atlanta was one of the three institutions in the U.S. that housed giant pandas . The zoo's pandas resided in the Zoo's Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Giant Panda Conservation Center. Lun Lun (female) and Yang Yang (male) arrived in Atlanta as juveniles in 1999 and resided at the zoo on loan from China until 2024. The pair's first cub, male Mei Lan,

620-589: The institution. Following a period of decline in the mid-1980s, the zoo was privatized in 1985 with the creation of a nonprofit organization, Atlanta Fulton County Zoo Inc., and was renamed Zoo Atlanta that same year. A 20-year period of aggressive restoration followed, marked by several high-profile exhibit openings, including The Ford African Rain Forest , in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A pair of giant pandas , Lun Lun and Yang Yang , arrived at Zoo Atlanta in 1999 and made their debut at Zoo Atlanta in 1999. Zoo Atlanta's African Savanna, opened in 2019 as part of

651-671: The largest Methodist congregation in the Southeast. St. Paul is well known for its beautiful stained glass windows and an organ that was acquired in 1887. Each December, St. Paul, the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool (which is located on the first floor of St. Paul), and the Grant Park Parent Network host the Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes and Artist Market. There is also a Tour of Homes in

SECTION 20

#1733105558948

682-415: The name Willie B., Jr. after his father died, taking his place as the heir. More than 5,000 people attended the memorial ceremony held in his honor and the zoo now has a life-size bronze statue of him on permanent display outside the gorilla habitat. His remains were cremated and 80 percent of his remains were kept in a bronze box in the bronze statue at Zoo Atlanta and the other 20 percent were flown back to

713-411: The neighborhood's founding in 1882 and the first decades of the 20th century. Large two-story mansions face the park, more modest two-story, modified Queen Anne houses were built on surrounding streets, and one-story Victorian era cottages and Craftsman bungalows were built to the east of the park. The neighborhood is home to St. Paul United Methodist Church , which for a time in the early 1900s had

744-645: The park. The cyclorama would eventually gain its own dedicated building in the park in 1921. Near the zoo is the Erskine Memorial Fountain , Atlanta's first public fountain, which was built in 1896 and moved to Grant Park in 1912. In 1948, another park landmark, the Thomas W. Talbot Monument , was dedicated by members of the International Association of Machinists , honoring their founder, Thomas W. Talbot . In 1996, after years of neglect and abuse,

775-805: The zoo entrance in Flamingo Plaza, has consistently bred and nested since 2001. Zoo Atlanta's mission statement is "We save wildlife and their habitats through conservation, research, education, and engaging experiences. Our efforts connect people to animals and inspire conservation action." Species impacted by conservation support from Zoo Atlanta have included but are not limited to giant pandas, African elephants, golden lion tamarins , western lowland gorillas, Panamanian golden frogs, red pandas, clouded leopards, giant otters, Bornean orangutans, African vulture species such as hooded vultures and lappet-faced vultures, and native reptile species such as eastern indigo snakes and diamondback terrapins. In 2018, Zoo Atlanta

806-549: Was born on September 6, 2006. A second cub, male Xi Lan , was born August 30, 2008. Female Po was born November 3, 2010. Po's name was announced by actor Jack Black in 2011; Po was named after Black's character in the DreamWorks films Kung Fu Panda . A fourth and a fifth cub, both female, born July 15, 2013, were the first twin pandas to be born in the U.S. since 1987. Their names were announced on ABC 's Good Morning America on October 23, 2013; 100 days after their birth, which

837-490: Was granted stewardship of the structure by Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed in 2014. Upon restoring the building, Zoo Atlanta engaged in many efforts to retain nods to the structure's history, including but not limited to preserving its original granite facade, original terra cotta walls, and original rail system used to hang the massive painting. These are visible in what is now the Michael and Thalia Carlos Ballroom. Savanna Hall opened as

868-402: Was kept in isolation for 27 years with only a television and a tire swing to keep him company. In 1988, he was moved to an outside exhibit and allowed to socialize and raise a family. He then embraced his role as silverback and leader of a troop. Willie B. was the second gorilla known by that name at Zoo Atlanta. The previous Willie B. had died aged 3 shortly before the better-known successor

899-548: Was named a Top 10 Research Zoo for its contributions to peer-reviewed scientific research. Zoo Atlanta is a participant in the AZA Species Survival Plan for the following programs: Zoo Atlanta also participates in several international conservation initiatives for reptiles and amphibians, working to combat issues such as the Asian Turtle Crisis and Global Amphibian Decline. Staff members from Zoo Atlanta and

930-517: Was privatized and rebranded as Zoo Atlanta. Maple retired from Zoo Atlanta in 2003. Duane Rumbaugh, a professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta, was a longtime advisor and researcher on animal behavior and welfare. Grant Park (Atlanta) Grant Park refers to the oldest city park in Atlanta , Georgia , United States, as well as the Victorian neighborhood surrounding it. Grant Park

961-469: Was purchased. Both Willie Bs had been purchased from international gorilla hunter Dr. Deets Pickett of Kansas City . The second Willie B. cost $ 5,500 to obtain for the zoo. Willie B. fathered five offspring at Zoo Atlanta: Kudzoo, Olympia, Sukari, Kidogo, and Lulu. When he died aged 42–43, he was the oldest gorilla in the United States to have fathered offspring. Kidogo, the only male offspring, took on

Zoo Atlanta - Misplaced Pages Continue

#947052