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26-519: Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987 by the Chengdu Municipal People's Government. It started with 6 giant pandas that were rescued from the wild. By 2008, it had 124 panda births, and the captive panda population has grown to 83. Its stated goal is to "be a world-class research facility, conservation education center, and international educational tourism destination." In February 2024, the institute made international headlines after it banned

52-681: A 53-year-old male visitor for life for throwing unspecified objects into a giant panda enclosure. Chengdu Panda Base has partnered with many organizations in improving ways to conserve giant pandas. For example, its partnership with Zoo Atlanta helped the zoo secure the loan of 2 giant pandas. To date, these 2 giant pandas, Yang Yang and Lun Lun , have produced five off-spring: Mei Lan in 2006, Xi Lan in 2008, Po on November 3, 2010, twins Mei Lun and Mei Huan on July 15, 2013, and twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun on September 3, 2016. Other research partners include: On April 11, 2013, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and CNTV reached an agreement on

78-577: A carapace length of 22 cm (8.7 in) and weighs 1.3 kg (2.9 lb). In 2009, the Arakan forest turtles was discovered in Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range in Myanmar. The scientific team also labeled the area as a good prospective place to focus conservation efforts for the turtle, despite the fact that locals do occasionally hunt and eat them. Even with those activities, this protected area

104-698: 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

130-536: A potential population was discovered during a non-governmental organization's citizen science project, suggesting a population of the Arakan turtle may reside in the Chittagong Hill Tracts . The Arakan forest turtle is active at night and increases its activity during the early wet season. Local hunters found eggs in June and July when skinning female specimens, possibly revealing the reproductive system and cycle of

156-492: 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

182-523: Is Raymond B. King . 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

208-404: 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

234-404: Is difficult to access and lacks any human settlement, making any human interference with the turtle merely opportunistic. No large-scale commercial project hunts the turtle, nor would there be a demand for one, since the turtle is too difficult to find compared to the little profit there is for doing so. Furthermore, the area even has a low risk of being exploited for natural resources . In 2015,

260-584: 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

286-613: 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

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312-848: 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

338-472: 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

364-552: 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

390-443: 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

416-455: 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

442-470: The bordering Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh . The Arakan forest turtle is a semiterrestrial turtle, meaning it can survive in aquatic as well as terrestrial habitats, but adults prefer living in terrestrial habitats. Geoëmyda depressa was the scientific name proposed by Anderson in 1875 who described a zoological specimen collected in Arakan. The Arakan forest turtle has 18 plastral annuli,

468-535: The establishment of iPanda.com after an official signing ceremony, and they immediately started preparing for the test launch (which was estimated in June 2013). 30°44′19″N 104°8′31″E  /  30.73861°N 104.14194°E  / 30.73861; 104.14194 Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo ) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo in Atlanta, Georgia . The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta

494-477: 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,

520-590: 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

546-579: The species. It remains dormant the majority of the time and hides in leaves and debris. It is an omnivore, feeding on both animals and plants. Although it is considered a relatively reserved animal for the majority of its daily activity, it is aggressive when it comes to eating insects, worms, and fish. It also consumes fruit that falls to the forest floor . Arakan forest turtles are being traded by animal pet dealers in China, who catch them in western Myanmar. In 2003, researchers took samples for research from nine Arakan forest turtles that had been imported to

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572-805: 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

598-552: 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

624-490: 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

650-549: 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

676-467: 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. Arakan forest turtle The Arakan forest turtle ( Heosemys depressa ) is a critically endangered turtle species native to the Arakan Hills in western Myanmar and

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