Your Michigan City guide


Los Angeles Zoo

By 1956, the city of Los Angeles had outgrownis an important fundraiser for the Zoo, but
the small Griffith Park Zoo. The citizensonly the visitors get to eat; in the interest
passed a $6.6 million bond measure to helpof health and safety, the L.A. Zoo was the
build a new one and a 113-acre site in1st major zoo in the United States to
Griffith Park was chosen as the new location.prohibit visitors from feeding the animals,
In 1964 a private, nonprofit organization wasand  maintains  the  policy  today.
created to support the new facility. The zoo
then began raising money and acquiringThe Los Angeles Zoo became an accredited
animalsmember of the American Zoo and Aquarium
Association (AZA) in 1972. Just 2 years later
When the Los Angeles Zoo opened in 1966 itDr.  Warren  D.  Thomas  became Zoo Director.
was the 4th zoo to serve
the city. The Greater Los Angeles ZooThomas assembled one of the world 's most
Association (GLAZA) had already graduated arespecteded animal collections during his
class of trained, volunteer docents and had17-year tenure. The zoo acquired rare and
produced several issues of a quarterlyendangered species, including the Sumatran
magazine called Zoo View. Some 80,000Rhino, the Jentink's and Zebra duikers,
Angelenos attended the November opening ofyellow-footed rock wallabies, giant elands,
the Los Angeles Zoo (also in attendance wasgerenuks, emperor tamarins, and bongos. The
an alligator named Methuselah, who is still aAndrew Norman Education Center, the
resident  of  the  zoo  today).ZooMobile, Wolf Woods and Monkey Island, were
all built in the Thomas-era1970's, as were
In 1967 the zoo acquired 3 endangered Arabiannew exhibits for gorillas, orangutans and
Oryx for $75,000. The Los Angeles Zooflamingos,
cooperated with the only other American zoo
to house Oryx, the Phoenix Zoo, toIn the 1980's the Zoo became part of the new
successfully bred the gazelle-like animals,California Condor Recovery Program. In 1982
which were facing extinction in the wild.the Zoo built the extensive "condorminiums,"
Today descendants of those animals have beenwhich are still considered among the finest
reintroduced to the wild in Israel, and otherand largest facilities in the condor recovery
descendants of that original L.A. Zoo herdprogram. In1982 the Ahmanson Koala House was
live  on  at  the  zoo.opened. Currently the Los Angeles Zoo the
only zoo in the world to exhibit these
The Los Angeles Zoo's 1st Beastly Ball wasnocturnal animals in a darkened setting.
held in 1970. This safari-themed dinner-dance



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