The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was established in 1873 and held its first public opening the following year, making it the sixth oldest zoo in the United States. It is in the Avondale area of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States of America. It all started with 64.5 acres in the center of the city, but now it has expanded into the blocks surrounding it as well as other reserves in Cincinnati’s outlying suburbs. In 1987, it was recognized by the government as a National Historic Landmark.
The zoo is home to more than 3,000 plant varieties and over 500 animal species. In addition to that, during its history, the zoo has participated in a number of breeding operations. In fact, it was the first institution to successfully produce California sea lions. To advance the zoo’s mission of conservation, the Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) was established in 1986. This center is still in operation today. The zoo is well-known for housing both Martha, the last live passenger pigeon, and Incas, the last living Carolina parakeet. Both of these endangered species reside at the zoo.
The zoo is a member of both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which has granted it accreditation, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which also grants it membership (WAZA).
USA Today used information provided by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to compile a ranking of the greatest zoos in the country in 2014. The report, which was published in 2014, places the Cincinnati Zoo among the top zoos in the country. USA Today’s readers chose the Cincinnati Zoo as the greatest zoo in the United States and Canada for 2019, and the publication’s editors agreed with their pick.
In 1906, the Herbivora building was completed at a cost of $50,000, which was a significant amount of money at the time. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and ever since then, it has been regarded as one of the most remarkable historic structures in the entire zoo industry. This was the largest and most comprehensive concrete animal building in the world, and it was designed specifically for hoofed animals. It measured 150 feet in length and 75 feet in width. The exhibit was renamed “Vanishing Giants” in the year 2000, and it now features a Masai giraffe, an okapi, and the elephants that are now housed at the zoo. During the years 2007 and 2008, the giraffe and okapi yards were transformed into a food court area as part of a renovation project at the zoo. During this time, the relevant species were relocated to other parts of the facility. Since then, it has gone through a number of modifications and is currently known as the Elephant Reserve at the Cincinnati Zoo.