Detroit Zoo- Detroit, MI - VirtualTourist.com

The Detroit Zoological Society, a non-profit organization, operates both the Detroit Zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Zoo, located in the city of Detroit. The Detroit Zoological Society is responsible for the care and feeding of more than 1,800 vertebrates and 5,000 invertebrates representing over 270 species.
This zoo is probably my favorite, and I've visited quite a few. Located in Royal Oak, it's not some quaint small town zoo where it only takes a few hours to walk through. More than 2800 animals from about 300 species live uncaged in natural habitats. Plan an entire day here and get the full effect of everything from the great Arctic Ring of Life to the Penguinarium and Apmhibiville; one of the largest indoor amphibian housing projects I've ever seen.
Stop by the lion exhibit and see a tragic case of neglect. Starving and ferocious was the lion (named Katie) rescued from a crack house in Detroit, but she were able to be saved and relocated to a large enclosure at the Zoo.
The first Detroit Zoo opened in 1883 on Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, across from the current site of Tiger Stadium. A circus had arrived in town, only to go broke financially. Luther Beecher, a leading Detroit citizen and capitalist, financed the purchase of the circus animals and erected a building for their display called the Detroit Zoological Garden. The zoo closed the following year and the building converted into a horse auction.

The Detroit Zoological Society was founded in 1911, but zoo's official opening did not occur until August 1, 1928. At the opening ceremony, acting Mayor John C. Nagel was to speak to the gathered crowd. Arriving late, Nagel parked his car behind the bear dens and as he came rushing around the front, Morris, a polar bear, leaped from his moat and stood directly in front of Nagel. Unaware how precarious his situation was, Nagel stuck out his hand and walked toward the polar bear joking, "He's the reception committee." The keepers rushed the bear and forced him back into the moat, leaving the mayor uninjured.

Two years later the Bear Dens and Sheep Rock had been added, followed shortly by the Bird House. Next to be constructed were the Elk Exhibit, the Baboon Rock, and Primate and Reptile houses. The Detroit Zoo was the first in America with cageless exhibits. The onset of the Great Depression brought to a halt additional major projects, but expansion resumed in the 1940s and has periodically continued since then.

Detroit Zoo, Detroit

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Detroit Zoo, Detroit

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