Houston Zoo - History

History

On the edge of downtown in the early 1900s, Sam Houston Park was home to the city’s first zoo – a collection of rabbits, raccoons, Mexican eagles, black bear, a great horned owl, capuchin monkeys, prairie dogs, and an alligator pond. In 1920, the Federal government donated a bison to the City of Houston. The bison, named Earl, was added to the growing collection of zoo animals at Sam Houston Park and sparked a civic debate as Houstonians began talking earnestly about improving and expanding the zoo.

In 1921, the City purchased an assortment of snakes, birds, and alligators and in 1922 erected a fence around a tract of land in Hermann Park to house the collection. In short order the City hired the first zoo keeper, Hans Nagel who was responsible for the care of the Zoo’s 40 animals. By 1925, Nagel had become zoo director and the Zoo’s population had grown to 400 animals including Asian elephants Nellie and Hans. The zoo grew to thirty fenced acres and included a monkey house and a pool built for three donated sea lions.

As the years passed, the City added animals, keepers, and exhibits. Between 1925 and 1938 a museum, lion house, and an elephant house were built. By 1938, the Zoo represented an investment of approximately $50,000, roughly equivalent to $750,000 by today’s standards. In the immediate post World War Two era, from 1950 to 1960 the Zoo added the Reptile House, bear, large cats, and giraffe exhibits and completed the sea lion pool, Duck Lake and the Central Concession building.

The period from 1960 to 1970 saw a revived era of construction and expansion with the construction of the Zoo’s first Children’s Zoo, the Small Mammal House (now the Natural Encounters Building), and the Tropical Bird House. Between 1970 and 1976, under the guidance of then-director John Werler, education became increasingly emphasized and a group of 125 volunteers was organized to interact with guests and provide information about animals and exhibits.

The 1980s brought construction of the Kipp Aquarium and the Denton Cooley Animal Hospital. Between 1985 and 1988, the Zoo completed construction of the African lion, Indochinese tiger and small cat exhibits. The Brown Education Center was dedicated in April 1988.

In January, 1989, after being accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Houston Zoo initiated its first public admission fee and introduced a “new zoo” to the City. Nearly $1 million in improvements were unveiled including the new McGovern Mammal Marina for sea lions and a newly renovated Reptile House.

The $7.5 million Wortham World of Primates opened in 1993 and in 1995 the Zoo celebrated its 75th anniversary. The 1990s saw the renovation of the Tropical Bird House, the expansion of the Kipp Aquarium and the construction of a new gift shop and office facility at the Zoo’s main entrance. The Zoo’s Koala Crossing opened in 1999 and the new $6 million McGovern Children’s Zoo made its debut in 2000 along with the zoo’s new West Entry (now Medical Center Gate).

In 2002, the Houston Zoo entered a new era of non-profit management under a public-private partnership with the City of Houston and improvements and new exhibits quickly followed.

In April 2003, the zoo opened the giant eland exhibit, becoming the first zoo in Texas to exhibit these regal animals, the world’s largest antelope. In 2003, the zoo reopened the spectacled bear exhibit following a $1 million renovation. The Wildlife Carousel opened near the Children’s zoo in 2004 and in 2005 the Zoo opened the Natural Encounters Building, representing a new approach to zoo exhibitry with interactive keeper chats and presentations every half-hour. In 2006, summers in the McGovern Children’s Zoo took on a new look with the addition of a water playground. In 2008, the zoo welcomed African wild dogs opened an expanded Asian elephant habitat.

The zoo did not have admission fees until 1988, when they were first established by former mayor Kathryn J. Whitmire.

The newest project is the African Forest, a $100 million project that took years to complete; the first phase was completed in December 2010. The African Forest vividly recreates an awe-inspiring wilderness habitat featuring chimpanzees, rhinos, and giraffes in an environment reminiscent of the forest landscape of western equatorial Africa.