Audubon Zoo

Infobox zoo
zoo_name=Audubon Zoo

---

image_caption=Entrance to Zoo parking on Magazine Street
date_opened=1914 [ [http://www.waza.org/network/index.php?main=zoos&view=namerica&detail=audubon WAZA World Association of Zoos and Aquariums] ]
location=New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
area=58 acres (230,000 m²)
num_animals=2,000
members=AZA
exhibits=Reptile Encounter, Swamp Exhibit
website=http://www.auduboninstitute.org/zoo/

The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers 58 acres (230,000 m²) and is home to 2,000 animals. The zoo is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of Magazine Street. The zoo is named in honor of artist and naturalist John James Audubon who lived in New Orleans starting in 1821.Fact|date=July 2008

Some of the exhibits at the zoo include gorillas, orangutans, and the Louisiana swamp exhibit. The zoo is also home to two rare White tigers and rare white alligators.

History

While there had been animal exhibits on and around this site for the World Cotton Centennial Exhibition 1884 World's Fair, the origins of the current zoo are found in the early 20th century. A flight cage has been in the park since 1914. In the boom of the 1920s many additions were made; the sea lion pool with neo-classical columns from 1928 can still be seen today, as can a few "art nouveau" buildings later used as a reptile exhibit.

During the Great Depression a $400,000 expansion of the zoo was conducted by the Works Progress Administration. Many new cages were constructed, along with an artificial hill known as "Monkey Hill", built to show the children of flat New Orleans what a hill looks like. Local folklore calls Monkey Hill the highest point in New Orleans, although another artificial hill in City Park competes for that title.

By the early 1970s, the zoo was in a state of decay. The small prison-like brick and steel bar cages constructed by the WPA were no longer considered appropriate environments for many of the animals displayed in them. A study suggested that the zoo be closed down unless the city could make a major commitment to upgrade it. City government, local businesses, and private citizens rallied in support of the zoo, and in 1975 the city's voters approved a measure to finance the rebuilding of the zoo. Zoo grounds were expanded from 14 to 50 acres (57,000 to 200,000 m²). By the end of the decade, the Audubon Zoo was already well on its way to becoming one of the finest zoos in the United States.

More improvements and expansions continued into the 21st century, making Audubon Zoo popular not only with locals but also drawing substantial numbers of tourists visiting from other states and nations.

In 1987 an alligator nest was discovered with 18 freshly hatched alligators with white hides—an extraordinary natural mutation called leucism (they are not albino). The white alligators received much attention when they went on display and became a symbol of the zoo.

The Audubon Institute, which manages the zoo, opened the Aquarium of the Americas in 1990, in a different section of town, at the edge of the French Quarter. Some of the white alligators were transferred to that facility, and a riverboat began service taking visitors between the facilities.

The WPA-era Monkey Hill, a favorite landmark of generations of New Orleans children, underwent extensive renovation in the early 21st century, including the addition of a waterfall for young children to play in, a rope web that goes to the summit (which now has statues of lions), and a 20-foot (6 m) high "safari outpost" at the base of the hill. For posterity's sake, a portion of the hill was left as grass, so that children can still roll down Monkey Hill.

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, followed by severe consequences in the devastating aftermath of the storm. During the hurricane, zoo staff found refuge in the zoo's reptile house, which was apparently designed to withstand a major hurricane. Located on high ground atop an old natural river levee, the zoo was fortunate to be spared the flooding of some 80% of the city. The vast majority of the animals were fine—only three died—and the only major damage were downed trees. However, the zoo was short on food and other necessities in the days after the storm, and pumps were overheating. [cite news
first=Diane
last=Jennings
url=http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/news/katrina/stories/090105dntexkatlandmarks.129acef6.html
title=Some landmarks took a beating
work=Dallas Morning News
date=2005-08-31
accessdate=2006-03-20 ]

The fact that the zoo sustained only minor damage can be attributed to disaster planning and its location on high ground. Zoo curator Dan Maloney was quoted as saying, "The zoo had planned for years for the catastrophic storm that has long been predicted for New Orleans." [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4223288.stm
title=New Orleans zoo survives Katrina
work=BBC News
date=2005-09-07
accessdate=2006-03-20 ]

The zoo reopened for Thanksgiving weekend in November, 2005, and initiated a weekends-only schedule due to financial constraints. On 1 March 2006 the zoo began a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule. [cite web
title=Audubon Zoo and Audubon Park Golf Course expand days of operation
work=Audubon Institute
format=PDF
url=http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/DocServer/Press_zoocoursexpansion.pdf?docID=404
month=February | year=2006
accessdate=2006-03-20] It is reported that at one point after the storm relief workers were invited to visit the zoo for free, partially because some of the animals appeared depressed, possibly due to the lack of visitors.

Notable attractions

Reptile Encounter

One of the newer and more famous residents of the reptile house is the Komodo Dragon. Many other animals are also housed here, including the beaded lizard, gila monster, green anaconda, reticulated python, gaboon viper, rattlesnake, caiman, and quite a few other reptiles and amphibians.

wamp Exhibit

This exhibit is primarily outdoors, housing many samples of animals native to southern Louisiana. These include black bears, racoons, otters, nutria, a cottonmouth, copperhead, various colubrids, leucistic alligator, and a number of normal American alligators. taped up outside of the front door, a blue tarp stretched over the roof, and a marking indicating that several human casualties were found in the house, with the phrase "Gators Fed" written below.

References

External links

* [http://www.auduboninstitute.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Facility_Zoo Official website]