Elmwood Park Zoo

HISTORY

Elmwood Park Zoo

Entrance to the Elmwood Park Zoo. July 2013.
Date opened	July 4, 1924
Location	Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA
Coordinates
Land area	16
Number of animals	300
Number of species	100
Annual visitors	300,000
Memberships	AZA
Website	www.elmwoodparkzoo.org

The Elmwood Park Zoo is located in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The zoo first opened in 1924, when a private landowner donated a small piece of property and a handful of White Tailed Deer to the Borough of Norristown. As time progressed, upgrades became imperative to the living conditions of the animals. The first change was the design of the cages which went from wire, the norm for the early 20th century, to realistic habitats. The first animals that were exhibited came from North and South America. The zoo’s funds were mostly given to them by the Norristown Zoological Society. The NZS declared itself as a non-profit organization in 1985 as it took ownership over the Norristown Borough. Although the NZS had control over the zoo, they still have to consult with the Norristown Borough Council before being able to execute large-scale decisions. The first huge operation that went into action was the expansion of the park that was completed in 2002, and the park size doubled from its original 8-acre size.

From 1999-2002, the Elmwood Park Zoo added more offices and shops to help regulate the business flow. The most popular spot at the EPZ is their interactive playground that was made in 2001. A year later, they included more common canines and rare weasels, specifically the endangered species known as the black-footed ferrets. That same year, this zoo finished their Oberkircher Discovery Center, an educational facility. Ever since the major renovations to the park over the years, this park now receives almost half a million guests per year. The EPZ continues to make entertaining tourists a top priority as well as providing them safe, sanitary, family-oriented, fun-filled activities. Despite advancing old constructions, the zoo still has historical landmarks up for display, including their oldest office built in 1924. To this day, business is booming and the community remains at the heart of EPZ’s operations.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOO KEEPERS (AAZK)

The Elmwood Park Zoo American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) is a non-profit organization made up of zoo professionals dedicated to quality animal care and conservation. The AAZK mission statement is "to advance excellence in the animal keeping profession, foster effective communication beneficial to animal care, support deserving conservation projects, and promote the preservation of our natural resources and animal life."

TYPES OF ANIMALS

In Elmwood Park zoo, there is a variety of animals that are living in the zoo. They have two separate groups of animals, and those are the animals on exhibit and the animals that are shown for educational purposes. The animals that are on exhibit are the amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles. The animals the zoo uses for educational purposes for the public are birds, mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates. The zoo also obtains animals for the different seasons of the year. They range from animals such as parakeets, giraffes, ponies, reindeer, and sun conures.

But that is not the most interesting animal that the zoo obtains. The zoo has a North American bald eagle named Noah. Noah was born in July 2001. He is a 3 ft. bird with a wing span of 7 ft. and the weight of 7 lbs. At 8 weeks old, Noah took an 80 ft. fall and suffered head injuries. He had to recover the first year of his life in an animal hospital. After recovering from his injuries but deemed unfit to reenter into the wild, Noah was used for educational programs to help humans with outreach programs in a rehabilitation center. In 2008, Elmwood Park Zoo adopted Noah and gained all of his rights. He has been labeled as one of the zoo’s ambassadors and helps teach people of all ages about outreach programs on wildlife conservation

ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

The Elmwood Park Zoo promotes wildlife and resource conservation and is currently undertaking animal management programs as a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The Species Survival Plan (SSP) is the official program of the Association that the Elmwood Park Zoo has adopted to help protect threatened animals. Animals that are managed by the Species Survival Plan include the Capybara, Cougar, Black-Footed Ferret, Chilean Flamingo, Panamanian Golden Frog, Giraffe, Jaguar, Howler Monkey, White-Faced Saki Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, North American River Otter, Burrowing Owl, Chacoan Peccary, North American Porcupine, Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine, Prehensile-Tailed Skink, Golden Lion Tamarin, and the Puerto Rican Crested Toad.

Aside from Elmwood Park Zoo’s active role in animal management conservation, the zoo is also highly active in conservation projects fixated on conserving essential natural environments. Some of the conservation projects the Zoo has contributed towards through donations includes the Titi Conservation Alliance, Habitat reforestation, Naranjo River Biological Corridor, Environmental Education, The Red Panda Network, American Bird Conservancy, CCCI, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium “Seafood Watch”.

In the Newbery Medal-winning fiction book Maniac Magee, the titular character lives briefly in the bison pen of the Elmwood Park Zoo.

Gallery

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  Bald and Golden eagles

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  Union Pacific Railroad caboose

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  Prairie dog exhibit

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  Giraffe feeding

External links

• Official website