Henry Doorly Zoo
From Omaha Commons
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, located at 3701 South 10th Street, is a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Its mission is conservation, research, recreation, and education.[1]
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. Evolving from the public Riverview Park Zoo established in 1894, today the Zoo includes several notable exhibits. It features the largest cat complex in North America;[2] "Kingdoms of the Night" is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp;[3] the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforest, and the "Desert Dome" is the world's largest indoor desert,[4] as well as the largest geodesic dome in the world.[5][6] Omaha's Zoo is Nebraska’s number one paid attendance attraction and has welcomed over one million visitors per year.[7]
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[edit] History
The zoo originally began in 1894 as Riverview Park Zoo. Four years later it had over 120 animals. In 1952, the Omaha Zoological Society was created with aims to improve the zoo. In 1963, Margaret Hitchcock Doorly donated $750,000 (approximately $4.5 million in 2005 dollars). In doing so, she stipulated that the zoo be renamed in memory of her late husband, Henry Doorly, chairman of the World Publishing Company. Union Pacific helped the zoo lay down 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of track in 1968 with the inaugural run of the Omaha Zoo Railroad made on July 22, 1968.[8]
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, like most zoos, is not an amusement park, although it does have two rides that circumnavigate the zoo, a carousel and an aerial tram, Skyfari. The zoo is adjacent to Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series and the Triple-A Omaha Royals of the Pacific Coast League.
[edit] Building/exhibit history
The following is a selected list of when buildings and exhibits were created:
- 1968: Omaha Zoo Railroad, Eugene C. Eppley Pachyderm Hill
- 1970: Sea Lion pool opened where an old public swimming pool was
- 1977: Cat Complex
- 1983: Simmons Aviary
- 1987: Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Pavilion
- 1989: Durham Family's Bear Canyon
- 1990: Dairy World
- 1992: Lied Jungle
- 1995: Scott Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium
- 1996: Bill and Berniece Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research
- 1997: Lozier IMAX theater
- 1998: Garden of the Senses
- 1998: Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari
- 2002: Desert Dome
- 2003: Kingdoms of the Night
- 2004: Hubbard Gorilla Valley
- 2005: Hubbard Orangutan Forest
- 2007: Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Pavilion Expansion
- 2008: Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion
- 2009: Skyfari
- 2010: Madagascar Exhibit
[edit] Zoo Statistics
As of September 2009, Omaha's Zoo had:
- 130 acres (0.53 km²)
- 23,000+ animals
- 1225 species
[edit] Key Attractions
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo features some of the biggest and best exhibits of their kind in the world. The Lied Jungle is a full-immersion exhibit allowing you to feel as if you’ve entered the authentic jungles of Africa, Asia and South America. Underneath the world’s largest glazed geodesic dome is the Desert Dome, highlighting the world’s dry desert environments full of cliffs and canyons. Your family can glide through the Scott Aquarium, featuring penguins, jellyfish and a 70 foot long tunnel with sharks, stingrays and sea turtles swimming above. Other extraordinary exhibits include Hubbard Gorilla Valley and Orangutan Forest, and Durham Bear Canyon plus amazing animals including giraffes, elephants, rhinos and sea lions. Don’t forget to ride on Skyfari, the aerial tram that takes you above the Zoo for a whole new view. Omaha’s Zoo also offers other exciting opportunities including a discounted group admission rate for 40 or more people, picnic packages that are perfect for work outings or family re-unions and year-round educational classes and camps for children. For more information, visit www.omahazoo.com.
Admission to Omaha's Zoo is free to children 2 and under, $7.75 for children ages 3 to 11, $11.50 for adults, and $10 for senior citizens (62 years of age or older). A year long membership to Omaha's Zoo for the entire family is $83. Omaha's Zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., year-round excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
[edit] Accreditation
It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The zoo's stated purpose is: conservation, research, recreation, and education.
[edit] Location
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo located next to Rosenblatt Stadium at 3701 S 10th Street. Their primary telephone number is (402) 733-8401 and website is www.omahazoo.com.
[edit] Gallery
 Passage under the aquarium |
 Tiger at the Zoo |
 Inside the Desert Dome |
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 Desert Dome at Dusk |
[edit] External links
Home Page for the Henry Doorly Zoo
Review of the Henry Doorly Zoo
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This article uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Henry_Doorly_Zoo. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the CC by-sa 3.0 License. |