The '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). The mission of the zoo is conservation, research, recreation, and education.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/information/index.asp?page=/information/information.htm]
Today, it is considered by many to be one of the top zoos in the
United States; in May 2004, it was voted by
Reader's Digest as the best zoo in America.
[1] Also, in a survey conducted by
Disney-owned ''Family Fun Magazine,'' the zoo was ranked as America's #1 Family Friendly Attraction.
[2]
As of October 2004, the zoo had 130 acres (0.53
km²), more than 17,000
animals; 962
species; 276 species of
birds and 1626 specimens; 184 species of
mammals and 2025 specimens; 181 species of
fish and 7600 specimens; 176 species of
reptiles and 598 specimens; 103 species of
invertebrates and 5000 specimens; 42 species of
amphibians and 487 specimens; 44 endanged species (listed by the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Animals), and; 7 threatened species.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/information/index.asp?page=/information/animals.htm retrieved November 5, 2006]
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.
[3]
The Henry Doorly Zoo, like most zoos, is not an
amusement park, although it does have two rides that circumnavigate the zoo and a
carousel.
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
★
1972:
Ak-Sar-Ben waterfall
★
1977:
Cat Complex
★
1983:
Aviary
★
1987:
Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Pavillion
★
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
★
2002:
Desert Dome
★
2003:
Kingdoms of the Night
★
2004:
Hubbard Gorilla Valley
★
2005:
Hubbard Orangutan Forest
Admission
Historical admission fees are as follows:
| Age | 2006 price [http://www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 2005 price [http://web.archive.org/web/20050307183529/www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 2004 price [http://web.archive.org/web/20040402004356/www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 2003 price [http://web.archive.org/web/20030203233449/www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 2002 price [http://web.archive.org/web/20020805020739/www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 2001 price [http://web.archive.org/web/20010420173527/www.omahazoo.com/visitors/index.asp?page=/visitors/fees.htm] | 1999 price [http://web.archive.org/web/19990210112102/www.omahazoo.com/admit.htm] |
|---|
| 4 and under | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| 5-11 | $6.75 | $6.50 | $6.00 | $5.25 | $4.75 | $4.25 | $3.75 |
| 12-61 | $10.50 | $10.25 | $9.75 | $9.00 | $8.50 | $8.00 | $7.25 |
| 62 and over | $9.00 | $8.75 | $8.25 | $7.50 | $7.00 | $6.50 | $5.75 |
| Household membership | $73.00 | $65.00 1/1-4/3
$73.00 4/4-12/31 | $65.00 1/1-4/4
$73.00 4/5-12/31 | $60.00 1/1-4/6
$68.00 4/7-12/31 | $68.00 | $50.00 1/1-4/1
$60.00 4/2-12/31 | $60.00 |
Starting in 2007 2 and under is free , and a childs admission is ages 3-11.
[4]
Major exhibits
Lied Jungle
The 'Lied Jungle' opened on
April 4,
1992 at a cost of
$15 million.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/jungle.htm]
It is the largest indoor
rainforest in the world; it occupies an 80
foot tall building that spans 1.5
acres and is located just inside the main entrance.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/jungle.htm]
Inside there is 123,000
ft² (2.82 acres; 11,400
m²) of floor space, of which 61,000 ft² (1.4 acres; 5,670 m²) is planted exhibit space; 35,000 ft² (0.8 acres; 3,250 m²) of display management area; and 11,000 ft² (0.25 acres; 1,020 m²) of education area.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/jungle.htm]
Visitors can walk along a dirt trail on the floor of the jungle as well as on a walkway around and above the animals.
Along both trails approximately 90 species can be found including:
★
Blue Monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'')
★
Common Squirrel Monkey (''Saimiri sciureus'')
★
Black Howler Monkey (''Alouatta caraya'')
★
Pygmy Hippopotamus (''Choeropsis liberiensis'')
★
Scarlet Macaw (''Ara macao'')
★
Malayan Tapir (''Tapirus indicus'')
★
Baird's Tapir (''Tapirus bairdii'')
★
Clouded Leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa'')
★
Ring-Tailed Lemur
★
Gibbon
★
Otter
★ Fish
Many different types of plant-life also thrive throughout the jungle.
The exhibit is broken up into sections by continent including
Asia,
Africa, and
South America.
Notable points
Visitors to the Jungle can view the indoor jungle through 90 feet of floor-to-ceiling windows at the 'Durham's TreeTops Restaurant', which is next to the jungle. A portion of the electrical power needed for the jungle is provided by
natural gas fuel cells. The Jungle has won several awards, including "Single best zoo exhibit in the country" in 1994 by the ''
Family Life Magazine''; "Significant Achievement Award for Exhibit Design" in 1993 by the
American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums; "Top ten designs in the world" in 1992 by ''
Time'', and; "Top eight US engineering accomplishments" in 1992 by the
National Society of Professional Engineers[5]
Scott Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium
The Walter and Suzanne Scott Kingdoms of the Seas Aquarium is an
aquarium that opened on April 1, 1995 at a cost of
$16 million.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/aquarium.htm]
The building has 71,000
ft² (1.6
acres; 6,600
m²).
It features displays of aquatic habitats from polar regions, temperate oceans, the flooded
Amazon Rainforest, and
coral reefs. The 900,000
gallon (3.4 million
liters)
shark tank features a 70
foot (21.3
meters)
shark tunnel that is at the bottom of the 17 foot (5.2 meters) deep tank.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/aquarium.htm]
This tank features
sharks,
stingrays,
sea turtles, and coral reef fish.
Other tanks include a
North Pacific Giant Octopus,
jellyfish, and open ocean schooling fish.
A new addition is a portable touch tank which allows visitors to feel a shark's scales and the rubbery skin of a stingray. In addition, an educational biofact cart is situated next to the tank to reveal more mysteries of the sea like
coral shapes, shark skins,
snail and shark egg cases, and shark jaws. During warmer months,
Little Penguins can be found outside near the entrance of the aquarium. The only
fresh water display is of the
Amazon Rainforest that includes fish, invertebrates, turtles, and mammals (including
Common Squirrel Monkeys).
The aquarium features water dwelling animals from around the world, including
★
Tufted Puffin (''Fratercula cirrhata'')
★
Little Penguin (''Eudyptula minor'')
★
King Penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'')
★
Gentoo Penguin (''Pygoscelis papua'')
★
Nautilus
★ Numerous
fish
★
Lionfish
★
Pufferfish
★
Moray eel
★
Leafy sea dragon (''Phycodurus eques'')
★
Weedy sea dragon (''Phyllopteryx taeniolatus'')
★
Coral reef
★
Sharks
★
Stingray
★
Sea turtle
★
North Pacific Giant Octopus (''Enteroctopus dofleini'')
★
Jellyfish
Garden of the Senses
A couple of the fountains
The 'Garden of the Senses' opened in spring 1998 at a cost of
$1.8 million .
The garden is filled with
plants,
fountains,
birds, a giant
sundial, and more.
Over 250 different species of
herbs,
perennials, and
trees as well as
roses &
flowers,
butterfly-friendly plants, and
trellises. The birds include
Macaws, South American
parrots, and
Australian
cockatoos.
Desert Dome
The 'Desert Dome' opened in April 2002 at a cost of
$31.5 million (includes Kingdoms of the Night). It is the world's largest indoor
desert at around 42,000
ft² (0.96 acres; 3,900
m²).
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/desertdome.htm]
Beneath the Desert Dome is the Kingdoms of the Night and both levels make up a combined total of 84,000 ft². The Desert Dome has geologic features from
deserts around the world:
Namib Desert of south
Africa;
Red Center of
Australia; and the
Sonoran Desert of the southwest
United States.
Animals include
★
Central Bearded Dragon (''Pogona vitticeps'')
★
Collared Peccary (''Tayassu tajacu'')
★
Purplish-backed Jay (''Cyanocorax beecheii'')
★
Greater Roadrunner (''Geococcyx californianus'')
★
American Badger (''Taxidea taxus'')
★
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus'')
★
Swift Fox (''Vulpes velox'')
★
Cape Thick-knee (''Burhinus capensus'')
★ Venomous
snakes
★
Wallaby
★
Meerkat
★
Coatimundi
★
Hummingbirds
★
Prairie dog
★
Puma
In addition to being the world's largest indoor desert, the Desert Dome's
geodesic dome is also the world's largest ''glazed'' geodesic dome. The dome is 137
feet above the main level and 230 feet in
diameter. There are 1,760
acrylic windows with 4 shades (some clear) that were placed to allow maximum shade in the summer and maximum light in the winter to reduce energy costs.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/desertdome.htm]
Kingdoms of the Night
The 'Eugene T. Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night' opened beneath the Desert Dome in April 2003 at a cost of
$31.5 million (includes Desert Dome). Kingdoms of the Night is the world's largest
nocturnal animal exhibit (which is housed underneath the world's largest desert under the world's largest ''glazed''
geodesic dome [http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/desertdome.htm]) at 42,000
ft² (0.96
acres; 3,900
m²). Both the Kingdoms of the Night and the Desert combine to a total of 84,000 ft². The Kingdoms of the Night features a wet cave (with a 14
feet deep aquarium), a canyon, an African diorama, a
Eucalyptus forest, a dry
batcave, and a
swamp. The swamp is also the world's largest indoor swamp.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/kon.htm]
Some of the animals found at the Kingdom of the Night:
★
Fossa {''Cryptoprocta ferox'')
★
Aardvark (''Orycteropus afer'')
★
Bats
★
Alligators
★
White Crocodile (1 of 13 in the world)
★
Flying squirrel
★
Beaver lodge
★
Feathertail glider
★
Blind cave fish
★
Axolotl
★
Crayfish
Hubbard Gorilla Valley
The 'Hubbard Gorilla Valley' is a
gorilla exhibit named after Dr. Theodore Hubbard (a
cardiologist from
Omaha) opened in
April 8,
2004 at a cost of
$14 million. Prior to being expanded and rebuilt, the Hubbard Gorilla Valley was the Owen Gorilla House.
Some of the animals are:
★
Mantled Guereza (''Colobus guereza'')
★
Western Lowland Gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'')
★
Wolf's Mona Monkey (''Cercopithecus wolfi'')
★
Red River Hog (''Potamochoerus porcus'')
★
Cattle Egret (''Bubulcus ibis'')
Hubbard Orangutan Forest
The 'Hubbard
Orangutan Forest' opened in two phases during 2005 — first phase was opened in May 2005 and the second phase opened in late summer 2005 — at a cost of
$8.5 million. The first phase is the outdoor habitat that includes two 65-foot tall, 100
ton Banyan trees interconnected with vines enclosed by a
stainless steel netting.
A 20
foot waterfall is named after Claire Hubbard, the Orangutan Forest's primary donor. The second phase is the indoor habitat that has 3,126
ft² (0.07
acres; 290
m²).
Cat Complex
The 'cat complex' opened in
1977 at a cost of
$2.5 million.
The complex has 11 inside enclosures and 10 outside enclosures with capacity of up to 100 cats.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/catcomplex.htm]
The building is the largest cat breeding and management facility in
North America.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/catcomplex.htm]
The Cat Complex was awarded the "Edward H. Bean Award" (
1994) for tiger
husbandry by the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/catcomplex.htm]
The complex contains many animals from the
Felidae family, which include:
★
Siberian Tiger (''Panthera tigris altaica'')
★
Jaguar (''Panthera onca'')
★
Cougar (''Puma concolor'')
★
Bengal Tiger (''Panthera tigris tigris'')
★
Amur Leopard (''Panthera pardus orientalis'')
★
African Lion (''Panthera leo'')
Durham Family Bear Canyon
The 'Durham Family Bear Canyon' opened in
1989 at a cost of
$1.4 million.
[http://www.omahazoo.com/exhibits/index.asp?page=exhibits/bears.htm] The canyon has a large 30,000
gallon (114,000
liters) tank for
Polar Bears.
The canyon also has other members of the
Ursidae family, which include:
★
Polar Bear (''Ursus maritimus'')
★
American black bear (''Ursus americanus'')
★
Grizzly Bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis'')
★
Sun Bear (''Helarctos malayanus'')
Other exhibits
The zoo also features 'Simmons
Aviary', the world's second-largest free-flight aviary, 'Lozier
IMAX theater', and many other exhibits. Other exhibits include the 'Cat Complex', '
Cheetah Valley', 'Durham Family
Bear Canyon', 'Hoofstock', 'Owen
Sea Lion Pavilion', a
petting zoo, the new '
Budgie Encounter', and others. Many different animals have smaller, individual exhibits such as
elephants,
okapi, and
rhinos.
Genetics research
The 'Bill and Berniece Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research' is a world class
genetics research center at the zoo. The center has discovered several new species. The world's first "test-tube" gorilla
in-vitro fertilization resides at the zoo. The gorilla was created and born at a zoo in Ohio with sperm frozen by the Henry Doorly reproductive research team. It is the world's largest gorilla
sperm bank. The world's first artificially inseminated
tiger was born in Omaha in
1991, followed by the world's first artificially inseminated
guar. The original 16,448
ft² (1,528
m²) facility was constructed in
1996 [http://www.omahazoo.com/ccr/index.asp?page=/ccr/main.htm].
In
2006 it is undergoing a
$6 million expansion which brings the total space to 32,000 ft² (2,900 m²).
[http://www.omahazoo.com/ccr/index.asp?page=/ccr/main.htm]
The research center focuses on six areas:
★ Education and technology transfer
★
Conservation medicine
★
Molecular genetics
★
Reproductive physiology
★
Horticulture
★
Nutrition
Mouse Lemurs
A study lead by
Edward Louis, a conservation geneticist at the zoo, identified three new
mouse lemurs (
Simmons' Mouse Lemur,
Mittermeier's Mouse Lemur, &
Jolly's Mouse Lemur) with the
Simmons' Mouse Lemur named after
Lee Simmons, the zoo's director.
[6][7][8]
Rides
Railroad
The Union Pacific-inspired logo of the Omaha Zoo Railroad
The '
Omaha Zoo Railroad' is a 1.8
mile (2.9
km)
narrow gauge train that loops through the zoo.
The railroad began operations on
July 22,
1968 after the track was laid down by the
Union Pacific railroad. The train operates with one of two oil-powered steam locomotives. Riva is the newest locomotove owned by the zoo despite being manufactured first. It is approximately twice as powerful as the #119 and is regularly used on weekends when more visitors are present. The #119 is the original locomotive for the zoo.
Tram
The
tram is a trackless tram that drives on the walkway paths around the zoo.
It has four stops:
★ Between the carousel and Dairy World
★ Between the Sea Lions and the Monkeys
★ Between the Warthogs and the hoofstock
★ Between the Budgie Encounter and the Okapi
Carousel
A
carousel on which visitors of all ages can ride handcrafted recreations of wild animals.
Educational programs
The zoo offers many educational programs for kids and adults of all ages. The activities include the following: school-involved programs, special "edzoocational" programs, zoo internships, animal-adoption, and volunteer work. There are several programs available that include field trips, guided tours, educator workshops, and two-way internet video conferencing to bring the zoo to the classroom. The edzoocational programs are educational programs that are taught in a non-traditional way. These programs include over-night campouts at the zoo, scouting programs, birthday parties, and on-site speakers.
Image gallery
References
1. Henry Doorly Zoo. WhatsYour20.com
2. Omaha Zoo Foundation.
3. "History", Henry Doorly Zoo website.
4. [1]
5. Lied Jungle. Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo website.
6. {{cite journal | title = Revision of the Mouse Lemurs (''Microcebus'') of Eastern Madagascar | pages = 347–389 | author = Edward E. Louis, Melissa S. Coles, Rambinintsoa Andriantompohavana, Julie A. Sommer, Shannon E. Engberg, John R. Zaonarivelo, Mireya I. Mayor, Rick A. Brenneman | journal = International Journal of Primatology | volume = 27 | issue = 2 | year = 2006 | id =
7. Three new lemurs take a bow in Madagascar - Reuters News Release
8. Three New Lemurs Discovered, Add to Madagascar's Diversity, National Geographic News, June 26, 2006.
★
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
External links
★ http://www.omahazoo.com/
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