Brandywine Zoo
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Brandywine Zoo is a small
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
that opened in 1905 in Brandywine Park in Wilmington,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, United States. It is located on the banks of the
Brandywine River Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydr ...
. The zoo is managed by the
Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) of the state of Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
and supported by the Delaware Zoological Society. It is usually open daily, 10AM – 4PM, weather permitting. The Brandywine Zoo has been a member of the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...
(AZA) since 1981.


History

In March 1883, the Delaware State Legislature passed a law forming the Wilmington Board of Park Commissioners. Ten unpaid men were appointed to the board to plan and build Wilmington parks. Eventually their effort yielded Brandywine, Rockford and Canby parks. The commissioners hired
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
, the famous landscape architect to find the best places to house these parks. He suggested the city purchase land on both sides of the
Brandywine River Brandywine Creek (also called the Brandywine River) is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine (the main stem) is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydr ...
. Right across the river from where the current zoo is located lived an Irishman named Archibald Rowan. He made the first printed cloth in Delaware. On the land where the zoo now stands, there was a public amphitheater where people would go to hear famous orators of their time. Among them were
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...
, John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay. It is even said that
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
mustered his troops on the field above the zoo near the Washington Street Bridge during the American Revolution. In 1904, Dr. James H. Morgan came to the Board of Park Commissioners with the idea of starting a zoo in Wilmington. He was able to donate some animals if the commission would pay for the shelters and fences. The boundaries of the zoo were very different from today. The main area of the zoo was the area of the old bear pit (across from the current Andean condor exhibit) and the Exotic Animal House, and extended down the river. Ducks and geese, Belgian hares, a sea turtle, and a sea gull were among the original collection. The residential area behind the zoo was considered Washington Heights and its civic association helped to manage the zoo. In 1905, the organization changed its name to the Wilmington Free Zoological Association, and the Wilmington Zoo was born. Many animals came and went from the zoo family. Between 1921 and 1928, the zoo had donations of eleven elk, three buffalo, two eagles, five monkeys, goats, two black bears, ducks, parrots, two raccoons, one groundhog, and three alligators. In 1928, the old bear pit was filled in and three new bear cages were built. They still stand today in the Main Zoo, next to the Administration Building. During this time, the comfort station (Exotic Animal House) was changed into a monkey house with big wire cages housing mangabees, macaques and squirrel monkeys among others. The next big change happened in 1950 when the society decided to build a children's zoo. The children's area was to be built on a storybook theme with aquariums, little houses and a bird sanctuary. R.R. Carpenter raised funds by donating the profits from family night at the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball game. Ground was broken in 1952. The Wilmington
Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...
was also a major fund-raiser on the project. There were eleven little buildings, each centering on a different
Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...
character. All of the exhibits were brightly painted and housed farm animals donated each spring by area farmers. This area was located up in the far section of the zoo where the capybara and otters are now kept. In the first year of the Children's Zoo there were 46,000 visitors. The themed section survived until the late 1970s in its original fashion. By 1963, the main zoo had fallen into disrepair and was forced to close while the Children's Zoo remained open. In 1971
New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...
took over the zoo and hired Hans Rosenberg as zoo supervisor. He added to the zoo's collection but kept the Monkey House closed to the public even though animals were still housed there. In 1979, Tom Skeldon took Hans Rosenberg's place and developed the Delaware Zoological Society. During this time the Administration Building with offices and a kitchen were built. The tiger exhibit was built where an old duck pond had been. Nancy Falasco became zoo director in 1981. She originally joined the zoo staff in 1978 as zoo curator. She served almost 37 years at the Brandywine Zoo through to her retirement in April 2013. A new master plan was conceived and put into action. The old Children's Zoo facades were torn down and new exhibits were developed. A North and South American and Temperate Asian theme was adopted. Capital improvements continued with the construction of the river otter exhibit, a new animal hospital, expansion of the tiger exhibit, new entranceway, and new restrooms. Improvements continued to be made. The Brandywine Zoo marked its 100th anniversary in 2005. Many generations of the regional community celebrated by revisiting the zoo and sharing sentiments of their affection for the animals and the importance of the Brandywine Zoo in their formative years for introducing them to the role that people have in species survival and environmental conservation


The zoo today

Today, the Brandywine Zoo covers of land along the Brandywine River and features animals from the Americas, temperate and tropical Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Additionally, the Brandywine Zoo runs with the help of numerous volunteers and docents. In any given year, the zoo has about 50 to 70 community volunteers serving in the education department, animal care, maintenance, as general guides, assisting in research programs, and contributing professional services. Bald eagles are once again exhibited at the zoo. Two female eagles that were injured in the wild came to the zoo in early 2014. The zoo also exhibited red pandas for the first time beginning in the summer of 2014. The Brandywine Zoo is part of the Delaware State Parks and is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation with the support of the Delaware Zoological Society. The zoo has, on average, 60,000 visitors a year.


Delaware Zoological Society

The Delaware Zoological Society is the non-profit membership organization that supports the mission of the zoo. Members of the Brandywine Zoo become members of this organization. Contributions support the conservation education programs and overall mission of the zoo. Many local citizens are active volunteers of the Delaware Zoological Society and some serve as the board of directors. The leaders of the organization work closely with zoo management and volunteer time and expertise in service to the zoo.


Animal history

In 2011, the Brandywine Zoo acquired an
Amur tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies '' Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabi ...
named Zhanna from the St. Louis Zoo. Zhanna was transferred to the
Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...
in January 2017 per the AZA's
Species Survival Plan The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the ...
. The zoo has Andean condors, a variety of felines such as bobcat and serval, red panda, capybara, bald eagles, and more. Some tropical animals are not on exhibit in the winter.


Animals

This facility is home to a variety of
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...
, birds, reptiles and amphibians. They also exhibit the world's largest rodent: the capybara. The current list of animals include: *
American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...
*
Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...
* Bald eagle *
Bearded dragon ''Pogona'' is a genus of reptiles containing six lizard species which are often known by the common name bearded dragons. The name "bearded dragon" refers to the underside of the throat (or "beard") of the lizard, which can turn black and gain we ...
* Black-crowned night heron * Black-headed caique * Blood python *
Blue-and-yellow macaw The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...
*
Blue-tongued skink Blue-tongued skinks comprise the Australasian genus ''Tiliqua'', which contains some of the largest members of the skink family (Scincidae). They are commonly called blue-tongued lizards or simply blue-tongues or blueys in Australia. As suggeste ...
*
Burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...
* Capybara * Chinchilla *
Cinnamon teal The cinnamon teal (''Spatula cyanoptera'') is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds ...
duck * Ferret * Flemish Giant rabbit *Florida bobcat *
Golden lion tamarin The golden lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus rosalia'', pt, mico-leão-dourado , ), also known as the golden marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion t ...
*
Greater rhea The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní and Spanish). One of two sp ...
*Honduran
milk snake The milk snake or milksnake (''Lampropeltis triangulum''), is a species of kingsnake; 24 subspecies are currently recognized. ''Lampropeltis elapsoides'', the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies (''L. t. elapsoides'') ...
*Honey bees *
Hooded merganser The hooded merganser (''Lophodytes cucullatus'') is a species of merganser. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Lophodytes''. The genus name derives from the Greek language: ''lophos'' meaning 'crest', and ''dutes'' meaning 'diver'. The ...
*
Llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
*
Madagascar hissing cockroach The Madagascar hissing cockroach (''Gromphadorhina portentosa''), also known as the hissing cockroach or simply hisser, is one of the largest species of cockroach, reaching at maturity. They are native to the island of Madagascar, which is off ...
*Mandarin
rat snake Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They are medium to large constrictors and are found throughout much of the Northern Hemi ...
*
North American porcupine The North American porcupine (''Erethizon dorsatum''), also known as the Canadian porcupine, is a large quill-covered rodent in the New World porcupine family. It is the second largest rodent in North America, after the North American beaver ('' ...
*
Prehensile-tailed porcupine The prehensile-tailed porcupines or coendous (genus ''Coendou'') are found in Central and South America. Two other formerly recognized Neotropical tree porcupine genera, ''Echinoprocta'' and ''Sphiggurus'', have been subsumed into ''Coendou'', si ...
*
Pygmy goat The American Pygmy is an American breed of achondroplastic goat. It is small, compact and stockily built. Like the Nigerian Dwarf, it derives from the West African Dwarf group of breeds of West Africa. Between 1930 and 1960, animals of this ty ...
*
Rainbow boa The rainbow boa (''Epicrates cenchria'') is a boa species endemic to Central and South America. A semi-arboreal species (not only do they climb in they wild but also proven in captivity), it is known for its attractive iridescent/holographic ...
*
Red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...
* Ringed teal duck * Rose haired tarantula *
Sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...
*
Serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in ran ...
*
Swift fox The swift fox (''Vulpes velox'') is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. It also lives in southern M ...
*
Uromastyx ''Uromastyx'' is a genus of African and Asian agamid lizards, the member species of which are commonly called spiny-tailed lizards, uromastyces, mastigures, or dabb lizards. Lizards in the genus ''Uromastyx'' are primarily herbivorous, but occa ...
*
Wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A ty ...


Conservation

The Brandywine Zoo participates in a variety of projects to promote conservation both in Delaware and abroad. They founded the Delaware Kestrel Partnership, a project working to research endangered American kestrel populations in Delaware since 2014, that works in conjunction with the American Kestrel Partnership, Delaware Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Nature Society, Delmarva Ornithological Society, Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Delaware State Parks, and multiple public and private landowners. Additionally, the zoo researches wildlife in Delaware through its Urban Wildlife Monitoring Program, a project in partnership with the
Lincoln Park Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo, also known as Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens, is a zoo in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it the fourth oldest zoo in North America. It is also one of a few free admission zoos in the Unit ...
's Urban Wildlife Institute. The zoo also supports other conservation projects that research and protect wildlife and habitat that including golden lion tamarins, Andean condors, African Vulture SAFE, Paso Pacifico, and local wildlife rehabilitators, among others. In addition, they work closely with other local and state organizations to promote wildfire conservation in the state and region.


References


External links

* {{authority control 1905 establishments in Delaware Zoos in Delaware Buildings and structures in Wilmington, Delaware Tourist attractions in Wilmington, Delaware