Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, located in Jacksonville, Florida, sits at the mouth of the Trout River, near where it flows into the St. Johns River. The zoo occupies approximately and has over 2,000 animals and 1,000 plant species in its collection. The zoo has grown from its modest beginnings in Springfield to be considered one of the city's premier attractions, with more than one million visits annually.

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' marquee attractions are the Range of the Jaguar, which won the 2005 AZA Exhibit of the year award and the Land of the Tiger, which opened in 2014 and features an innovative walk-through trail system for five tigers. The zoo's other exhibits include the Plains of East Africa, highlighting African savanna animals; the Australian Outback; African Forest, featuring two of the four genera of great apes, as well as several species of lemurs; and Wild Florida, which features animals native to the state.

The zoo is active in animal conservation, participating in more than 50 national and international conservation initiatives and more than 95 Species Survival Plans. In 2004, the zoo reached an agreement with the nation of Guyana to help promote conservation in that country, particularly the Iwokrama Forest. Additionally, since 1999 the zoo has been home to a large breeding colony of wild wood storks. Though not endangered, this bird is a rare find on the North American continent, and has, in this case, taken up permanent residence in a tree overlooking the Plains of Africa.

History

The Municipal Zoo opened in the Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida on May 12, 1914. The first animal on exhibit was a red deer fawn.

On July 19, 1925, the zoo moved to a site on the Trout River off Heckscher Drive in the city's Northside area.

Perhaps the most significant animal in the zoo's history was a jaguar named Zorro. Zorro was a male, wild-born black (melanistic) jaguar that arrived at the zoo in August 1967. At that time, black jaguars were very rare in captivity. During Zorro's 19 years at the zoo (he died in September, 1986), he fathered numerous cubs that were sent to other zoos across North America. In the spring of 2003, the Jax Zoo investigated and could not find a current North American captive-born black jaguar that was not a descendant of Zorro.

By the end of the 1960s, the zoo was reputed to have the largest collection of exotic animals in the Southeast, but it had fallen on hard times and a great deal of money was needed to save the zoo. Community leaders, under the direction of Mayor Hans Tanzler, appointed a seven-member committee to search for an alternative to closing the zoo.

A major redevelopment of the zoo began in 1992. Through a combination of public funds and private donations, over $20 million was raised. Projects completed include a new front entry gate and parking lot, the Main Camp entrance, Birds of the Rift Valley Aviary, Great Apes, an expanded train ride, an elephant and breeding complex, RiverBranch Foundation Animal Medical Center, the PepsiCo Foundation Education Campus, and redevelopment of the Plains of East Africa. Exhibits also include Stingray Bay, Tuxedo Coast, and the Asian bamboo garden and Komodo dragon exhibit.

In December 2003, the zoo's name was officially changed from the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Over the next five years, several new exhibits and services, including the famed Range of the Jaguar, the Savanna Blooms botanical garden, and the Children's Play Park successfully opened to the public. In addition, the zoo has endeavored to become recognized as a botanical garden.

Currently, the zoo sits on of land, over twice its original size on the Trout River location. The zoo houses over 2,400 rare and exotic animals and over 1,500 unique plant species and participates in many preservation and breeding programs to ensure the survival of endangered and threatened species as well as local fauna and flora.

Management and finance

The Jacksonville Zoological Society began managing the zoo on June 21, 1971. Originally consisting of only the seven members appointed by Mayor Tanzler, the society now consists of 85 of the city's most influential leaders. There are currently thirty Board of Trustees members, with sixteen honorary members. The board conducts business regarding the zoo in the name of the society.

The City of Jacksonville contracts with the society to manage all phases of the operation of the zoo. All property, including land, animals and equipment, belong to the city; in turn, the city contributes an annual subsidy to offset some of the zoo's operating expenses. All other zoo expenses are paid through revenues earned from admissions, concession sales, memberships, the Animal Care Club program, the Annual Fund, sponsorships, grants, and fundraising events.

Current exhibits

African exhibits

The northern part of the zoo is dominated by a series of African exhibits.

River Valley Aviary

The aviary opened in April 1996 and houses a mixture of African, South American, and Asia wildlife. The enclosure has over for the birds to fly about and is highlighted by a large waterfall at one end of the exhibit. The aviary features ibises, guineafowl, storks, hammerkops, and other African birds. In late 2008, the zoo began to add Asian animals to the aviary, including a muntjac and a Victoria crowned pigeon. A breeding pair of saddle-billed storks live in the enclosure. The zoo was just the sixth in the US to successfully breed this species.

To the side of the main aviary is the Ruzizi Streambank. A Verreaux's eagle-owl along with other smaller African birds are found there.

''Birds''
*Abdim's stork
*African spoonbill
* Broad-billed roller
*Cape teal
* Hadada ibis
* Hamerkop
*Javan pond heron
*Marbled duck
* Northern bald ibis
*Ruddy duck
* Saddle-billed stork
*Spotted dikkop
*Tawny frogmouth
*Verreaux's eagle-owl
*Violet turaco
* White-faced whistling duck
*Yellow-billed duck
* Yellow-billed stork

Plains of East Africa

The first major exhibit that guests encounter. The exhibit is primarily viewed from an elevated walkway giving guests a bird's eye view of the animals. The exhibit was renovated and expanded in 1996.

Greater flamingoes, warthogs, wattled cranes, and Aldabra giant tortoises are the first animals guests encounter. The zoo was the first in North America to successfully breed southern ground hornbills.

Eastern bongos and yellow-backed duikers are found in a center pen that is spacious and tree-shaded. This exhibit has become a home for a large breeding colony for the highly endangered wood stork, native to Florida.

The cheetah exhibit, a long, wide area is home to two cheetahs. It lies across a water break from the larger exhibit containing southern white rhinoceroses, greater kudu, a North African ostrich and grey crowned cranes inhabit the areas at the end of the boardwalk. This exhibit allows plenty of room for the animals to roam. The zoo has been a successful breeder of southern white rhinos, with over a dozen successful births.

Blue cranes and Grevy's zebras are located farther along the boardwalk.

''Mammals''
*Common warthog
*Cheetah
*Eastern bongo
* Greater kudu
*Grévy's zebra
*Southern white rhinoceros
* Yellow-backed duiker

''Birds''
* Blue crane
*Greater flamingo
* Grey crowned crane
*North African ostrich
*Wattled crane

Elephant Plaza

This offers an intimate view of the zoo's three African elephants in their 275,000-gallon pool. The zoo is one of the few to house male elephants. The male African elephant, Ali, was donated by Michael Jackson in 1997. The other two, Thandi and Sheena, are females. The area features a reptile house with Cape cobras, western green mambas, and a African rock python named Solomon. White-bellied bustards, white-crowned robin-chats, golden-breasted starlings, straw-colored fruit bats, siamangs, and lappet-faced vultures are found in smaller side exhibits.

Further down the boardwalk is ''Mahali Pa Simba'' ("Place of the Lion" in Swahili), the home of the zoo's male lions, Catali and Mshoni, and females, Tamu and Laini. The exhibit was the first to be opened and has evolved over the years. The largest change was the addition of a third viewing area across a moat on the exhibit's north side. The zoo welcomed the birth of three cubs in 2014 to mother Tamu and father Catali.

Amur leopards were housed along the southern end of the boardwalk. The exhibit is highlighted by the gigantic artificial tree in the center of the exhibit that the leopards love to sleep and play on. The zoo successfully bred this rare species in 2010. The zoo's last leopard, Nicolai passed away in November 2020 at the age of 19. Their habitat is now home to yellow-billed storks, African spoonbill

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