Niabi Zoo is a public

Zoological Park 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 zool ...

Coal Valley, Illinois The village of Coal Valley is located in both Rock Island County and Henry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census, up from 3,606 in 2000. It is mostly residential, housing families who work in or out of ...

, serving the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

Area. This 40 acre zoo is nestled inside its 287 acre

forest preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. The exploration of this picturesque setting guides guests through the discovery of more than 600 (previously 800) animals representing nearly 200 animal

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 ...

from around the world. Niabi Zoo is open for general admission April–October annually and offers robust education and outreach programs year round. Niabi is one of six facilities owned and operated by the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District.

History

The zoo's name "Niabi" comes from the Native Americans language of the Wazhazhe ( Osage Nation) and means "the fawn spared by the hunter." This meaning gives an insight into human nature and the power of choice. As the choice is made to spare the fawn to preserve it for the future, people are faced with the same choice when it comes to the

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

of species,

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s and global ecosystems. Niabi Zoo was officially founded in 1963 but traces its history back to 1959, when local

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

contractor and animal lover, Gordon V. McLain, opened McLain's Wild Animal Farm to the public. It operated for just four years until Patti S. Wiman (1895–1976) purchased the Wild Animal Farm and some surrounding land in 1963 and deeded it to the

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

Forest Preserve District, which continues to operate the Zoo today. Timeline 1972: The zoo held its first Zoofari Ball fundraiser. 1974:

Petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many genera ...

opened. 1975: Zoo Train opened and was first known as the Mel McKay Express, a 1/3 replica of a Civil War era train. 1984: Education Center was constructed. 1985: Bird House (currently Biodiversity Hall) opened. 1986: Zoo officially established

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

program. 2002: Volunteer program expanded to incorporate teens in its Junior Zoo Keeper Program. 2003: Niabi opened the bald eagle exhibit. 2004: Animal care center for

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

care was built. 2005: Gibbon habitat opened featuring modern zoo design, Australia walk-about constructed, and animal nutrition center was built. 2006: Niabi Zoo received accreditation by

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). 2007: Passport to Africa exhibit opened featuring giraffes and

colobus monkey Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...

s. 2008: Exhibit constructed for critically endangered red wolf. 2011: Zoo Discovery Center for education, administration, and admissions to new entry plaza and pond constructed. 2012: Niabi Zoo lost AZA accreditation. 2015: Coins for Conservation began donating to species conservation projects. 2017: Oceans exhibit opened in Discovery Center gallery, renovations to Biodiversity Hall and Reptile House. Became member of Quad Cities Earth Coalition. 2018: Conservation & Science Speaker Series launched and established conservation partnerships with

Snow Leopard Trust The Snow Leopard Trust is the largest and oldest organization working solely to protect the endangered snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') and its habitat in 12 countries of Central Asia. The trust is a non-profit organization with its headquarters ...

and

Painted Dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

Research Trust. Helped form Bi-State Conservation Action Network (Bi-CAN) with regional partners. 2019: Niabi's conservation education department helped develop field education program for Painted Dog Research Trust in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, Africa and participated in

Whale Shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...

tagging research with Ch’ooj Ajauil in Cancun, Mexico. 2020: Niabi Zoo received accreditation from the Zoological Association of America (ZAA). 2021:

White Rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

exhibit completed and Spineless Wonders

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

exhibit opened in Discovery Center.

Habitats & Feature Animals

Discovery Center: First exhibit upon entry to the Zoo features rotational exhibits which have included Rainforest Trek, Oceans, and Spineless Wonders as well as a

tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Goe ...

habitat. Passport to Africa: Features giraffe habitat with a public feeding platform and giraffe house, primate exhibits with Black-and-white colobus monkeys, Wolf's Guenon and

Allen's swamp monkey The Allen's swamp monkey (''Allenopithecus nigroviridis'') is a species of Old World monkey and the only member of the genus ''Allenopithecus''. Phylogenetically, it is a sister clade to the guenons, but differs in dentition and habits. Allen's ...

s. Giant

aldabra tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchard ...

s can be seen as well. White Rhino: Highlights the extinction threats facing the 5 species of rhinos as well as the adaptions of African rhinos. Features the Southern

white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

. Gibbons: With a large artificial tree and water feature, the

Yellow-cheeked gibbon The yellow-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus gabriellae''), also called the golden-cheeked gibbon, the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, the golden-cheeked crested gibbon, the red-cheeked gibbon, or the buffed-cheeked gibbon, is a species of gibbon native ...

s can be seen swinging from branch to branch. Biodiversity Hall: This biologically diverse collection of species includes Linnaeus's two-toed sloth,

fennec fox The fennec fox (''Vulpes zerda'') is a small crepuscular fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara to the Sinai Peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate heat and ...

es, slender-tailed meerkats, African porcupine,

Seba's short-tailed bat Seba's short-tailed bat (''Carollia perspicillata'') is a common and widespread bat species in the family Phyllostomidae. They are found in Central America, the northern parts of South America, and in the Antilles islands. Description ''C. pe ...

white cockatoo The white cockatoo (''Cacatua alba''), also known as the umbrella cockatoo, is a medium-sized all-white cockatoo endemic to tropical rainforest on islands of Indonesia. When surprised, it extends a large and striking head crest, which has a se ...

Axolotl The axolotl (; from nci, āxōlōtl ), ''Ambystoma mexicanum'', is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. I ...

, a 17 foot long

reticulated python The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its w ...

, and many more. Cats: Discover 3 species of leopards including

Snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

African leopard The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of ...

s, and a highly endangered

Amur leopard The Amur leopard (''Panthera pardus orientalis'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as in 2007, only 19–26 wild leopar ...

. Smaller cats such as Bobcats and

Pallas's cat The Pallas's cat (''Otocolobus manul'', also known as the manul, is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur. Its rounded ears are set low on the sides of the head. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a long bushy tail. It is ...

s are also featured. Reptile House: Includes many species of lizards, tortoises, snakes including the Green anaconda, and Poison dart frogs. Wolf Ridge: Featuring critically endangered red wolves in a forested habitat located behind the Wolf's Paw concession cabin. Domestic Animal Area: Petting Zoo for chickens, Miniature Zebu, miniature zebu cattle, llama, alpacas, sheep, miniature donkeys, and San Clemente goat, San clemente goats. Other animals: Bactrian camel, Zebra, Ostrich, New Guinea singing dog, and many more!

Amenities

Conservation: Guests can contribute to multiple projects for species conservation at the Coins for Conservation kiosk, Rhino donation boxes, on-line donations and attending the Conservation & Science Speaker Series. Education: Niabi Zoo educates to inspire people to take conservation action. Programs include Zoo Camp, classes, field trips, tours, animal encounters, Zoo2U outreach, guest speakers, university instruction, and media appearances. Animal Feeding Experiences: Giraffe, Koi pond, domestic animals, Guinea pigs Rides: Niabi Zoo Express Train, Carousel, Endangered Species Carousel Events: Animal event days (giraffe, snow leopard, endangered species, etc.), Boo at the Zoo Halloween, Pints for Preservation, Dine with the Animals and many more! Other: Playground, picnic areas, pavilions, education center, gift shop, concessions, facility rentals, etc.

Master Plan

In 2018, the zoo released its Strategic planning, master plan for the next six years. Since then, the White rhinoceros, White Rhino exhibit was completed in 2021. African Painted Dogs and Prairie Dogs will be completed in 2022-23.

Financial Support

Niabi Zoo is funded through the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District, Zoo admission, program fees, memberships, grant (money), grants, a small percentage of tax support, as well as donations and fundraising efforts from the Niabi Zoo and Forest Preserves Foundation.

References

External links

* {{authority control Quad Cities Tourist attractions in the Quad Cities Tourist attractions in Rock Island County, Illinois Zoos in Illinois Buildings and structures in Rock Island County, Illinois Protected areas of Rock Island County, Illinois 1959 establishments in Illinois Zoos established in 1963