The Red River Zoo is a
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 biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
in
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...
. The zoo's first opened in the spring of 1999. It gained accreditation from 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) in 2006.
History
The zoo currently sits on that was once a farm owned by the George Anderson family, also known as Red River Ranch. Some of the farm buildings were renovated and are used today by the zoo, while others were removed because they were unsafe. Although the original property was flat and had only seven trees, hundreds of additional trees and shrubs were planted and a series of five ponds created to landscape the area.
Animals
The award-winning Red River Zoo is home to over 600 animals representing 89 species, including
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 ...
s.
It also includes a 1928
carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
that was fully restored in 1995 and donated to the zoo by the Diederich family. The zoo features a gray wolf exhibit featuring a family of six wolves. They can be viewed from outside or inside a "trapper's cabin" that has two large viewing windows to observe the wolf family. In 2013, the North American River Otter exhibit opened, featuring an indoor and underwater viewing area.
The zoo specializes in breeding and exhibiting some of the world's rarest cold climate species, having successfully bred red pandas (11 births as of 2012, including two sets of triplets),
Sichuan takin
The Sichuan takin or Tibetan takin (''Budorcas taxicolor tibetana'') is a subspecies of takin (goat-antelope). Listed as a vulnerable species, the Sichuan takin is native to Tibet and the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Xinjiang in the People's ...
,
s,
and Russian Red Tree Squirrels.
The Red River Zoological Society
The Red River Zoo receives no public funds and depends on memberships, admissions, donations, and grants to the
Red River Zoological Society and by its members. The Society was formed in 1993.
Notes
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Zoos in North Dakota
Buildings and structures in Fargo, North Dakota
1999 establishments in North Dakota
Tourist attractions in Fargo, North Dakota
Zoos established in 1999