The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 9, Ed. 1, Tuesday, February 3, 2004 Page: 4 of 12
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A Walk on the Wild Side: The Abilene Zoo's Past Present and Future
By Brad Bagby
Managing Editor
The Abilene Zoo has been
one of Abilene's biggest tourist
attractions for many years. Every
year the zoo draws in approxi-
mately 125000 visitors. The zoo's
visitors range from eager children
to elderly visitors introducing
younger generations to the zoo's
animals. Annually the Abilene Zoo
receives crowds of elementary
students from area schools visit-
ing for fieldtrips. Throughout the
thirty-seven years the zoo has
been in operation it has been a
staple to Abilene's tourism. Today
people still talk of the times when
"Henry" the hornbiil kept escap-
ing or make mention of the zoo's
past exhibits. But how did the zoo
get from starting Abilene's park
system to becoming one of the
city's biggest attractions?
The zoo went through a
variety of changes in its history
most notably its location. The
original zoo was built in 1919 and
was located in what is now known
as Oscar Rose Park. During that
time Oscar Rose was known as
Fair Park (due to the land being
bought for the West Texas Fair and
Rodeo) and it was Abilene's first
park. As the number of parks grew in
Abilene a Parks and Recreation
board was established and soon it
was proposed that the zoo should be
moved to a new location for expan-
sion. It wasn't until 1964 that the plan
to build a new zoo with a $772265
budget was approved and the zoo
was built at its present location in
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Pictured is the "Master Plan" of the Abilene Zoo. This plan is
expected to take 10-15 years as it gradually becomes a reality.
Larger map and details available on The Brand Online in the
Spotlight Section of the website.
zoo's gates. At the time of the open- As a result Phil Guitar the rancher
ing the zoo contained 480 specimens who caught "Henry" and his ranch
of 156 species. Throughout the zoo's hand were given a lifetime member-
early years the number of animals ship to the zoo.
grew and some interesting events However it was the zoo's
occurred. One of the most memorable breeding program that brought about
and widely publicized events was the
multiple times that the zoo's original
Abyssinian Ground Hombill escaped.
Nelson Park. After a three vear Deriod "Henry". as he was known-was sPot"
of construction the Abilene Zoological ted several times bV motonsts a few
Gardens was opened on July 2 1968. miles from the Z00' He was finaIV
At the arand ooenina ceremonv of the cau9nt after several failed attemPts-
zoo an Indian Elephant named not bv a zookeePer. 'butby a'rahcher " ' tilde breedihg for both species'Some'
"Connie" pulled apafttheribbomaUhdW-- aaaucu "Clly u" "u'a
much of the zoo's noteworthy history.
The zoo's breeding program really
took of in 1979. In that year a rare
mustached guenon monkey was born
as well as the zoo's first polar bear
cub. These occurrences made the
Abilene Zoo the most southern lati
'dfthe'ttoV firsts include the world's
first breeding of Wirot's Vipers as well
as the first known captive breeding of
Mottled Rock Rattlesnakes and a
very rare birth of Angolan Colobus
Monkeys (Abilene was one of two
zoos breeding the species). In 2002
the zoo had yet another "first" when
the zoo successfully bred for the first
time a Malagasy leaf mimic gecko.
This gecko was the first to hatch from
a second generation captive birth.
Today the zoo is actively
involved in several programs. "We are
involved with SSP which is a Species
Survival Plan which applies to most of
our animals" explained Zoo Director
Jeff Bullock. "One of our biggest pro-
grams involves the Attwatters Prairie
Chicken reintroduction program. They
are from coastal regions and the zoo
is a breeding facility and some get
released back into the wild." Bullock
a former curator of the zoo in Garden
City Kansas came to the Abilene Zoo
in 2000. Bullock also praised the zoo
for staying in business for 37 years
and he noted that the zoo consistently
has more attendance than the actual
population of the city of Abilene which
Bullock said was rare amongst most
zoos.
With the zoo's long and inter-
esting history one may ask "what's
next"? Both zoo visitors and Abilene
citizens will be pleased to know that a
lot is in store for one of Abilene's old-
est and most popular tourist attrac-
tions. In 2001 the Abilene Zoological
Society revealed its "master plan" for
the zoo's future and development. The
plan is expected to take about fifteen
years to complete and will progress
steadily. The first phase of the plan is
the construction of an educational
complex dubbed "New Wonders of
Life" where the zoo hopes to host
special learning tours for some of the
local schools and universities in
Abilene.
PLEASE SEE ZOO ON NEXT PAGE
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The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 9, Ed. 1, Tuesday, February 3, 2004, newspaper, February 3, 2004; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97734/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.