Even if you ’ve never put groundwork in New York , you almost for certain know of the Bronx Zoo . open up its doors for the first sentence in 1899 , this sprawling250 - Akko wildlife reservationhas over 4000 different animate being and 650 species . Take a looking at a few thing you might not have bonk about one of the world ’s most famous zoological retreats .
1. IT WAS CO-CREATED BY A TAXIDERMIST.
William Temple Hornaday was working as a taxidermist for the Smithsonian Institution when he noticed that the nation ’s universe of bison was funk . Eager to push preservation efforts , Hornadayused his voicewith the Smithsonian to circularise the word about the threatened species . After a spat with the Institution , he was approached by the New York Zoological Society in 1896 to serve as director of the Bronx Zoo . In doing so , Hornaday helped bring the bison back from the threshold of extinction by transport several of the Zoo ’s bison back out west in 1906 . He remained with the zoo for 30 year .
2. IT ONCE HOUSED TASMANIAN TIGERS.
Thylacines , or Tasmanian Tamil Tigers , were nearing extinction in the early 1900s , but the Bronx Zoo was able-bodied toacquireseveral for expo begin in 1902 . The first live for six years ; the next two , arriving in 1912 and 1916 , lived only a shortsighted clip in incarceration before perishing . The zoo ’s last thylacine was secured in 1917 . The species was thought to have died out in 1936 , but in former 2017 , severaleyewitness accountsof the distinctive animals were reported in Australia . Zoologists are run to determine if the thylacine might still be alive .
3. THEY EXHIBITED A MAN.
In the most untitled chapter in the zoo ’s history , organizers opened an attractor in 1906 that feature a " Mbuti pygmy ” or “ bushman”—an African adult male list Ota Benga . Benga and other tribesmen had beenbrought to Americaby anthropologist Samuel Verner at the behest of organizers of the 1904 St. Louis World ’s Fair so visitors could gawp at them in mock - up villages . When the fairish was over , Karl Adolph Verner brought Benga and others back to Africa : the two struck up a friendship , and Benga reportedly asked to come back to the States . Verner approach the Bronx Zoo with the scene of Benga becoming a fixture : Hornaday agreed to have him hold up on and roam the grounds . Public outrage follow , and Benga was released after just two hebdomad to the forethought of an orphanhood . He commit suicide in 1916 .
4. THE ZOOKEEPERS HAD TO BE TOLD NOT TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE BEARS.
Too much children ’s literature about cuddly bear may have proven disastrous for early zookeepers at the park . In 1919 , Hornaday told theNew York Tribunethat he had to invariably monish his employees not to assay and befriend the gigantic bears domiciliate on the property . Two keeper snub his advice ; both had to be pried from the clutches of the bear and suffer “ severe ” injuries .
5. IT’S HOME TO A REMNANT OF THE ICE AGE.
Not all of the Zoo ’s attractions are feather or furred . The Rocking Stone sits near the World of Darkness showing and packs30 dense tonsinto a establishment standing 7 foot tall and 10 pes broad . The boulder was bear by glaciers in the last Ice Age . The “ rocking ” recording label came from the fact that the stone was so absolutely balanced that it could be move with slight pressure . The Zoo , fearing someone might one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. labour it too far , eventually shored up the root word to keep it on firmer foothold .
6. THEY ONCE SAVED A SPECIES OF TOAD THAT WAS DECLARED EXTINCT.
The kihansi spray toad was in dire circumstances in 2009 : A hydroelectric dekametre in Tanzania had dry out up mists shower a five - acre domain near Kihansi Gorge , the toad ’s only known micro - home ground , and the mintage wasofficially declared extinctin the wild . Fortunately , Tanzanian agency had seen the situation coming and allowed the Bronx Zoo to come in and receive 499 toads to fetch back to America . A portion extend to the Toledo Zoo ; both facility spent nearly a 10 breeding them in a captive assurance population . The Zoos duplicate their home ground while Tanzania make a somberness - operated misting organization that would restore water . more or less 100 anuran were devolve in 2010 as trial run subject ; a full - scale reintroduction followed in 2012 .
7. A COBRA ONCE ESCAPED (AND SIGNED ONTO TWITTER).
fauna escapes have been few and far between at the Zoo . One of the most publicized was the the disappearance of a 20 - column inch venomous Egyptian cobra in 2011 . Zoo officialsweren’t certainhow the reptile break out of her habitat , but matt-up confident she would remain in the building . She did , and was found after a week ’s search . In the lag , someone on Twitter engaged 203,000 followers with the freed snake ’s fictional exploits . It ’s stilltweeting .
8. IT SET AN ORIGAMI ELEPHANT WORLD RECORD.
In 2016 , the Zoo was realise by Guinness World Records as having the largest display collection oforigami elephantsin the public : 78,564 . The showing , which was briefly open to the populace , was think to draw attention to the plight of the creatures and their poaching rival through their96 Elephantscampaign have in mind to stop the trafficking of tusk . The Zoo is down to justthree live elephants , and has vowed not to acquire any more once they drop dead . On August 3 , 2017 , Zoo organizers plan to crush two net ton of ivory in Central Park as part of the awareness crusade .
9. IT HAS PLANS FOR YOUR POOP.
With thousand of everyday visitors , the Bronx Zoo could probably make use of its own sewerage organisation . alternatively , the park unveiled aneco - well-disposed restroomon park reason in 2006 that conquer human thriftlessness and diverts it into compost . The scheme , which use onlysix ouncesof body of water per prime , is estimate to save a million gal of urine a year .
Want to learn more about the Bronx Zoo ? CatchThe Zoo , a infotainment series now airing on Animal Planet . New episodes premiere in February .
