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The Famous San Diego Zoo

By: Lucille Linhares

The world famous San Diego Zoo has been at the forefront of zoological issues since its founding in 1916. Coupled with fantastic public relations opportunities and great press coverage, it is no wonder why millions of visitors flock to the zoo each year. Do not miss any opportunity to see the animals that call the zoo home in all natural environments. The zoo strives to create learning opportunities for both children and adults alike in order to enforce the importance of zoos for the protection of animals.

The San Diego Zoo started with the Panama-California International Expedition way back in 1916. Dr. Harry Wegeforth brought animals from all over the world to Balboa Park in San Diego where he wanted to make a permanent zoo. He set up a board of directors consisting of his brother and a standing member of the Natural History Society, and held the first meeting in early October 1916 to discuss the development of the zoo.

In 1920, the San Diego Zoo was finally given a home in Balboa Park and began to move into its new quarters. The natural canyons and mesas of the park proved to be a great place for a zoo that worked within the natural confines to create paddocks and cages. Three years later, the zoo gained two elephants for their collection. Empress and Queenie made the long trek from India to delight visitors to the budding zoo.

1926 saw the adoption of buses as a method of touring the zoo. Experts would man the buses and provide information and facts about the different animals as the bus passed. Also, the buses were used to provide underprivileged children with a way to see the zoo. The zoo began to thrive until the advent of World War II, when attendance plummeted and the board of directors began to wonder if they could keep the park open.

However, this only acted as a small hurdle in the zoo's success. The end of the war brought a throng of visitors in late 1940s and early 1950s and their number steadily rose to two millions a year. The dedicated visitors however were the children of San Diego and adjoining areas. The Children of California simply love their zoo and come in droves be it being part of school trips or afternoon treats.

The San Diego Zoo began to grow in strength during the 1970s and 1980s, especially with animal expert and goodwill ambassador Joan Embery’s appearances of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. These memorable appearances with the king of late night made the zoo more popular than ever, welcoming in more visitors than ever before.

At this time, the zoo made a paradigm shift from a place that shows animals to the public to a place that cares for the welfare and well being of animals all over the world. The zoo began to shift its focus from the visitors to the animals by implementing breeding programs and installing natural habitats.

Today, the San Diego Zoo is a great place to learn about animals from all corners of the globe. Whether you are eight or eighty, everyone is sure to enjoy a trip to the zoo and take home some valuable lessons about the state of our planet and the animals that call earth home.

Article Source: http://www.simplepetcare.com/pet-articles

Lucille Linhares is the owner of F san diego, the best place on the internet for information about san diego, For questions or comments about this article why not visit: www.fsandiego.com/articles
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