This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TravisAF (talk | contribs) at 05:50, 22 July 2009 (added neutrality tag). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:50, 22 July 2009 by TravisAF (talk | contribs) (added neutrality tag)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | 1 Wild Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15206 USA (in Highland Park) |
| Land area | 77 acres (310,000 m) |
| No. of animals | Over 4,000 |
| No. of species | 475 |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Major exhibits | Asian Forest, African Savannah, Tropical Forest, Bears, African Ravine, PPG Aquarium, Water's Edge, Kids Kingdom, Worlds of Discovery |
| Website | http://www.pittsburghzoo.com |
The Pittsburgh Zoo is one of only six major zoo and aquarium combinations in the United States. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Highland Park, the zoo sits on 77 acres (310,000 m) of park land where it exhibits over 4,000 animals representing 475 species, over 70 of which are threatened or endangered. The zoo also participates in 64 Species Survival Plans.
History
The Pittsburgh Zoo opened on June 14, 1898. It added a children's zoo in 1949, and the aquarium center (now the PPG Aquarium) was added in 1967. The PPG Aquarium was the second largest in the country and the only public aquarium in Pennsylvania at the time. This is one of the only zoos with an outdoor elevator and escalator. The elevators were installed in 1898 by the Westinghouse elevator company and were modernized several times in the 1980s. They were modernized by Montgomery the same time the escalators were installed. The elevators were modernized an additional time in 1994 by the Schindler elevator company.
The zoo has added several new features in the last generation, included among these is the Asian Forest (1983), the 16-acre (65,000 m) African Savanna (1987), and the 5-acre (20,000 m) indoor rainforest Tropical Forest(1991), which won many awards when it opened.
Kid's Kingdom
Ever since Kids Kingdom opened its doors to the pint-sized public for the first time on May 27, 1995, parents are actually proud to say their kids act like animals. Don’t miss the Worlds of Discovery exhibits, featuring reptiles and amphibians. Be sure to see the playful antics of our adorable river otters!
That's because the interactive facility is complete with playground equipment that replicates animal motions and behaviors so kids can play like the animals play. Children actually learn something while they romp through Kids Kingdom's penguin slides and naked mole-rat tunnel!
It's also chuck full of hands-on animal experiences, like the walk-through Deer Yard, where kids can actually touch a white-tailed deer. Kids Kingdom also features a walk-through Kangaroo Yard where Australian gray kangaroos get so close, kids can reach out and touch them! There's also a friendly Goat Yard, beaver and otter exhibits and a fabulous sea lion pool featuring several of these playful marine mammals. Children and grown-ups alike can be seen thronging in front the underwater viewing window just to get a glimpse of the sea lions' underwater antics.
Be sure to stop into Worlds of Discovery and venture into the meerkat exhibit through a see-through tunnel. A special bat flyway brings you as close as you'd want to be to 300 of these winged mammals - you'll hear their vocalizations and feel the breeze from their wings as they fly about on the other side of strung wire.
Just imagine the wild antics you and your family can get into at Kids Kingdom! Admission to Kids Kingdom is included in the regular Zoo admission price. So, for less than the price of most movies, you can treat your children to a wild time combined with the priceless beauty of the natural world. And it's all right here in Pittsburgh!
Featured animals include:
(In Kids' Kingdom:)
Beaver (Castor canadensis)
Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Camel (Camelus dromedarius)
Sheep (Ovis aries)
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Matschies Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei)
Llama (Lama glama)
Goat (Capra aegagrus)
Spotted Python (Antaresia maculosa)
(In Worlds of Discovery:)
Aruba Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus)
Bat (Order Chiroptera)
Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius)
Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)
Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Naked Mole-Rat (Heterocephalus glaber)
Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)
Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum)
PPG Aquarium
In June 2000, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium celebrated the grand opening of its newest jewel, a 45,000-square-foot state-of-the-art aquarium. The $17.4 million facility flows with 380,000 gallons of salt and fresh water and houses more than 40 aquatic exhibits. It is Pennsylvania's only public aquarium and makes Pittsburgh one of only six zoos in the country to house a major aquarium. With the theme "Diversity of Water," the PPG Aquarium is home to more than 4,000 aquatic animals from around the world, including penguins, stingrays, jellyfish, an electric eel and thousands of exotic fish. The building includes a classroom for educational programs to help visitors further explore the "mysteries of the deep."
Highlights of the PPG Aquarium include:
Pennsylvania Waters Exhibit - a river exhibit that flows along the front of the new building, with waterfalls descending into a pool of North American fish from the region.
Open Ocean Tank - a two-story, 100,000 gallon tank that combines sharks, fish, and simulated coral to resemble a more diverse and complete ecosystem.
Amazon Rainforest Exhibit - a two-story recreation of a flooded Amazon rainforest, including lush plant life, piranhas and huge South American pacu.
Two Oceans- a cold water marine exhibit featuring a uniquely shaped window that allows visitors to view fish swimming above and alongside them.
Stingray Tunnel - a unique educational exhibit where children can crawl through a clear tunnel to view stingrays swimming above and alongside them.
Featured animals include:
King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
Electric Eel (Electrophorus electricus)
Bull Frog (Rana catesbeiana)
Poison Dart Frog (Genus Dendrobates)
Archer Fish (Toxotes jaculatrix)
Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques)
Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)
Red Bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)
Caribbean Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis)
Giant Pacific Octopus (Genus Enteroctopus)
Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua)
Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
Surniam Toad (Pipa pipa)
Zebra Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo)
African Ravine
What is that chirping noise? It is the four African wild dogs going wild over the cheetah in the space just behind them.
Featured animals include:
African Painted Dog (Lycaon pictus)
Asian Forest
The Asian Forest is where you'll find magnificent wildlife prowling in lush exhibits. It is home to the largest cat species in the world, the Amur tiger, as well as the highly endangered Amur leopard.
Featured animals include:
Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)
Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus)
Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)
Amur (Siberian) Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Tropical Forest
A trip through the Tropical Forest is a trek through the world's rainforests. Home to fascinating primates and beautiful tropical plant life, the Tropical Forest is a glimpse into lands that most of us have only heard about.
Featured animals include:
Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx)
Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya)
White Faced Saki (Pithecia pithecia)
Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra)
Black & White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)
Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
Black and White Colobus Monkey (Colobus satanas)
African Savanna
In the African Savanna, tall grasses sway in the breeze. A panoramic view allows you to see mammoth elephants, tall giraffes, delicate gazelles, and cleverly camouflaged zebras.
Featured animals include:
African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana)
Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
African Lion (Panthera leo)
Grant's Zebra (Equus quagga)
Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama)
Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
Masai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Bears
Stop by the rocky bear exhibits and see for yourself why these burly mammals are among visitors' favorite animals! Here, you'll be amazed at the mammoth size of the Kodiak bears, view native black bears up-close, and see how the spectacled bear of South America got its name.
Featured animals include:
Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Kodiak Bear (Ursus arctos)
Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Water's Edge
When Water's Edge is completed this spring, sea otters and walruses will join the polar bears in Pier Town, a replica of a coastal fishing village. The exhibit will provide visitors with cultural and conservation messages through interactive props such as a seafood market, a cannery, a fishing boat, and a utility company. Designed to be inspiring and thrilling, Water's Edge will bring visitors and animals together for up-close and personal encounters. Amid all of the fun, visitors will learn about the importance of balance between man and nature.
Featured animals include:
Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Breeding achievements
On September 12, 1999, one of the Zoo's female African elephants, Moja, successfully gave birth to a female calf, later named Victoria. This was a major feat for the Zoo, because Victoria was the first African elephant to be born and survive in North America since 1982. Also, she was the first to be born to a captive-born mother. A second calf, a male named Callee, was born to another female named Savannah almost exactly one year later on September 19, 2000. The father of both of these calves is a bull named Jackson, who is currently the only male African breeding naturally in North America. Both Moja and Savannah became pregnant again in 2006. On July 9, 2008 Savannah gave birth to a female calf named Angelina. Moja gave birth to a female as well on July 25, 2008. This calf has been named Zuri.
Recently, on August 8, 2006 the Zoo's female Amur tiger, Toma, gave birth to a litter of three cubs. This is also a major accomplishment because Amurs are critically endangered, and every successful litter counts a great deal. Although one of the cubs died of a heart defect in September, the other two are healthy and doing well; their future looks very bright. The surviving cubs are a male named Petya and a female named Mara.
Another Amur tiger cub was born to Toma on May 11, 2008. The male cub had been taken from his mother because Toma was not being very attentive to him. Handlers later determined that it is most likely because Toma is not producing enough milk, if any at all. On September 12, 2008 the baby cub was named after Billy Ray Cyrus, the famous Country music, and television star. Zoo representatives said the donors who paid to name the cub “Billy Ray” wanted to honor a late family member who was a big Cyrus fan.
Billy Ray will likely grow up to be about 11-feet-long and weigh 450 pounds, according to the zoo.
Accidental deaths and injuries
On November 19, 2002, elephant keeper Mike Gatti was killed by one of the zoo's elephants. Gatti, 46, was killed while attempting to encourage the elephant to move to a different part of her enclosure. She butted him with her head, crushing him against the ground and killing him instantly. This was the first instance of a human fatality at the zoo.
Future projects
References
- ^ Belser, Ann, and Marylynne Pitz. "Elephant kills keeper at Pittsburgh zoo", the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, published November 19, 2002, accessed December 26, 2007.
External links
| Zoos, aquariums, and aviaries | |
|---|---|
| Types of zoos | |
| Conservation | |
| Lists | |
| Related | |
40°29′02″N 79°55′05″W / 40.484°N 79.918°W / 40.484; -79.918
Categories: