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In 2002, the zoo became a certified botanical garden, and the official name of the institution was changed to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Exhibits and attractions Botanical Gardens In 2016, Killarney the koala was killed by P-22, the cougar that lived in Griffith Park. It was struck by a car approximately three hours later and subsequently died. In 2014, a bighorn sheep escaped from its enclosure, and ultimately the zoo itself. It is unclear whether Virginia was ever recaptured. At one time she eluded capture for a month by hiding in Griffith Park. In 1979, Virginia, a wolf, escaped the zoo multiple times by ascending trees, climbing fences, and walking along branches until she could escape. Part of the problem was that the gorilla habitat was originally intended to house bears this was alleviated by the opening of a specially designed Campo Gorilla Reserve in 2007. In a prior incident, she hopped on the back of another gorilla, Jim, to make her escape (Jim had also previously escaped).
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She then had full run of the zoo for an hour as TV-news copters hovered overhead and visitors were evacuated before she was tranquilized. In one widely covered incident, she used some overgrown vines to pull herself out of her exhibit. Įvelyn, the gorilla, escaped her enclosure approximately five times. Escapes Ī particular spate of escapes took place during the late 1990s and early 2000s when, in half a decade, at least 35 animals escaped the zoo including zebras, chimps, kangaroos and antelopes. It is reexamining its policy of how it introduces baby chimpanzees to the tribe. Gracie was allowed to keep her baby overnight to grieve, and counseling was being offered to staff (none had witnessed the event), and to the visitors who had seen the event.
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The zoo said this event was totally unexpected, although it also stated that acts of aggression by male chimpanzees (toward humans, or toward a rival male chimpanzee over territory or a desired female) are always a possibility. On June 26, 2012, a chimpanzee infant baby, born to Gracie, a member of a 15-chimpanzee tribe (one of the largest chimpanzee tribes of any North American zoo), was mauled to death by an adult male chimpanzee. In 1998, the zoo opened Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, followed by Red Ape RainForest in 2000, the Komodo Dragon Exhibit, the Winnick Family Children Zoo in 2001, the Entry Plaza, Children's Discovery Center and Sea Lion Cliffs (now Sea Life Cliffs) in 2005, Campo Gorilla Reserve in November 2007, Elephants of Asia in the winter of 2010, and the LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles) in 2012. The number of species exhibited has been reduced from 400 in 1993 to around 280, coinciding with construction of larger naturalistic enclosures holding animals in bigger groups. The zoo nearly lost its accreditation in 1995 because of numerous health and safety violation it rebounded under a new director. The next day, city officials passed a $300 million master plan that had been recently drafted to deal with the infrastructure problems and inadequate exhibits. In January 1992, a ten-inch water pipe burst, leaving half of the zoo without water. īy the early 1990s, the zoo's infrastructure was deteriorating. The zoo opened in its present location on November 28, 1966. The site of the current zoo was formerly the location of Rodger Young Village, which was itself built on the land which had been used for the Griffith Park Aerodrome. The second zoo, Griffith Park Zoo, opened in 1912 and was located about two miles (3.2 km) south of the current zoo site until it was closed in August 1966. The first zoo, called Eastlake Zoo, opened in Eastlake Park (renamed Lincoln Park in 1917) in 1885. The city of Los Angeles owns the zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals. The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a 133-acre (54 ha) zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles, California, United States Ĭampo Gorilla Reserve, Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Red Ape Rainforest, Sea Life Cliffs, Elephants of Asia, The LAIR
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