Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
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The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo (FWCZ) is a 38 acre (150,000 m2) zoo located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1990, the zoo sponsored a project in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia in an attempt to save five species of rare monkeys and apes.
History
The FWCZ can trace its origins to 1952 when 54 acres (220,000 m2) were added to Franke Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana to establish a nature preserve. Local popularity of the preserve led to Fort Wayne officials deciding to build a full-fledged zoo by 1962. The new zoo was to target educating children about animals.
On July 3,1965 the new Fort Wayne Children's Zoo opened on 5.5 acres (22,000 m2) with 18 animal exhibits. In 1976, a major expansion of the zoo was the African veldt attraction, where savannah animals grazed in open fields. A domed Indonesian rainforest exhibit opened in 1995. An Enclosed tiger forest exhibit opened in 1996.
On May 18, 2004 7.5-year-old "Coolah," the only Tasmanian devil to live outside of Australia, died from complications of inoperable cancer. Coolah had drawn international attention to Fort Wayne's zoo after Austalia banned the export of Tasmanian devils after the species became endangered. Over the years, FWCZ was the home for 12 Tasmanian devils, the most of any zoo in the United States.
A striped possum, thought to be one of only six known born in captivity, made its debut at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo on February 23, 2005. The tiny female baby recently emerged from her mother’s pouch in the zoo’s Australia After Dark exhibit. Zoo keepers estimate that she was born sometime in the fall of 2004.
External link
- Official web site (http://www.kidszoo.com/)