Oregon Zoo
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The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo west of downtown Portland, Oregon. It is the largest paid attraction in the state of Oregon, with more than 1.3 million visitors yearly.
The zoo was founded in 1887, making it the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi. It got its start through a donation of animals formerly occupying a drug store in downtown Portland. The zoo moved to its present site in 1959. It is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Service District.
The zoo became world famous in 1962 when the Asian elephant Packy was born. He was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in over 40 years and is currently the largest Asian elephant in the United States at 10.5 ft (3.2 m) tall and 13,500 lbs (6,100 kg). A total of 27 more calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo, including 7 sired by Packy.
The zoo has over 1,000 specimens that represent 200 species, 21 of which are endangered. In 2003 it began participation in a California condor recovery program started by San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. The Eagle Canyon exhibit, featuring bald eagles and salmon, was opened in 2004.
It is accessible by U.S. Highway 26 and by Portland's Metropolitan Area Express (MAX), which stops underneath Washington Park at the deepest public transit station in North America.
External link
- Oregon Zoo (http://www.oregonzoo.org/)