San Diego Zoo, Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, United States.
The San Diego Zoo is a large facility in Balboa Park with numerous exhibits and areas designed to look like natural landscapes. The property displays animals from different parts of the world, ranging from mammals and birds to reptiles.
The zoo grew from animals left over after the 1915 Panama–California Exposition. Harry M. Wegeforth founded the Zoological Society of San Diego on October 2, 1916, and a permanent site in Balboa Park was set aside in August 1921. Its first wire-free lion exhibit opened in 1922, and Belle Benchley served as director from 1925 to 1953.
The zoo's name comes from its home in Balboa Park, where it grew from animals left after the 1915 Panama–California Exposition. Its magazine ZooNooz began in 1925, and the first video uploaded to YouTube, "Me at the zoo," was filmed here in 2005.
Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since there is considerable walking involved and the terrain can be hilly. It helps to arrive early in the day when animals are more active and crowds have not yet built up.
The zoo's botanical collection holds over 700,000 exotic plant specimens, including more than 40 bamboo varieties grown to feed the giant pandas and 18 eucalyptus varieties for the koalas. The first video ever uploaded to YouTube, "Me at the zoo", was filmed here in 2005.
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