Bronx Zoo, Zoo in The Bronx, US
The Bronx Zoo is a 265-acre zoological park in Bronx Park, New York City, with about 6,000 animals representing roughly 650 species. Its original Beaux-Arts pavilions, Astor Court, group around a circular sea lion pool, and the Bronx River divides the naturalistic habitats.
The park opened in 1899 with 843 animals in 22 exhibits and was among the first large zoos in North America. Over the following decades, the grounds expanded and developed new concepts for naturalistic enclosures.
The zoo is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which began in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society, founded largely by Boone and Crockett Club members Madison Grant and C. Grant LaFarge. Its first director, William Temple Hornaday, served for 30 years. The society's old seal, showing a ram's head and an eagle, still lies on the lawn in the middle of Astor Court.
Visitors purchase their admission tickets online in advance for a specific day, as the number of guests is limited. On warm weekends, an early morning visit is advisable when the animals are still more active.
The Rainey Memorial Gates, designed by sculptor Paul Manship in 1934, honor big-game hunter Paul James Rainey and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The lion atop the gates was modeled on Sultan, a Barbary lion that arrived in 1903 and became one of the zoo's most popular animals.
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