Erie Zoo, Municipal zoo in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Erie Zoo is a zoo set within Glenwood Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, covering roughly 15 acres and housing around 400 animals alongside 11 botanical gardens. The grounds combine animal habitats with plant displays, making it a combined wildlife and garden space.
The zoo opened in 1924 with a single elephant named Tom-Boy as its first resident. Over the following decades, donations including a large gift from the Robert Evans estate helped it grow into the regional institution it is today.
The zoo sits inside Glenwood Park, and its layout follows a series of habitat zones where animals move and behave as they would in the wild. Watching a snow leopard pace along a rocky ridge or seeing river otters dive in clear water gives visitors a real sense of how these animals live.
The zoo is open from March through November, so a visit outside those months is not possible. The grounds are explored entirely on foot, so comfortable walking shoes make a real difference.
In 2024, its centennial year, the zoo received a grant of 2 million dollars to build a dedicated veterinary center on the grounds. This will be the first time the zoo has its own on-site medical facility built specifically for animal care.
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