Lake Superior Zoo (Duluth Zoo)
Creator:
Lake Superior Zoo
Bibliography
Lake Superior Zoo. The History of the Lake Superior Zoo.
http://www.lszooduluth.org/about-the-zoo/zoo-history/
"Lake Superior Zoo History Presentation." YouTube video, 4:00. Posted by Lake Superior Zoo, May 28, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRTstln07kU
Lake Superior Zoological Gardens History Project, 2010.
Lake Superior Zoo, Duluth, Minnesota
Chronology
1900
The City of Duluth begins to develop Fairmount Park.
1923
Bert Onsgard opens the Duluth Zoo with Billy the white-tailed deer as its first animal.
1930
Bessie the elephant takes up residence in the newly completed Elephant House, built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
1931
The zoo's two-story main building is completed. It houses primates and large cats.
1940
The zoo's bear den, another WPA project, is completed.
1946
The zoo receives the donation of a Himalayan black bear known as Valerie.
1959
The Arrowhead Zoological Society is formed and begins a zoo membership program. The City of Duluth begins to charge admission to the Duluth Zoo.
1963
Mr. Magoo, a mongoose who had arrived at the zoo with a merchant seaman a year earlier and was sentenced to euthanasia by the US government as an illegal alien species, is granted a presidential pardon by John F. Kennedy.
1980s
Improvements at the zoo following the release of Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) guidelines improve the living conditions of the zoo's animals and emphasize animal conservation programming.
1985
The zoo is awarded its first Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accreditation.
1990
The zoo acquires two polar bears: Bubba and Berlin.
2009
The City of Duluth turns over management of the zoo to the Lake Superior Zoological Society on March 1.
June 20, 2012
Nine inches of rain cause serious flooding in the zoo, killing fourteen animals and displacing polar bears, harbor seals, and river otters.
July 13, 2012
The zoo reopens after flood damage is repaired.
2016
The City of Duluth and Lake Superior Zoological Society work together to create a new master plan for the zoo.
Bibliography
Lake Superior Zoo. The History of the Lake Superior Zoo.
http://www.lszooduluth.org/about-the-zoo/zoo-history/
"Lake Superior Zoo History Presentation." YouTube video, 4:00. Posted by Lake Superior Zoo, May 28, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRTstln07kU
Lake Superior Zoological Gardens History Project, 2010.
Lake Superior Zoo, Duluth, Minnesota