And its history

1. And its history

2. Circus or Zoo? • The Early Days - 1889-1950 • Atlanta’s oldest cultural attraction began the day a circus came to town – and never left. • In March 1889, a traveling show bound for Marietta, Ga., stalled just south of its destination when cash flow problems forced its owner into bankruptcy. • The animals were left in their cages by uncaring circus employees, the animals began to draw crowds of curious onlookers. Two weeks later, businessman George Valentine Gress purchased the collection at public auction and donated the animals to the city of Atlanta. • City leaders relocated them to beautiful Grant Park, a favorite local picnic area. The animals were a jaguar, a hyena, a black bear, a raccoon, an elk, a gazelle, a Mexican hog, lionesses, pumas, camels and snake. Atlanta’s first zoological venue opened to the public that April.

3. Community loves the zoo! • People of Atlanta loved having the animals and taking their family to see them. • More people began donating money and animals. • The largest purchase made was Clio, the Zoo’s first elephant, in 1890.

4. The neighbor smells…… • Asa G. Candler, Jr. had accumulated an impressively large variety of animals that he kept on his estate on Briarcliff Road. The community thought his animals were in the wrong place and they didn’t love all of the smells they produced. • In 1935, the park swelled with the arrival of the entire Briarcliff Road collection, which included elephants, leopards, water buffalo, elk, zebra, birds, a hyena and a sea lion, not to mention Jimmie Walker, Candler’s tiger and Grant Park’s first.

5. Willie B. • The arrival of one of the Zoo’s most beloved animals was an infant gorilla that joined the collection in 1961. • He was named for Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield. • The gorilla’s nickname became “Willie B.” • Died in 2000 • Willie B. had a grandchild named Kudzoo

6. Problems the zoo faced: • The zoo was free to everyone who wanted to come and visit the animals. • The community decided to charge people to come and see the animals so they could have money to feed the animals and give them a nice home. • They build new homes for the animals and became one of the top zoos to visit.

7. 1999 Brings in Black and White • The pandas were brought to the zoo in 1999. • They were a big attraction that brought many people to the zoo to visit. • Important relationships both in China and in the United States brought the giant pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang to Zoo Atlanta. • There are only 2 other zoos that have giant pandas.

8. Helpful Links • Home Page • Zoo Animals • Zoo History • Zoo Plants