The Surprising Turnaround Of The Now World Class L.A. Zoo

The Bronx Zoo in New York, the National Zoo in D.C. and the San Diego Zoo here in Southern California tend to get all the attention when the discussion is about America's greatest zoos, but in the last few years the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens has slowly been turned into one of the great attractions in Los Angeles. Decrepit and deteriorating by the mid-1990s, in recent years the zoo has opened acclaimed exhibits such as the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, the Red Ape Rain Forest, the Winnick Family Children Zoo, the Children's Discovery Center, Campo Gorilla Reserve, Elephants of Asia, and the LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles). Last month saw the grand opening of Rainforest of the Americas, the newest exhibit to open at the Zoo, and the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s 44th Annual Beastly Ball on June 14th will celebrate the Rainforest of the Americas being the tenth and final exhibit of the Zoo’s Phase 1 Master Plan.

The Los Angeles Zoo has been a partner in the California Condor Recovery Program since the 1980s. The program’s primary focus is the captive breeding and reintroduction of California condors to the wild, with the aim of establishing a self-sustaining wild population. The world population of California condors, once as low as 22, has climbed to over 430, with more than half of those birds living in the wild. This remarkable success story is just one area that demonstrates the Zoo’s commitment to conservation, and they currently participate in over 20 conservation projects including the Turtle Survival Alliance, the Golden Lion Tamarin Project, the Madagascar Fauna Group, and the Philippine Spotted Deer Program. Special attention is given to programs that target wild counterparts of animals in the Zoo’s collection.

Most visitors to the Los Angeles Zoo come to see the animals. What is often overlooked is the vital connections between the fauna and the flora and this is where the Botanical Gardens is so important. The plants that provide food, shade, and even entertainment are every bit as vital as the animals, a fact that is as crucial in the wild as it is in the Zoo. The Botanical Gardens, spread throughout zoo grounds, has 15 different collections highlighting over 800 different plant species, with a total of over 7,400 individual plants.