San Francisco Zoo
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| Date opened | 1929 |
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| Location |
San Francisco, California United States |
| Coordinates | 37°43′59″N 122°30′11″W / 37.73306°N 122.50306°WCoordinates: 37°43′59″N 122°30′11″W / 37.73306°N 122.50306°W |
| Land area | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| No. of animals | 1000+ (2015) |
| No. of species | 250+ (2015) |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Major exhibits | African Savanna, Gorilla Preserve, Grizzly Gulch, Primate Discovery Center (Lemur Forest), Cat Kingdom, Penguin Island, Red Panda Treehouse, Insect Zoo |
| Public transit access | 46th Avenue and Wawona (Muni Metro) |
| Website | www |
The San Francisco Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance, once located on the north side across Sloat Boulevard and one block south of the Muni Metro L Taraval line, is now to the west on the ocean side of the zoo off of the Great Highway.
This zoo is the birthplace of Koko the gorilla, and, since 1974, the home of Elly, the oldest black rhinoceros in North America. It houses more than 1000 individual animals representing over 250 species, as of 2016.
Originally named the Fleishhacker Zoo after its founder, banker and San Francisco Parks Commission president Herbert Fleishhacker, planning for construction began in 1929 on the site adjacent to what was once the largest swimming pool in the United States, the Fleishhacker Pool. The area was also already home to a children’s playground, an original (circa 1921) Michael Dentzel/Marcus Illions carousel, and the Mother’s Building, a haven for women and their children. Most of the exhibits were populated with animals transferred from Golden Gate Park, including two zebras, a cape buffalo, five rhesus monkeys, two spider monkeys, and three elephants (Virginia, Marjorie, and Babe).
The first exhibits built in the 1930s cost $3.5 million, which included Monkey Island, Lion House, Elephant House, a small mammal grotto, an aviary, and bear grottos. These spacious, moated enclosures were among the first bar-less exhibits in the country. In 1955, a local San Francisco newspaper purchased Pennie, a baby female Asian elephant, and donated her to the zoo after many children donated their pennies, nickels, and dimes for her purchase.
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Wikipedia