Miller Park Zoo

Miller Park Zoo is a zoo located in Miller Park; a public park in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. It is administered by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Bloomington.[2]

For other uses, see Miller Park (disambiguation).
Miller Park Zoo
LocationBloomington, Illinois
Coordinates40.4690°N 89.0055°W / 40.4690; -89.0055
MembershipsAZA[1]
Website4.17.232.139/parks/Miller-Park-Zoo/about-the-zoo.htm

History

The first city money was spent for the care of animals in Miller Park in 1891. Although there was at least one deer, there is no definite list of the animals that the first payment supported.

The zoo was started when a circus lion cub ended up on a farmer's farm around 1900, and was eventually given to the city of Bloomington. The lion, later named "Big Jim" died on March 26, 1912. After Big Jim's death, funds were raised to construct the Koetthoefer Animal Building by Bloomington architect A. L. Pillsbury. Ground was broken in 1913, and the building was opened to the public in 1914.

The first real expansion of the zoo was in 1960 with the construction of the Woodland Wing, which at one time housed two sea lions. In the mid-1970s, the Woodland Wing became the Tropical Rainforest Exhibit, the Animal Building was updated, and the sea lion/otter pools were built.

The Entrance Building/Education Center was opened in 1992, the wolf exhibit in 1993, Wallaby Walkabout in 1994, the bald eagle exhibit in 1995, Animals of Asia in 1996, Zoolab in 1999, the Children's Zoo Complex in 2001, and the Tropical Rainforest Exhibit in 2004. These additions more than doubled the size of the zoo.

Over the years, the zoo has seen a very wide variety of animals. There have been chimps, lions, a polar bear, moose, mountain lions, black bears, penguins, an elephant, bison, gray wolves, alligators, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys, bats, foxes, North American porcupine, raccoons, and many other species.

Exhibits

Tropical America Rainforest - saki monkeys, scarlet ibis, troupial, saffron finches, brown basilisk, two-toed sloth, coatimundi, callimico monkeys, agouti, boa and more

Tortoise exhibit - Galapagos tortoise, African spurred tortoise

Singing dogs - New Guinea singing dog

Birds of North America - bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, burrowing owl

Wolf exhibit - red wolf

ZooLab - tarantula, meerkat, parrot, degu, desert pupfish, walking sticks, and giant cockroaches

Katthoefer Animal Building - rainbow boa, tamarin, genet, Sumatran tiger, sun bear, and amur leopards (tiger, bear, and leopard feedings at 4:00 pm)[2]

River otters - river otters (feedings at 10:30 am and 3:00 pm)[2]

Junior Zookeepers (JZK)

The Junior Zoo Keeper program began in 1972, and at first was open to students starting in the second grade. Currently the Junior Zookeeper Program provides junior and senior high school students an opportunity to learn about animals and the ways that zoos work. The program starts with classroom training, and students can eventually become volunteers at the zoo. For advanced Junior Zookeepers there are educational activities from October through April, and the students then volunteer over the summer. Students can start in the program once they enter fifth grade, and can continue in the program through the summer after they graduate from high school.[3]

The future

There are currently plans to make major renovations on the Animal Building to bring it up to date, and also to redesign the ZooLab in order to create a new guest experience.

Notes
  1. "Currently Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. AZA. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  2. "Miller Park Zoo". cityblm.org. City of Bloomington. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  3. "Junior Zookeeper Program". cityblm.org. City of Bloomington. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
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