The Detroit Zoo is located in the cities of Huntington Woods and Royal Oak in the state of Michigan, United States. It covers 125 acres (50.6 hectares) and is home to over 2,000 animals from more than 200 different species. The zoo was the first in the United States to have habitats without bars. It is seen as a global leader in animal care, conservation, and sustainability by the Detroit Zoological Society.

History

The original Detroit Zoo opened in 1883 on Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, across from Tiger Stadium. William Cameron Coup’s circus arrived in town but had to be sold because of financial problems. Luther Beecher, a local businessman, bought the circus’s animals and built a structure to display them, which he called the Detroit Zoological Garden. This version of the Zoo closed the next year, and the building was later used as a horse auction site (the Michigan Avenue Horse Exchange).

The Detroit Zoological Society was founded in 1911, but the Zoo officially opened on August 1, 1928. During the opening ceremony, acting Mayor John C. Nagel was to speak but arrived late and parked his car behind the bear exhibits. As he left his car, a polar bear in one of the original “barrier-less” enclosures tried to jump at the mayor, nearly crossing the protective moat around its exhibit. Nagel raised his hand and joked, “He’s the reception committee.” The zookeepers quickly stopped the bear, and the mayor was unharmed.

By 1930, the zoo included the Bear Dens, Sheep Rocks, the Bird House, an elk exhibit, Baboon Rock, and Primate and Reptile Houses. The Great Depression stopped further expansion until the 1940s. During this time, a chimpanzee named Jo Mendi became a popular attraction. He performed acts like counting his fingers, dressing, and drinking tea. When Jo fell ill in 1932 after eating a penny thrown by a guest, doctors from local hospitals examined him. Visitors sent toys, peanuts, and over $500 worth of flowers and letters to support him. Jo died in 1934 from hoof and mouth disease.

In 1939, the Horace Rackham Memorial Fountain, also called “the Bear Fountain,” was created with a donation from Mary Rackham. The fountain is used as a splash pad in summer and an ice rink in winter.

From the 1950s through the early 1970s, local weatherman Sonny Eliot hosted a TV program called At The Zoo on Detroit station WDIV.

In 1950, the zoo hired Thomas (Fred) Roberts, a senior floriculturist and expert on dahlias. His gardens, especially the dahlia exhibit near the Rackham Memorial Fountain, attracted visitors nationwide. Sonny Eliot interviewed Roberts on At The Zoo. Roberts stayed at the zoo until 1978, and his garden designs were maintained through the 1980s.

Until 1982, trained chimpanzees performed for visitors, but the act ended due to pressure from animal rights activists. In 1982, the zoo began charging admission fees.

The Arctic Ring of Life, one of North America’s largest polar bear habitats, opened in 2001. It features a 300,000-gallon aquarium and a 70-foot underwater tunnel made of clear acrylic for viewing polar bears. Other additions include the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex (2004) and the Ford Education Center (2005), which offers programs, a theater, and exhibit space.

In 2005, the zoo became the first in the U.S. to stop keeping elephants for ethical reasons, citing harsh Michigan winters and stress from confinement. The elephants, Wanda and Winky, were moved to a sanctuary in California. Winky died in 2008, and Wanda died in 2015. Their former exhibit now houses two white rhinoceroses, Jasiri and Tamba.

The Australian Outback Adventure, opened in 2006, allows visitors to walk through a simulated Outback habitat with red kangaroos and red-necked wallabies. No barriers separate visitors from the animals, who can hop freely onto the path.

On February 18, 2006, the Detroit City Council voted to close the Zoo due to budget cuts, unable to reach an agreement with the Society. After public outcry, the Council voted on March 1, 2006, to transfer operations to the Society with a $4 million grant from the state. The city kept ownership of the zoo and other assets, while the Society managed operations and fundraising. In 2008, voters in three counties approved a zoo tax to provide long-term funding.

In 2009, the Penguinarium was temporarily renamed the “Winguinarium” during the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 2011, the lions’ enclosure was expanded, offering more space, new landscaping, and a glass wall for closer interactions with visitors. The Zoo also includes the Simulator Ride, a 4-D Theater, the Tauber Family Railroad, and a carousel.

In 2013, the zoo received its largest donation ($10 million) and announced plans for the Polk Penguin Conservation Center, which opened in 2016. The center replaced the Penguinarium (built in 1968) and became the world’s largest penguin research facility. The Penguinarium will be used for events.

In 2017, a biodigester was installed to convert manure and food waste into methane, which powers the zoo’s animal hospital.

On July 6, 2019, the Zoo celebrated the birth of Keti, a red panda cub, born after a 4-month gestation period.

In September 2019, the Penguin Center closed for repairs, and the penguins were moved back to the original Penguinarium until the Polk Center reopened in February 2022 after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The center now houses five penguin species: King, Macaroni, Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Rockhopper.

Habitats

The National Amphibian Conservation Center is a $7 million facility covering 12,000 square feet. It is located on a two-acre wetland and pond area in Michigan called "Amphibiville." The Center opened in June 2000 and is home to a variety of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians. The Wall Street Journal called it "Disneyland for toads." The Center helps with research and conservation for species like the Panamanian golden frog, Puerto Rican crested toad, and Wyoming toad.

In 2002, the Zoo received the AZA National Exhibit Award for Amphibiville.

The 4-acre Arctic Ring of Life opened in October 2001 and is home to three polar bears and two southern sea otters. It is one of the largest polar bear habitats in North American zoos. In 2003, the Zoo was awarded the AZA Significant Achievement Award for the Arctic Ring of Life.

Mimicking a Michigan ecosystem, a 1.7-acre pond and wetlands area, along with a 7,200-square-foot boardwalk, are home to native fish, frogs, turtles, birds, and trumpeter swans. The boardwalk is made mostly from recycled plastic bags and old wood. This area is surrounded by Amphibiville, the Warchol Beaver Habitat, the Edward Mardigian Sr. River Otter Habitat, and the Holden Reptile Conservation Center.

A $102,350 grant from NOAA supports using the Wetlands as a professional development and outdoor classroom for teachers and students who are underrepresented in science.

The Cotton Family Wolf Wilderness is a $1.4 million two-acre sanctuary featuring native meadows, trees, a stream, pond, dens, and rock formations for two gray wolves. The habitat includes a restored historic log cabin that was already on the property.

Guests can feed reticulated giraffes from an 18-foot-tall platform that extends into their habitat in the Giraffe Encounter. This experience, which began in July 2007, is open Tuesday through Sunday during spring and fall. It requires an additional fee.

The Great Apes of Harambee is a 4-acre indoor/outdoor habitat for chimpanzees and western lowland gorillas. The animals may move between habitats, mimicking how they move in the wild.

Opened in 1960 as the Holden Museum of Living Reptiles, the Holden Reptile Conservation Center is home to 150 reptiles from 70 species. Forty-five percent of these species are at risk in the wild.

The Edward Mardigian Sr. River Otter Habitat is home to North American river otters and includes a 9,000-gallon pool with a waterfall and waterslide. The pool is enclosed on one side by a glass wall, with an observation building on the other side. This setup allows visitors, including young children, to see the otters at eye level.

The Polk Penguin Conservation Center (PPCC), opened in April 2016, is the world’s largest penguin center. It won the 2017 Exhibit Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for its design. The PPCC was closed for repairs from September 2019 to February 14, 2022.

The Jane and Frank Warchol Beaver Habitat, opened in 2013, is next to the Cotton Family Wetlands and is home to nine North American beavers. Because beavers are active at night, their activities are recorded and shown on TVs in the exhibit during the day. This is the first time beavers have been displayed at the Zoo since 1969.

The Wildlife Interpretive Gallery includes the Butterfly Garden, Matilda Wilson Free-Flight Aviary, Science On a Sphere, and the Society’s permanent fine art collection. The Shelle Isle exhibit focuses on partula snails.

The American Grasslands are home to animals native to North and South America, including grizzly bears, wolverines, bald eagles, bison, and others. The newest addition to this habitat is the sloth bear, which arrived in October 2024.

An immersive habitat allows visitors to interact with two well-known Australian marsupials—kangaroos and wallabies. These animals roam freely, and guests can walk alongside them.

Detroit Zoological Society

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that runs the Zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Center. The organization’s annual operating budget of $44.5 million is funded by earned revenue, donations, and taxes from Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. The Society employs 260 full- and part-time workers, has more than 52,000 member households, and relies on over 1,000 volunteers.

The Society’s mission is “Celebrating and Saving Wildlife.” It works with the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release federally endangered Karner blue butterflies into their natural habitats in Michigan. Each summer, Society staff help protect the federally endangered Great Lakes piping plover by artificially hatching abandoned eggs in northern Michigan. Recently, the Society partnered with the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to create a nesting area for common terns on Belle Isle.

The Society helps rescue exotic animals from private owners, fake sanctuaries, roadside zoos, and circuses. Examples of rescued animals include over 1,000 animals taken from an animal wholesaler in Texas, a polar bear from a circus in Puerto Rico, a lioness used to guard a building, and retired racehorses. The Society also hosts “Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo,” the nation’s largest offsite adoption program for dogs, cats, and rabbits. Since 1993, more than 25,000 animals have found new homes through this event.

The Center for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics (CZAAWE) was established in 2009 to share knowledge and best practices for caring for captive exotic animals. The center provides a space for discussions about animal welfare policies and honors programs that improve animal care.

The Society offers educational experiences to nearly 70,000 teachers and students each year through camps, field trips, and programs for families and youth. It also supports conservation education in rural rainforest communities through the Adopt-A-School program. The Berman Academy for Humane Education teaches people how to treat animals with kindness and respect using methods like storytelling, role-playing, and technology.

The Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and features award-winning habitats, such as the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery, National Amphibian Conservation Center, Great Apes of Harambee, and Arctic Ring of Life, which was named the second-best zoo exhibit in the U.S.

The Simulator Ride and the 4-D Theater provide interactive, educational experiences. The 4-D Theater is the only one of its kind at a Michigan zoo and uses effects like wind, mist, and scents.

The Belle Isle Nature Center is located on a five-acre site surrounded by forests and wetlands on Belle Isle State Park. The center includes indoor animal habitats, a bee exhibit, a bird observation window, an outdoor butterfly garden, classrooms, a nature play area, and the Blue Heron Lagoon Nature Trail. It offers educational, recreational, and conservation opportunities for the community throughout the year.

Gallery

• Entrance to the zoo.
• Butterfly in the Butterfly Garden.
• Pink-backed pelicans (Pelecanus rufescens).
• Zebra enclosure.
• Kisa the Tiger.
• Penguin Center.
• Rhinoceros enclosure.
• Lion roaring in the sunlight.
• Mandrill and gorilla in their enclosure.
• Wolf howling in winter at the Wolf Wilderness exhibit.
• Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

References and further reading

• Austin, William (1974). The First Fifty Years. The Detroit Zoological Society.
• Detroit Zoological (2003). Wonders Among Us: Celebrating 75 Years of the Detroit Zoo. Detroit Zoological Society. ISBN 0-615-12410-0.
• Fisher, Dale (2003). Building Michigan: A Tribute to Michigan's Construction Industry. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1-891143-24-7.
• Landry, Michael. (July/Aug. 2023). "Lions, Tigers, and Bears—Oh My! A History of the Detroit Zoo." Michigan History 107(4), pp. 19++. Lansing, Michigan: Historical Society of Michigan. Accessed via Gale OneFile.
• Rodriguez, Michael and Thomas Featherstone (2003). Detroit's Belle Isle Island Park Gem (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-2315-1.
• Kvaran, Einar Einarsson. Shadowing Parducci, unpublished manuscript, Detroit.