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The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, located in Jacksonville, Florida, sits at the mouth of the Trout River. The zoo occupies approximately and has over 2,000 animals and 1,000 plants in its collection. The zoo has grown from its modest beginnings in Springfield to be considered one of the city's premiere attractions, with more than 900,000 paying visitors in the last year. The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' marquee attractions are the Range of the Jaguar, which won the 2005 AZA Exhibit of the year award〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Jacksonville Zoo wins coveted AZA Exhibit Award )〕 and the Land of the Tiger, which opened in 2014 and features an innovative walk-through trail system for the two Sumatran and three Malayan tigers. Also included in the Land of the Tiger are wreathed and wrinkled hornbills, Visayan warty pigs, babirusa pigs, and Asian small-clawed otters. The zoo's other exhibits include the Plains of East Africa, highlighting African savanna animals; Great Apes of the World, featuring two of the four great apes among other primates; the Australian Outback, including lorikeets, cassowarys, and kangaroos; and Wild Florida, which features animals native to the state. The zoo is active in animal conservation, participating in more than 50 national and international conservation initiatives and more than 95 Species Survival Plans. In 2004, the zoo reached an agreement with the nation of Guyana to help promote conservation in that country, particularly the Iwokrama Rainforest. Additionally, since 1999 the zoo has been home to a large breeding colony of wild wood storks. == History == The Municipal Zoo opened in the Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida on May 12, 1914. The first animal on exhibit was a red deer fawn. On July 19, 1925, the zoo moved to a site on the Trout River off Heckscher Drive in North Jacksonville. Perhaps the most significant animal in the zoo's history was a jaguar named "Zorro." Zorro was a male, wild-born black (melanistic) jaguar that arrived at the zoo in August 1967. At that time, black jaguars were very rare in captivity. During Zorro's 19 years at the zoo (he died in September, 1986), he fathered numerous cubs that were sent to other zoos across North America. In the spring of 2003, the Jax Zoo investigated and could not find a current North American captive-born black jaguar that was not a descendant of Zorro.〔(Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens: About the Zoo-History )〕 By the end of the 1960s, the zoo was reputed to have the largest collection of exotic animals in the Southeast, but it had fallen on hard times and a great deal of money was needed to save the zoo. Community leaders, under the direction of Mayor Hans Tanzler, appointed a seven-member committee to search for an alternative to closing the zoo. A major redevelopment of the zoo began in 1992. Through a combination of public funds and private donations, over $20 million was raised. Projects completed include a new front entry gate and parking lot, the Main Camp entrance, Birds of the Rift Valley Aviary, Great Apes, an expanded train ride, an elephant and breeding complex, RiverBranch Foundation Animal Medical Center, the PepsiCo Foundation Education Campus, and redevelopment of the Plains of East Africa. Exhibits also include Stingray Bay, Tuxedo Coast, and the Asian bamboo garden and Komodo dragon exhibit. In December 2003, the zoo's name was officially changed from the Jacksonville Zoo to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Over the next five years, several new exhibits and services, including the famed Range of the Jaguar, the Savanna Blooms botanical garden, and the Children's Play Park successfully opened to the public. In addition, the zoo has endeavored to become recognized as a botanical garden. Currently, the zoo sits on of land, over twice its original size on the Trout River location. The zoo houses over 2,400 rare and exotic animals and over 1,500 unique plant species and participates in many preservation and breeding programs to ensure the survival of endangered and threatened species as well as local fauna and flora. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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