Alameda Park Zoo

Infobox zoo
zoo_name = Alameda Park Zoo

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logo_caption = Zoo sign on White Sands Blvd

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image_caption = Entrance gate and entrance bridge over the duck pond
date_opened = 1898
location = White Sands Blvd at 10th Street, Alamogordo, New Mexico USA
area = 13 acres (5 hectares)
coordinates =
num_animals = 265
num_species = 90
annual_visitors = 60,000
members = AZA
exhibits =
website = http://ci.alamogordo.nm.us/coa/communityservices/zoo.htm City of Alamogordo - Alameda Park Zoo

Alameda Park Zoo, located in Alamogordo, New Mexico, was founded in 1898and is the oldest zoo in the Southwestern United States. It is one of three AZA-accredited zoos in New Mexico and participates in the Species Survival Plan for the Mexican Gray Wolf.

Features

Notable species at the zoo include Citation
last = Stevens
first = Jeff
publication-date = 2006-12-28
title = Alameda Park Zoo first ever to host White Sands Pup Fish display
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
pages = 1A,5A
oclc = 10674593] the White Sands pupfish, the Mexican Gray Wolf,the Hawaiian Goose, and the Markhor goat.

The zoo is a Species Survival Plan Captive Facility [cite web
url= http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/cap_manage.shtml
title= Mexican Wolf Captive Management
accessdate= 2008-05-10
publisher= US Fish & Wildlife Service] for the Mexican Gray Wolf, and in 2006 there were two wolves resident in the zoo. Seven Mexican Gray Wolf pups were born at the zoo in 1994.Citation
last = Turner
first = Lisa
publication-date = 1995-07-03
title = Local zoo source of Mexican wolves saved from extinction
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
pages = 1
oclc = 10674593]

The zoo receives birds of prey that have been injured and heals them. If the birds are well enough to return to the wild they are released, otherwise they are kept in the zoo.

Some special exhibits include a lemur exhibit,Citation
last = Anderson
first = Karl
publication-date = 2007-07-10
title = Zoo backers discuss needs, projects
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
pages = 1A,6A
oclc = 10674593] a birds of prey exhibit,Citation
last = Brown
first = Monica
publication-date = 2005-10-28
title = A sweet 'Diehl' for Alameda Park Zoo
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
page = 8A
oclc = 10674593] and a butterfly garden.Citation
publication-date = 2002-04-25
title = Butterfly garden spreads its wings
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
page = 3
oclc = 10674593]

Several programs operate in the Educational Center, including an Eco-Ranger Junior Zookeeper program.The center is also open to the public for viewing videos and reading books from the collection. Some animals are housed in the center.

Alameda Park Zoo is accreditedcite web
url= http://www.aza.org/Accreditation/AccreditList/index.html
title= AZA Accredited Zoos and Aquariums
accessdate= 2008-05-10
publisher= Association of Zoos and Aquariums] through March 2011 by Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It is one of about 220 zoos to hold AZA accreditation, and one of only three in New Mexico (the other two are Albuquerque Biological Park and Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad).

History

The zoo was created in 1898 at its present location at the south end of Alameda Park to entertain train passengers while they waited for the train to refuel.Citation
last = Anderson
first = Karl
publication-date = 2007-07-07
title = Once upon a time at the zoo
periodical = Alamogordo Daily News
pages = 1A,2A
oclc = 10674593] In the early days the zoo received gifts of exotic pets such as raccoons, skunks and birds from local residents.Cages in the early days were made of chain-link fencing, and these were gradually replaced beginning in the 1970s and 1980s.The zoo went into decline in the 1970s, and in an 1987 interview the zoo director said that in the mid-70s "the zoo was a dilapidated menagerie". The zoo had become a hangout for loiterers and drug dealers, and the city was faced with a decision to either shut down the zoo or upgrade it. They chose to upgrade, and a perimeter fence was added in 1986 to control access.cite news
first = Stephanie
last = Molnar
title = A once-endangered zoo now a growing attraction
format = ISSN|1081-2172
publisher = Las Cruces Sun-News
page = C1
date = 1987-05-17]

The zoo is sometimes claimed to be the "oldest zoo west of the Mississippi" but this is incorrect. There are several zoos a few years older, including
* Oregon Zoo (founded 1887)
* Dallas Zoo (founded 1888),
* Henry Doorly Zoo (Omaha, founded 1894)
* Denver Zoo (founded 1896)The more modest claim that Alameda Park Zoo is the oldest zoo in the Southwestern United States is probably accurate but depends on the definition of Southwest; Denver and Dallas are sometimes considered to be in the Southwest.

Gallery

Notes