User:Takinzinnia/Drafts

Los Angeles Zoo Draft

History
The first zoo, called the Griffith Park Zoo, opened in 1912 and was located about two miles (3.2 km) south of the current zoo site until it was closed in August, 1966. Remnants of the original zoo remain. The site of the current zoo was formerly the location of Rodger Young Village, which was itself built on the land which had been used for the Griffith Park Aerodrome.

The zoo opened in its present location in November of 1966.

By the early 1990s, the zoo's infrastructure was deteriorating. In January 1992, a ten-inch water pipe burst, leaving half of the zoo without water. The next day, city officials passed a $300 million master plan that had been recently drafted to deal with the infrastructure problems and inadequate exhibits.

In 1998, the zoo opened Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, followed by Red Ape RainForest in 2000, the Komodo Dragon Exhibit, the Winnick Family Children Zoo in 2001, the Entry Plaza, Children's Discovery Center and Sea Lion Cliffs (now Sea Life Cliffs) in 2005, Campo Gorilla Reserve in November 2007, and Elephants of Asia in the winter of 2010.

Campo Gorilla Reserve
Campo Gorilla Reserve opened in November 2007 and features western lowland gorillas in a 0.75 acre exhibit or it's 1/3 acre in a 1.5 acre complex. Guests can view the animals through two glass observation windows and three other locations. Plants in the exhibit include palms, pomegranates, and ferns.

Botanical Gardens
In 2002, the zoo became a certified Botanical Gardens and the official name of the institution was changed to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Spread throughout zoo grounds, there are 15 different collections, highlighting over 800 different plant species, with a total of over 7,400 individual plants.