The Detroit Zoo has 270 species and more than 6,800 animals. It is located on more than 125 acres in Oakland County at the corner of I-696 and Woodward Avenue. In addition to animals, there are more than 700 varieties of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants.
Claims to fame
- The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in the country to use features of a simulated natural environment as barriers instead of bars.
- Arctic Ring of Life, a four-acre exhibit displaying polar bears, seals, and sea lions in a huge, simulated, arctic tundra habitat. A 70-foot-long, clear underwater tunnel allows visitors to get up close and personal with polar bears and seals.
- Outback Australia Adventure, a two-acre, always-open outback with red kangaroos and kangaroos. The only thing that separates the visitors from the animals is a knee-length cable on both sides of the walkway.
- Penguinarium, the first exhibition in the country designed specifically for penguins. It has a three-sided habitat surrounded by a continuous pool. The exhibit was revised in 1986 and now incorporates three different habitats for different penguin species.
- In 2005, the zoo made headlines when it abandoned its elephants for ethical reasons due to the harsh Michigan winters.
Story
The Detroit Zoo, at least as we know it, opened in 1928, but it wasn’t the first in Detroit. In 1883, the Detroit Zoological Garden operated on Michigan Avenue after purchasing circus animals from a defunct circus. It only lasted a year.
The next attempt began in 1911 when prominent Detroit officials began purchasing land to make their vision of a world-class zoo a reality. After several lucrative real estate transactions involving potential sites, the group eventually purchased land between 10 and 11 Mile Roads in Oakland County. The Detroit Zoological Commission was created in 1924, and the City of Detroit assumed financial responsibility for the zoo when no other public entity, county or state, would.
The commission hired Heinrich Hagenbeck of the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany, as a consultant. The Detroit Zoo was the first in the United States to incorporate a natural habitat design. In other words, there were no bars. Instead, the simulated habitats were designed to provide a barrier between the animals and the public. In most cases, the habitat design uses a moat. This concept exists to this day, with a few exceptions. For example, peacocks roam as they please and the kangaroo exhibit is designed so that there is little more than a walkway through the habitat.
Originally, admission to the zoo was free, a fact that the zoo’s original director, John Millen, did not want to change. However, when a mill tax was suspended in 1932, the zoo had no choice but to start charging admission.
In the zoo’s first decade, visitors could ride the resident elephant, large Aldabra tortoises, and / or the miniature railroad donated by The Detroit News . They could also stop to admire the Horace Rackham Memorial Fountain created by Corrado Parducci, which features sculpted bears and forms the centerpiece of the zoo.
Do not miss
- National Amphibian Conservation Center
- Harambee Chimpanzee Exhibit, a four-acre habitat
- Reptile house
- Free flight aviary
- Butterfly and hummingbird garden
- Prairie Dog exhibit, a great photo opportunity with kids
- Giraffe House and Meeting. Visitors can feed the giraffes by hand at designated times.
- Wild Adventure Ride, a virtual reality motion simulator experience.
- Tauber family railway. The railroad was originally given away by The Detroit News in 1931. In the 1950s, Chrysler Corporation donated new locomotives. The entire railway was renovated in the early 1980s.
Events and activities
- September: Run Wild (5K and 10K races on the streets surrounding the zoo) and Fun Walk (inside the zoo)
- October: Zoo Boo
- November and December: zoo lights
- Anytime: geocaching
General information
Admission is $ 11 per adult and $ 7 per child. Family memberships are $ 68 and include free parking and discounts on zoo products and special events. Parking costs $ 5 and is paid for by purchasing a ticket at the admission booth. The Wild Adventure Ride costs an additional $ 4 and a rail ride $ 2. The zoo also offers event rentals and catering, as well as birthday parties.
Dining options
Dining options include the Arctic Food Court, a circular cafe in the center of the zoo. Includes grill items and an ice cream station. The cafe greatly expanded its menu several years ago. Watch out for peacocks if you dine at an outside table. They hang around hoping to get tangled up in the occasional potato chip.
Other options include the Safari Café by the train station at the back of the zoo, Pizzafari, and the Zebra Ice Cream Station for a snack. Note: the zoo does not allow lids for their soda cups. Apparently, it is some kind of danger to animals.
