Buffalo Zoo

About Buffalo Zoo

Founded in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo located in Buffalo, New York is the third oldest zoo in the United States. Each year, the Buffalo Zoo welcomes approximately 400,000 visitors and is the second largest tourist attraction in Western New York, second only to Niagara Falls. Located on 23.5 acres (95,000 m²) of Buffalo’s Delaware Park, the Zoo exhibits a diverse collection of wild and exotic animals, and more than 320 different species of plants. Open year-round, the Zoo serves as a source of conservation, education and recreation for Western New York.

The Zoo traces its history to more than a century ago, when Jacob E. Bergtold, a prominent furrier, presented a pair of deer to the City of Buffalo. To provide the deer with room to graze, Elam R. Jewett, the publisher of the Buffalo Daily Journal, offered to house the deer on his estate. Plans were also in the works for a park to be constructed that would give city residents a place to stroll and socialize. Mayor William F. Rogers hired Frederick Law Olmsted, a talented landscape architect, to design North Park, which is known today as Delaware Park. Five years after the deer were donated, more animals were added to the collection, and the first permanent building was erected, signifying the establishment of the Buffalo Zoological Gardens in 1875.

The Zoo underwent a large expansion during the Great Depression and became a major work site for the Works Progress Administration. Throughout the next several decades, more exhibits and facilities were added, including the Reptile House, Children’s Zoo, Giraffe House and Veterinary Hospital. The Zoo’s mission also began to change during the 1980s and 1990s, as it began reducing the numbers of animals in its collection to focus on the breeding of endangered species that might not otherwise have a chance at survival. In addition to its conservation efforts, the Zoo also placed more of an emphasis on education to teach visitors about the animals and their natural habitats.