Zoo Miami

Zoo Miami
Entrance from State Road 992.
Map
Date opened1948; 76 years ago (1948) (Crandon Park Zoo)
July 4, 1980; 44 years ago (1980-07-04) (Miami MetroZoo)[1]
LocationMiami-Dade County, Florida, United States
Land area750 acres (304 ha) (324 acres (131 ha) developed)[2]
No. of animals3,000[2]
No. of species500[2]
Annual visitors1+ million[3]
MembershipsAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums
Major exhibits100[2]
Websitewww.zoomiami.org

The Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens, also known as Zoo Miami, is a zoological park and garden in Miami and is the largest zoo in Florida. Originally established in 1948 at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Zoo Miami relocated in 1980 as Miami MetroZoo to the former location of the Naval Air Station Richmond,[4] southwest of Miami in southern unincorporated Miami-Dade County,[5] surrounded by the census-designated places of Three Lakes (north), South Miami Heights (south), Palmetto Estates (east) and Richmond West (west).

The only tropical zoo in the continental United States, Zoo Miami houses over 3,000 animals of around 500 species on almost 750 acres (304 ha), 324 acres (131 ha) of which are developed. It is 4 mi (6 km) around if walked on the path, and features over 100 exhibits.[2] The zoo's communications director is zookeeper Ron Magill.[6] Zoo Miami is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference birthday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e "About Zoo Miami: Keepin' it wild since 1948". Zoo Miami. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Castelblanco, Cindy. "Zoo Miami breaks attendance mark, welcomes over 1M guests in 2021". Miami's Community Newspapers. Kendall Gazette.
  4. ^ Destroyed Richmond Naval Air Station
  5. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Miami-Dade County, FL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 62 (PDF p. 63/154). Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  6. ^ Hanks, Douglas (April 30, 2015). "The face of Zoo Miami enjoys a star turn in Havana". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 20, 2015.