Minnesota Zoo Milestones

FACTS

• The Minnesota Zoo opened on May 22, 1978 to educate the public about critical environmental issues. Today, the Zoo provides award-winning recreational, educational and conservation programs – locally, nationally and internationally. It is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA).
• The Zoo is home to more than 2,400 animals and 388 species from around the world. Animals include Amur tigers, Chinese takin, wolverines, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, sharks & fish, Mexican wolves, sun bears, gibbons, a variety of birds, domestic farm animals, and many other rare and endangered species.
• There were 235 births and hatchings at the Minnesota Zoo in 2006.
• The Zoo, located on 500 acres, is the largest zoo in Minnesota and has an annual attendance of over 1 million visitors.
• The Minnesota Zoo has 240 employees, over 1,100 volunteers, and approximately 130,000 members. In FY07, it had an annual operating budget of $17.3 million ($6.574 million state funded, $9.589 million privately earned, and $1.137 million contributions).

• The Minnesota Zoo participates in 24 Species Survival Plans (SSPs), a program of the AZA designed to help ensure the survival of selected threatened wildlife species. The SSP species in our collection are the Malayan sun bear, clouded leopard, Amur tiger, Mexican gray wolf, Asian small-clawed otter, red panda, white-cheeked gibbon, fishing cat, pygmy loris, Japanese macaque, Asian wild horse, Matschie’s tree kangaroo, greater hornbill, Bali mynah, Victoria crowned pigeon, radiated tortoise, Komodo dragon, ring-tailed lemur, red-ruffed lemur, Malayan tapir, cotton-top tamarin, golden lion tamarin, rhino hornbill, keel-billed toucan, and Visayan warty pig (not all animals on exhibit). Since the spring of 2006, three Japanese macaques, six fishing cats, two musk ox, eight pronghorn, five Bactrian camels, three agoutis, three meerkats, one takin, and a variety of exotic birds were born/hatched at the Zoo.
• The Minnesota Zoo has coordinated the AZA’s Tiger SSP since 1987 and the AZA Cervid Taxon Advisory Group since 1994. It currently manages breeding of three of the six remaining tiger subspecies: Amur, Sumatran, and Malayan (formerly Indochinese). The Zoo participates in the South China Tiger Recovery Program, the North American Amur Leopard Field Conservation Program, the Ulysses S. Seal Conservation Grant Program, the Indonesian Adopt-A-Park Program, the Trumpeter Swan Restoration Project, and the Bluebird Recovery Project.
• The Minnesota Zoo is continuing its long-term trumpeter swan restoration partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR). In the spring of 2007, five of the Zoo’s swans were released into the wild. To date, 170 Zoo-bred swans have been released.

• Over 100,000 students visit the Minnesota Zoo each year. The Zoo has developed numerous programs, including the Mentor Program, Zoo Camp, Family Zoo Adventures, Preschool, Scouts, Dolphin Dusk-to-Dawn, and behind-the-scenes tours to interactively educate guests about the Zoo and its animals.
• Over 160,000 guests rode the monorail in 2006 for a birds-eye view of the Zoo’s Northern Trail.

GUEST INFORMATION
Location
Highway 77 South (Cedar) and 38 (McAndrews) in Apple Valley, Minnesota
Located only minutes south of the Mall of America

Hours
The Minnesota Zoo is open every day except Thanksgiving & December 25.
Memorial Weekend–Labor Day 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily
September 9 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (to 6 p.m. weekends)
October–April 30 9 a.m.–4 p.m. daily
May 9 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (to 6 p.m. weekends)

Admission
Adults (age 13-64) $14
Seniors (age 65 and older) $9
Children (age 3-12) $8
Infants (age 2 and younger) FREE
Monorail $4.00
Parking $5.00 cars, $10.00 buses, $15.00 motor coaches
Year-round memberships available

Services
Stroller and wheelchair rental, birthday parties, baby changing and nursing areas, locker rentals, bus service, lost and found, food service, First Aid, ATM, and Zoo maps

Contact
Zoo Information Line 952.431.9500 or 800.366.7811