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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Little Rock Zoo | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Little Rock Zoo Entrance | |
 Interactive map of Little Rock Zoo | |
| 34°44′47″N 92°19′56″W / 34.7464°N 92.3321°W | |
| Date opened | 1926 |
| Location | Little Rock, Arkansas, United States |
| Land area | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| No. of animals | 725 [1] |
| No. of species | 200 [1] |
| Annual visitors | 307,437[2] |
| Memberships | AZA[3] |
| Website | http://www.littlerockzoo.com |
The Little Rock Zoo was founded in 1924 and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is home to more than 400 animals representing over 200 species, and covers an area of 33 acres (13 ha). The Arkansas Zoological Foundation is a private 501 c (3) organization that raises funds for zoo development.[1] The Little Rock Zoo is a department of the city of Little Rock. It is the largest zoo in Arkansas, and the only Arkansas zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).[1]
The Little Rock Zoo was started in 1924 when then Mayor Brickhouse established a zoo commission to begin work creating a municipal zoo. Over the years it has grown to include 400 animals representing more than 200 species.[1]
The first buildings at the zoo were made of local stone and built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). These buildings were built in the 1930s and were home to primates, reptiles, birds, and big cats. They are still in use, and the cat house was renovated into a restaurant with the feel of an African style lodge.[1] The big cat exhibit was built in the 1980s along with other exhibits for great apes, crocodiles, alligators, sloth bears, and river otters.
Lemur Island opened in the 1990s, and an African Lion Exhibit was also added at this time, as well as the Civitan Pavilion for special events and the Civitan Amphitheater for educational programming.[1] The zoo acquired a children's farm with an interactive contact yard and train station. In 2001 the board of directors approved a new Zoo Master Plan, which included a new African Veldt Exhibit. The newly restored Over the Jumps carousel, a fully restored antique carousel, made its home at the Little Rock Zoo in the October 2007. An African penguin exhibit, Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe, opened on March 5, 2011. The Laura P. Nichols Cheetah Outpost opened on July 7, 2012. The Arkansas Heritage Farm opened on April 2, 2016. The Zoo added the Conservation Learning Center in 2020 and a new Colobus habitat and serval habitat in 2021.[4]
The Little Rock Zoo is divided into themed areas where the animals can be viewed. Some exhibits are based on the animal's natural environment, while others group similar animals together.
The entrance to the zoo includes the "Over-The-Jumps" Carousel, the Animal Shows Amphitheater, and Lorikeet Landing, where visitors can see and feed rainbow lorikeets.
The Great Apes exhibit includes a walkway that allows the visitors to have an eagle's eye view of the ape's enclosures. A western lowland gorilla family group can be seen on one side of the walkway and the chimpanzee and the Bornean orangutan can be seen on the other, both in their own separate enclosures. Outside of this exhibit, various primate islands can be found that are home to the ring-tailed lemur, black-and-white ruffed lemur, blue-eyed black lemur and black-handed spider monkey.[5]
Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe houses the African penguin and mimics an African shoreline, specifically Boulders Beach, with viewing of the penguins both above and below the water.[5]
The Primates, Reptiles, Birds & More building was built in 1936 and features many exotic animals from around the world, including ones from the primate, reptile, and bird families.[6]
Reptile House
Snakes - red spitting cobra, garden tree boa, puff adder, pine snake, eastern copperhead, pygmy rattlesnake, rock rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, cottonmouth, black rat snake, corn snake, mole snake, Asiatic rock python, green tree python, reticulated python, Burmese python, Mexican burrowing python, eastern indigo snake, milk snake, white-lipped tree viper, Gaboon viper, eyelash viper, Philippine pit viper, eastern kingsnake and Taylor's cantil.
Other Reptiles
American alligator, blue-tongued skink, Madagascar giant day gecko, leopard gecko, tokay gecko, Gila monster, scheltopusik, frilled-neck lizard, Sudan plated lizard, Kuhl's flying gecko, Solomon Islands skink, green iguana, red tegu, plumed basilisk, collared lizard, common snakeneck turtle, spiny softshell turtle, African spurred tortoise, alligator snapping turtle, and three-toed box turtle.
Amphibians
African bullfrog, Chuxiong fire-bellied newt, dyeing poison dart frog, green and black poison dart frog, Oriental fire-bellied toad, tiger salamander, White's tree frog and yellow-banded poison dart frog.
Invertebrates
Asian forest scorpion, Brazilian cockroach and Chilean rose tarantula.
Primate House
Geoffrey's marmoset, Goeldi's monkey, lesser spot-nosed guenon, Mohol bushbaby, pygmy slow loris, southern three-banded armadillo, tufted capuchin and white-faced saki.
Tropical Bird House
Roseate spoonbill, scarlet ibis, black-naped fruit dove, grey peacock-pheasant, red junglefowl, Scheepmaker's crowned pigeon, Nicobar pigeon, mandarin duck, Madagascar teal, marbled teal, ruddy shelduck and the green aracari.
The elephant exhibit is home to the zoo's Asian elephants. The elephant exhibit is extremely large in order to house these gigantic animals. The elephants also have a large stretch of yard to walk around in outside. There is a large viewing window for the visitors in the front and large banners on the sides that have famous quotes from notable figures citing the majesty and importance of elephants.[6]
The Arkansas Heritage Farm exhibit features the Arkansas' Diamond Express train as well as a chicken yard for the araucana, Barred Rock, silkie, Polish crested chicken, salmon faverolles chicken, red junglefowl, wild turkey, Toulouse goose, and the Sebastopol goose. The farm's barn houses the mammals of this exhibit. The donkey, and miniature horse are located on the left side of the barn, followed by the pygmy goat, and baby doll sheep. This exhibit also has a Ringtail habitat, a butterfly garden, and a viewing area for the Aldabra giant tortoise and spur-thighed tortoise. This exhibit is located next to the waterfowl pond where the bar-headed goose, Canada goose, and Chilean flamingo can be found.[6]
The Small Carnivores exhibit features the red fox from North America, the caracal from Africa, the fossa from Madagascar, the ocelot from South America, and the clouded leopard and Reeve's muntjac from Asia.[7]
The North American river otter and the spotted-necked otter can be seen at the entrance. The first enclosure houses a sloth bear, who is separated from visitors by a moat. The main attraction is the grizzly bear enclosure which has a large glass viewing window in order for people to see the grizzlies up-close. The bush dog and Woodchuck are located at the end of the exhibit.[7]
The African Savannah is a mixed species enclosure that features the grey crowned crane, ostrich, blue wildebeests, and Grant's zebras.
The Africa exhibit features the eastern black rhinoceros as well as smaller enclosures for Angola colobus and servals.
The Big Cats exhibit features lions, tigers, Alpacas and jaguars.[8]
The Laura P. Nichols Cheetah Outpost exhibit educates visitors about cheetah conservation efforts and African wildlife. Along with the cheetah, Kirk's dik-dik and the blue crane can be seen in front of the outpost. Inside the outpost, the naked mole-rat, Madagascar hissing cockroach, African bullfrog, Angolan python, Standing's day gecko and the Indian crested porcupine.
On the Overlook Trail, the maned wolves, Chacoan peccaries, red river hogs, Indian peafowl, Kirk's dik-dik, yellow-backed duiker, giant anteater, white-handed gibbon, siamang, Greater Kudu, Abyssinian ground hornbill and secretarybird can be seen.
The Little Rock Zoo participates in the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP), and has contributed to the survival of many threatened and endangered species.[9]
Wild Wines Zoo Brew GloWILD[10]
The Little Rock Zoo intends to create a zoogeographic zoo to help the public learn about the habitats and create a more natural zoo for the animals. The included renovations and additions include an Arkansas Farmstead exhibit with native species and information on the importance of agriculture to the state.
Additionally the continent of Asia, which will be located where the Greats Apes exhibit is at present, with a larger elephant exhibit, orangutans, blackbuck antelope, sarus cranes, and other Asian species, the continent of Africa with a new giraffe barn, the African Veldt mixed species exhibit, a new cheetah habitat, the African forest area, and the African Outpost, a new entry complex located north of Zoo Drive complete with a new restaurant, carnival style rides, and an ice cream parlor and a New Discovery Center education center with new rooms, exhibits, and education animals.[11]
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Little Rock Zoo was founded in 1924 and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is home to more than 400 animals representing over 200 species, and covers an area of 33 acres (13 ha). The Arkansas Zoological Foundation is a private 501 c (3) organization that raises funds for zoo development. The Little Rock Zoo is a department of the city of Little Rock. It is the largest zoo in Arkansas, and the only Arkansas zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia 101 is a historic steam locomotive located near the Cotten Belt Railroad Depot in downtown Fordyce, Arkansas. It is the last known steam locomotive associated with the Fordyce and Princeton Railroad. It was built in 1922 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway. It was sold to the Fordyce and Princeton in 1931, and retired in 1948. Given to the city of Little Rock, it was displayed at the Little Rock Zoo for twenty years, and was moved to Fordyce in 2007.
The Over-the-Jumps Carousel, also known as the Herschell-Spillman Carousel, is a historic carousel at the Little Rock Zoo in Little Rock, Arkansas. Built in the 1920s and first exhibited at the 1924 Arkansas State Fair, it is believed to be the last operating "over-the-jumps" carousel in the world, with an original undulating wooden platform mounted on a 1960s-vintage caterpillar drive. The horses were carved by the Spillman Engineering Company. After many years of private ownership, the carousel was acquired by a local nonprofit group and donated to the zoo in 2007. The carousel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of the Little Rock Crisis in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by race in public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was during the period of heightened activism in the civil rights movement. Central is located at the intersection of Little Rock Nine Way (a section of Park Street, designated in September 2022) and Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (formerly 14th Street). Bates was an African-American journalist and state NAACP president who played a key role in bringing about, through the 1957 crisis, the integration of the school. Central can trace its origins to 1869 when the Sherman School operated in a wooden structure at 8th and Sherman streets; it graduated its first class on June 13, 1873. In 1885 the Sherman School was moved to 14th and Scott streets and was named Scott Street School, but was more commonly called City High School. Five years later in 1890, the Peabody School was constructed at West Capitol and Gaines streets. It was named in honor of philanthropist George Peabody from US$200,000 received via the Peabody Education Fund. In 1905, the city founded Little Rock High School at the intersection of 14th and Cumberland streets, and shuttered the Peabody and Scott Street schools to serve as the city's sole public high school. Until 1957, only white students were permitted to be enrolled. In 1927 at a cost of US$1.5 million, the city completed construction on the nation's largest and most expensive high school facility, which remains in use today. In 1953 with the construction of Hall High School, the school was renamed as Little Rock Central High School. It has since been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and named as a U.S. National Historic Landmark and National Historic Site. Central High School, which covers grades 9 through 12, had an enrollment of 2,476 in school year 2020–2021. It is in the Little Rock School District, and serves sections of Little Rock and the entirety of Cammack Village. Nancy Rousseau was appointed principal in 2002, and retained that position as of 2024.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
