Salisbury Zoo facts for kids
Salisbury Zoo logo
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Sign entering the Salisbury Zoo
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| Date opened | 1954 |
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| Location | Salisbury, Maryland, United States |
| Land area | 12 acres (4.9 ha) |
| Coordinates | 38°21′40″N 75°34′58″W / 38.3610°N 75.5828°W |
| No. of animals | 100+ |
| Annual visitors | 300,000+ |
The Salisbury Zoological Park, commonly referred to as the Salisbury Zoo, is a 12-acre (4.9 ha) zoo located on the Delmarva Peninsula in the Salisbury, Maryland city park. The Salisbury Zoo chooses to mainly house species native to North, South America, and Australia. Its collection of over 100 animals includes wallabys, American alligators, flamingos, North American river otters, ocelots, Patagonian cavies, red wolves, two-toed sloths, jaguars, llamas, turtles, macaws, rescued raptors and owls, and a spectacled or Andean bear. Admission at the Salisbury Zoo is free.
History
The zoo was founded in 1954 with the placement of some animals on permanent display in the city park. Improvements made in the 1970s resulted in the naturalistic enclosures for species native to North, Central, and South America that visitors see today.
The zoo is currently run by a 9-member commission appointed by the mayor of Salisbury, and confirmed by the city council, and is funded partly by the Salisbury Zoo Commission, the City of Salisbury, and the nonprofit group, the Delmarva Zoological Society.
The Zoo recently completed a $3 million capital campaign for an animal health clinic, a new Environmental Center, and a new exhibit of Australian animals.
Oldest spectacled bears
The Salisbury Zoo was home to the oldest known captive-born spectacled or Andean bear in the world, as of 2011, named Poopsie. She was born in December 1973 at the Baltimore Zoo and came to the Salisbury Zoo when she was only 7 months old, on 18 July 1974. Poopsie bore two litters of cubs in 1980 and 1981, both of which she outlived. Spectacled bears generally live to be 25–28 years old. Poopsie turned 37 on 27 December 2010. She was euthanized on 9 November 2011 following arthritic conditions, compromised mobility, and depression.
The Salisbury Zoo was also home to the oldest known Andean bear, Gritto, to successfully produce offspring, when he sired a cub, Alba, born on 23 January 2015. Gritto, who was born on 28 January 1991, was euthanized on 15 October 2015 due to stroke-like symptoms.
