History
Visit The Little Zoo in the Park  Eighty years ago “the little zoo in the park” was born. The William Land Park Zoo opened on June 2, 1927 as the City of Sacramento brought together an assortment of animals from area parks. At that time, the 4.2 acre zoo was home to a diverse collection of 40 animals that included monkeys, raccoons, birds, deer and various other small animals.
A male giraffe arrived from Africa to be with "Lady" during the fall of 1954. The Sacramento Zoological Society formed in 1956 to support and raise funds for the city zoo, and would later take over day-to-day management of zoo operations in July 1997 under an alliance agreement with the city.  In the early 1960s, the zoo was enlarged to its current 14.3 acres and new habitats were built in nearly every area of the zoo. "Bruno" the grizzly bear and two orangutans arrived in 1965 and the Zoo began charging admission - 25 cents.
In 1970, the Sacramento City Council adopted the name Sacramento Zoo, completed the Reptile House and SZS approved the creation of a Docent Program to help educate zoo visitors and school groups. During the 1980s, zoos began to provide a new experience for visitors by replacing the iron bars and concrete walls of cages with protective moats, bigger animal enclosures and more natural habitats. At this time the Sacramento Zoo went through a period of exciting growth and added new habitats for the chimpanzees and orangutans, renovated the lion and tiger grottos, and adopted a long-range master plan for continued improvements and additions to the zoo.  In the ‘90s, the zoo added the Rare Feline Center, golden-headed lion tamarin and snow leopard exhibits; climbing trees for the orangutans; and the Lake Victoria complex with its collection of flamingos and other waterfowl. "Winky" the elephant moved to the Detroit Zoo and Zoo memberships reached 10,000.
 As the zoo community was learning more and more about the animals in their care, it was time to make more improvements. Architects met the challenge of making exhibit areas spacious and interesting to both inhabitants and visitors. Zoo horticulturists designed natural habitats that reached new levels of creativity. The Claire Mower Red Panda Forest, a mixed species habitat for endangered red panda, Asian bird, fish and turtle species was built in 2000. As recommended by the Species Survival Planâ, in June of 2001 our breeding pair welcomed two red panda cubs.
In 2001 the addition of young animals included, a saki monkey, eleven leopard tortoise eggs, crested screamers, a female bongo, fifty-eight pounds at birth, and four thick-billed parrots. The Sacramento Zoo is working nationwide with zoos and government agencies on a captive breeding program that will help reestablish this bird to its former United States range. The thick-billed parrot is the only living parrot species native to the United States and is considered endangered due to deforestation. A female jaguar and Sumatran orangutan were welcomed in 2002 and ten flamingos joined the existing group of flamingos that enjoy the shores and waters of Lake Victoria. In 2003, a white alligator visited for the summer in a temporary exhibit. The Lemurs of the Lost World exhibit opened in 2004 with Coquerel's sifakas and black and white ruffed lemurs and the Giant Anteater exhibit used a glass barrier in place of mesh wire to provide a safe and up-close interaction for the public. In 2005, the Dr. Murray E. Fowler Veterinary Hospital construction began. It took less than one year to complete this project and even came in under budget. When the veterinary hospital opened in November 2006 the female Sumatran tiger received an ultrasound, viewed by the public on the observation terrace, which revealed three healthy fetus. The three male cubs were welcomed into our expanding living collection and they joined fellow newbie's: a snow leopard cub born in June, two flamingo chicks, and a trio of black and white lemur babies born in May. To celebrate the Zoo's 80th birthday, a temporary penguin exhibit opened in April 2007. The exhibit was favorite of visitors and helped bring over 500,000 people through the gate in just one year. The penguins popularity was so strong a second group of penguins returned to the Zoo for a limited engagement in 2008. The role of zoos has dramatically changed over the past few decades. Once merely concerned with showing animals to the public, zoos have progressed well beyond the original intent. The focus of zoos has shifted from showcasing as many animals as possible, to creating a recreational and fun experience while providing educational messages about animals and their wild habitats. Zoos of today have three distinct purposes – education, conservation and recreation. The Sacramento Zoo is committed to this objective.
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