How a small city zoo rose from a troubled past to a fantastic future
The Chattanooga Zoo is celebrating its 80th year in the Scenic City and from its humble beginnings to its now world class certifications and recognitions, the zoo is poised to reach even greater heights and bring the adventures of African animals to Warner Park.
The zoo’s origins date back to the beginning of the 20th century when Colonel F. G. Oxley of Bridgeport, Alabama donated $500 to the City of Chattanooga to establish a zoo in East Lake Park. Named after the Colonel, Oxley Zoo opened and began the city’s first official zoological facility.
Due to city funding constraints, Oxley Zoo closed in 1911. It would take 30 more years for another zoo to be established, this time in Warner Park. It all began with the construction of a four by six-foot cage for two Rhesus Monkeys.
By 1942, increased animal acquisitions made the zoo one of Chattanooga’s favorite attractions. The collection included lions, buffalo, alligators, and bobcats, with the primary objective of the zoo in this era to be entertainment.
After thirty years without significant change, plans were made to shift the zoo’s focus to a petting zoo. “Zooville” opened in spring 1969 featuring goats, sheep, and other domestic farm animals, but the 1970’s saw conditions deteriorate rapidly around the aging facility. On a national scale, zoos began to shift toward natural habitat exhibits and conservation education, resulting in Hank the Chimpanzee being donated to the zoo in 1976.
By the mid-1980s, public outcry forced the zoo to make the decision to improve or be closed. To combat this ultimatum, Friends of the Zoo formed and private donations were sought to help with improvements as zoo staff increased and professionalism was stressed.
Current president and CEO Dardenelle Long joined the zoo in 1985 and remembers many of those growing pains back then. “I came in when there was a real movement to fix the facility or close it,” she recalls. “Friends of the Zoo would come down and sit with Hank to keep him company.”
She can’t speak highly enough of the FOZ in those early days. “The hyena we had then was living on concrete and his feet were bleeding,” she says “Those volunteers were responsible for getting him on grass.”
Facility renovations began and educational programming was initiated to move toward attaining accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Soon after the opening of the Tennessee Aquarium, a scaled-down master plan was developed for the zoo. The initial plan didn’t recognize the initial financial and property constraints so a planning committee decided to shift the zoo’s role toward education and exhibition of living species, the driving force that remains behind the zoo today.
While the late eighties saw a new hyena enclosure built, by 1996 the spider monkey exhibit opened as well as the introduction of the jaguar, a milestone Long will never forget.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling you get,” she says, recalling such memories of her past with the zoo. “You know you’re making a difference.”
Perhaps the zoo’s biggest accomplishment came in 1998 when it received its long-desired accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The Zoo Master Plan then underwent a comprehensive update to expand from five acres to 12 acres with Phase One construction beginning in the fall of 2000. The following year, the $1.9 million Gombe Forest chimp exhibit opened to great acclaim, tripling membership and attendance almost immediately.
Between 2002 and 2004, the African Aviary and Misunderstood Marvels exhibits opened, the zoo received accreditation with the AZA again for a new five-year term, Warner Park Ranch exhibit opened, and the largest indoor red panda facility in the country—yes, in the country!— debuted under the name Himalayan Passage. Cougars were introduced to the zoo in 2005, while 2006 saw the second phase of Himalayan Passage completed with new exhibits for snow leopards and Hanuman langurs, also known as leaf-eating monkeys.
By 2008, a new $4.2 million entrance complex opened featuring a new gift shop, ticketing area, concessions pavilion, hand-carved endangered animals carousel and Gombe Forest Café. The Benwood Foundation and the Chattanooga Public Arts Initiative installed solid steel chimp sculptures in the front entrance pavilion. The zoo expanded its overall property by 35 percent and received AZA accreditation for a third time.
Over the next four years, the zoo traded one of their female snow leopards for a male snow leopard from the Pittsburgh Zoo, welcomed Jaguar brothers Phil and Gene, snow leopards Czar and Kasimir gave birth to a girl cub, Renji, and then later gave birth to twins, Maliha and Everest. A snow leopard camera was also installed and linked to the zoo’s website so fans could watch the snow leopards daily.
Today, as I make my way from exhibit to exhibit, you can see a sort of glimmer in the eye of each employee I encounter, like they are on mission and won’t be deterred by weather or dirty aspects of the profession.
“This is not a glamour job,” adds General Curator Stacy Laberdee. “It’s about saving the species.”
Beyond those lofty goals, simply interacting with the animals on a daily basis provides these keepers with tremendous satisfaction.
“You come into the exhibit and they know and recognize you; they trust you,” says Laberdee. “They come to know you as their caretaker.”
But it’s important to remember not all animals like human interaction. “Birds of prey, like owls, don’t like humans,” she adds. “Except parrots. Jaguars look at you as dinner.”
These large cats can be trained by being motivated by food, but they still have natural killer instincts. “You’re not going into the enclosure and scratching behind their ears,” she says.
Outreach and education will always be a major part of the zoo’s mission. Education Programs Manager Chelsea Ciszewski found a perfect fit in the profession when she wanted to be a teacher, but formal education wasn’t her forte.
“I wanted to pursue more hands-on teaching,” she says. “It’s amazing to get kids interested with the animals. They don’t even realize they are learning.”
But it’s not just the kids who get to have all the fun. “We want to emphasize we have programs for everyone,” she adds. “From kindergarten to senior citizens, we want to enrich everyone’s lives with the animals.”
Each person I interview seems to have their favorite animal.
“For me, it’s got to be the Eastern Black Rhinoceros,” says Laberdee. “When I worked in Kansas City, Missouri, I was a part of their breeding program. They are like big dogs. When they don’t get food or attention, they pout. They are very sweet.”
For Ciszewski, she like the meerkats. “They are so inquisitive in their social interactions. After a while, you can really begin to recognize their individual personalities.” She is also a big fan of river otters. “They are so mischievous but very smart.”
When considering the future of the zoo, prepare yourself for more fantastic exhibits and educational programs as next year will see the opening of the African Expansion. It will feature multiple new exhibits, including first, a giraffe and, in 2020, a lion!
“The giraffe really is an iconic animal,” exclaims Long. “It will be great for visitors to make eye contact and really get to know the animal.”
The facility will also be upgraded to provide commanding views of the new exhibits at the front entrance. Also, look for stations for animal feedings, areas for interactive education encounters, keeper talks, and small group presentations.
“We want to make sure whatever we build, we can take care of,” adds Long. “We saw a 20 percent increase in attendance last year. More and more visitors come up to me and have great stories. We just want to continue to keep the zoo new and fresh.”
The African expansion will also include an additional concessions building with catering, additional restrooms, and a special event plaza which can hold up to 300 guests.
SSA food consultants have made a capital investment in the zoo and now handle food service and the gift shop. It’s easy to forget you’re in Chattanooga the moment you walk into the new gift shop. It feels like you’ve been transported to a much bigger city. It’s all part of inclusive, well-rounded, total experience the zoo is trying to bring to Chattanooga.
The zoo hopes the new African expansion will propel them to new levels as a leading destination in the city.
“It’s obvious when you come to the zoo that things are changing,” says Labodee. “I feel like we’re exploding. In the five years I’ve been here, we have come a long way.”