The Roosevelt Park Zoo is a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

. It is the oldest zoo in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. As of 2024 the park has 135 animals from 68 species. In 2021 115,805 guests have visited the park.

History

Riverside Park Zoo opened in 1914, it was created by the Minot park district at a meeting on April 9. When it was founded it had 24 animals, 12 red squirrels and 12 grey squirrels. The zoo received its first large animal, a single male bison in 1921. At this time the entire zoo was housed in the zoological building, which is now the aviary. In 1922 after the death of

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as ...

the park and zoo were renamed Roosevelt Park Zoo. In 1927 the zoo purchased two lions, "King" and "Queen" from the Longfellow Zoological Gardens in Minneapolis. In 1932 a lioness with two of her cubs temporarily escaped her cage and was found on the zoo grounds.In 1932 the zoo was forced with the decision to kill six of the fifteen lions in their care as they were "unable to sell them at any price". A young lion named "Maggie" died after being poisoned by someone who fed her

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

in 1936. Thousands visited the zoo to see a newborn buffalo calf in 1940. By the 1940s the zoo housed

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

, black bear,

rhesus monkeys The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or ...

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...

, various

rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

, and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

. In 1969 the

Souris River The Souris River (; ) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S., a translation of its French name) is a river in central North America. Approximately in length, it drains about in Canada and the United States. Rising in sout ...

flooded forcing all resident animals to be temporarily relocated. In the next 40 years more animals were added and habitats were renovated. The park in 2001 consists of 20 acres, and houses over 200 animals. In 2011 the Souris River flooded, forcing relocations again. Currently the zoo houses over 160 animals, some of the major ones being lions, tigers, leopards, bison, black footed ferret,

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzz ...

reticulated giraffe The reticulated giraffe (''Giraffa reticulata'' or ''Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata'') is a species/subspecies of giraffe native to the Horn of Africa. It is differentiated from other types of giraffe by its coat, which consists of large, p ...

, timber wolf. They also house many other bird, primate, and reptile species.

Management

In 1970, the zoo was separated from the city-owned Roosevelt Park and the Greater Minot Zoological Society was created to operate the zoo. Today, the zoo is part of the Minot Park District and the GMZS still exists as a 501-c charity to support the zoo. Director Rebeka Dewitz served as the CEO of the zoo 2006-2020, her tenure saw the creation of a new tiger and lion exhibit, getting the zoo through

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aqu ...

(AZA) accreditation and the 2011 flood recovery. Dewitz became CEO of the

Great Plains Zoo The Great Plains Zoo is a zoo located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The zoo formerly was connected with the Delbridge Museum of Natural History, and prior to the closure of the museum, the museum displayed 150 mounted animals, inc ...

in South Dakota in 2020.

Floods

The

flows through the zoo property which has caused flooding in the zoo itself. The flood of 1969 caused every bird and animal to be moved from the zoo, which led to the redesign of the zoo grounds. An Australian

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

and a bull

died. The 2011 Souris River Flood forced the zoo to remove all of its animals to be removed once again. The zoo sent more than 200 animals to 15 zoos. They were to reside only temporary but the zoo was underwater over six weeks. Areas of the zoo had "up to 12 feet of water. For three weeks, the zoo was really part of the river" according to David Merritt, "under general circumstances (the river) provides great ambiance for the zoo". Due to cleanup efforts on the grounds and buildings, the zoo did not open for the 2012 season. The Zoo re-opened on May 4 of 2013.

Photo gallery

File:742 MS Bench Presentation 160525-F-CG053-005.jpg, Bench donated in 2016 by the 742nd MS, aka The Wolf Pack, commemorates hundreds of volunteer hours at the zoo. File:742 MS Bench Presentation 160525-F-CG053-003.jpg, Grey wolf 2016

References

External links

* {{authority control Zoos in North Dakota Buildings and structures in Minot, North Dakota Tourist attractions in Minot, North Dakota Educational organizations established in 1921 Zoos established in the 1920s 1921 establishments in North Dakota