Reminiscing about wild times

Many baby boomers’ earliest memories of BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo were made not at the expansive 147-acre property on Thomas Road but in their living rooms. When they raced home after school to tune into the Buckskin Bill Show, chief of the Chickama scouts Bill Black ended every episode by declaring, “Baton Rouge needs a zoo.”

By 1965, Buckskin Bill and BREC convinced voters to pass a millage tax that provided over $750,000 to build the facility and matching funds were obtained from the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. Between the time construction began in 1966 and the zoo’s opening 1970, Buckskin Bill and Capital City kids collected 650,000 pennies to buy two Asian elephants, appropriately named Penny and Penny Two.

The last 40 years have been filled milestones. In 1977, the Baton Rouge Zoo was the first in Louisiana to be accredited by the Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums (AZA). The jaguar exhibit opened in 2002 and the otter pond in 2004. In 2009, Baton Rougeans had the privilege of naming Zuri, the first black rhino born in Louisiana. And just last April, the Realm of the Tiger roared into reality.

During the 2010 festivities, AZA President Jim Maddy remarked, “I can see from the enthusiasm of the people I’ve met here and the quality of this latest exhibit that there’s no going back. There’s incredible commitment here to conservation, education and the highest standards of animal care and welfare.”

These days, the zoo attracts 250,000 visitors a year and has a membership of 41,000. It now participates in nearly 30 international Species Survival Plans (SSP) for critically endangered animals. Recently, three of these SSP animals—the Guam rail, Arabian oryx and golden lion tamarin—have been successfully reintroduced into their habitats and represent the zoo’s long-term commitment to reintroduce, strengthen and supplement wild populations of endangered and threatened wildlife.

While both its reputation and its collection have grown over the years, the animal kingdom north of the city remains at heart—as every Cypress Bayou Railroad train conductor says, “Your Baton Rouge Zoo.”

So, it’s no surprise the zoo staff is inviting Capital City families to contribute their wild stories, photos and videos to the zoo’s 40th anniversary scrapbook.

For example, Atlanta resident and Baker native Pam McGrew recalls, “Not many Americans can say they heard the tigers roar and the call of the Siamang gibbons while playing with their childhood friends in the backyard but I did.

“Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the afternoons I spent with my Mom at the zoo where we shared a snow cone, fed the ‘monkeys’ and went to the neighboring park for a swing with the peacocks (escapees from the zoo).”

The community collection will be unveiled at the Zippity Zoo Fest on April 2 and 3.

Story, photographic and video submission can be emailed to [email protected]. For more information, call 775-3877.

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