Steven Larson, age 12, of Nashville, Tenn., for his question:
WHERE WAS THE FIRST ZOO?
A zoo is a place where live animals are on display. It is meant to be a place for both education and pleasure. Chinese rulers were the first to collect and display wild animals. We don't know exactly when the first zoo was built, but we know it was many thousands of years ago.
Ancient Romans also collected animals for display and for competition in their arenas.
The first zoo in more modern times was a menagerie built next to the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, in the mid 1700s. The second was a park called Jardin des Plantes that was built next to the Seine River in Paris in 1793. Both of these were small collections of wild animals.
In 1829 in London the first true zoo was opened. Called the Zoological Society of London and located in Regent's Park, the zoo was made available for the enjoyment of the public.
Within 50 years after the London zoo opened, there were zoos in all of the major European cities. The largest and one of the best was the Berlin Zoo in Germany. Its collection of wild animals competed in quality with the one found in the London Zoo.
During World War II many of the world s fine zoos suffered, especially the Berlin Zoo. But recovery came quickly after the war ended. In Germany alone today there are more than 30 zoos.
The world's largest zoo today is again the Berlin Zoo. It is located in West Berlin. And it is interesting to note that the largest zoo in Eastern Europe is the new one located in East Berlin.
Important Asian zoos can be found in Tokyo, Japan, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Title of "America's first zoo" goes to the Philadelphia Zoo, which opened in 1874, even though the smaller Central Park Menagerie in New York, now called the Central Park Zoo, actually opened 20 years earlier.
By 1900 theta were fine zoos located in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco and a number of other large cities. Today there are about 200 zoos in various parts of North America.
The largest zoo in the United States is Californians San Diego Zoo. Many of the animals here are displayed in open fronted paddocks. The "iron bars" look is something from the distant past.
San Diego and many other zoos, including those in Los Angeles, New Yorkis Bronx, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Washington, also use the "walk through" principle of having heavily planted bird enclosures where the visitors actually enter the giant cages on winding stairways.
Mots than 600 zoos are found around the world, with many of the displays having More than 1,000 different kinds of animals.
Many of today's zoos have special sections especially designed for children. Young people are given the chance to touch tame animals.