Editing Bronx Zoo (section)

===Early years===
[[File:Bronx Zoological Park - DPLA - 0810d730971bf313f10ec4cd0d521a5e.jpg|thumb|left|Bronx Zoological Park, 1913]]
In 1895, a group made up largely of members of the [[Boone and Crockett Club]] founded the New York Zoological Society (later renamed the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]]) for the purposes of founding a zoo, promoting the study of [[zoology]], and preserving wildlife.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the New York Zoological Society |date=1896 |volume=1 |publisher=New York Zoological Society |location=New York |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/66903#page/9/mode/1up |access-date=August 29, 2016 |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019191617/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/66903#page/9/mode/1up |url-status=live}}</ref> Credit for this belonged chiefly to Club members [[Madison Grant]] and C. Grant LaFarge.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grinnell |first=George |title=Brief History of the Boone and Crockett Club |date=1910 |publisher=Forest and Stream Publishing Company |location=New York, New York |page=7}}</ref>

The zoo (sometimes called the '''Bronx Zoological Park'''<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/11/27/105067396.pdf |title=New Antelope house |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 27, 1903 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423093729/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/11/27/105067396.pdf |url-status=live |quote=The antelope house at the Bronx Zoological Park was opened to the public yesterday.}}</ref> and the '''Bronx Zoological Gardens'''<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/05/24/105027894.pdf |title=Taft Enjoys Trip To The Bronx Zoo |work=The New York Times |date=May 24, 1911 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423093732/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/05/24/105027894.pdf |url-status=live |quote=President Taft paid a two-hour visit to the Bronx Zoological Gardens yesterday afternoon, as the guest of the New York Zoological Society.}}</ref>) opened its doors to the public on November 8, 1899, featuring 843 animals in 22 exhibits. Its first director was [[William Temple Hornaday]], who had 30 years of service at the zoo.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/03/07/archives/dr-w-t-hornaday-dies-in-stamford-noted-naturalist-82-was-the-first.html |title=Dr. W. T. Hornaday Dies In Stamford |work=The New York Times |date=March 7, 1937 |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-date=June 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615083143/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/03/07/archives/dr-w-t-hornaday-dies-in-stamford-noted-naturalist-82-was-the-first.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Heins & LaFarge]] designed the original permanent buildings, known as Astor Court, as a series of [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] [[pavilion]]s grouped around the large circular sea lion pool.<ref name="gathering"/> In 1934, the [[Rainey Memorial Gates]], designed by sculptor [[Paul Manship]], were dedicated as a memorial to noted [[big game hunter]] [[Paul James Rainey]].<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=634 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Rainey Memorial Gates |date=May 1971 |access-date=January 12, 2011 |author=Stephen S. Lash |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929120642/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=634 |archive-date=September 29, 2011}}</ref> The gates were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1972.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>

The Rockefeller Fountain, which today adorns the gardens just inside the [[Fordham Road]] Gate, was once a landmark in [[Como]], Italy. Originally built by Biagio Catella in 1872, it stood in the main square (Piazza [[Camillo Benso|Cavour]]) by the lakeside.<ref name="newyork.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.newyork.com/articles/attractions/secrets-of-the-bronx-zoo-20399/ |title=Secrets of the Bronx Zoo |author=Mike Dunphy |date=April 6, 2015 |work=Everything New York |access-date=March 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408221814/http://www.newyork.com/articles/attractions/secrets-of-the-bronx-zoo-20399/ |archive-date=April 8, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Bought by [[William Rockefeller]] in 1902 for [[Italian lira|lire]]&nbsp;3,500 (the estimated equivalent then of $637, and today of around $17,600), it was installed at the zoo in 1903. In 1968, the fountain was designated an official [[New York City landmark]], and is one of the few local monuments to be honored in this way.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bronx Monuments |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/bronxpark/monuments/789 |access-date=November 9, 2013 |archive-date=November 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109001555/http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/bronxpark/monuments/789 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The New York Zoological Society's [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] was designed by famed [[wildlife artist|wildlife-artist]] [[Charles R. Knight]]. It depicted a [[Bighorn sheep|ram's]] head and an [[eagle]] to reflect the society's interest in preserving North American wildlife.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://untappedcities.com/2016/02/09/12000-vintage-photographs-from-bronx-zoo-and-new-york-aquarium-to-be-preserved/ |title=12,000 Vintage Photographs from Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium to Be Preserved |work=Untapped Cities |date=February 9, 2016 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303135031/http://untappedcities.com/2016/02/09/12000-vintage-photographs-from-bronx-zoo-and-new-york-aquarium-to-be-preserved/ |url-status=live}}</ref> While no longer in use, the seal can still be found on the lawn in the center of Astor Court.{{or|date=April 2024}}

[[File:William Hornaday.jpg|thumb|Zoo Director [[William Temple Hornaday|William T. Hornaday]] feeding a [[greater kudu]] in 1920]]
On December 17, 1902, the zoo became one of the seven zoos outside of [[Australia]], and one of only two in the United States, to ever hold the [[extinction|now-extinct]] [[thylacine]]. The first was a male obtained from German [[animal dealer]] [[Carl Hagenbeck]]. It died on August 15, 1908. The zoo received a second male on January 26, 1912, from the [[Beaumaris Zoo]] in [[Tasmania]], who later died on November 20 of that year. The zoo received its final two animals from [[Sydney]] animal dealer [[Ellis Stanley Joseph|Ellis S. Joseph]]. The first was an unsexed individual who arrived on November 7, 1916, in poor condition and died seven days later. The second and final animal was a female purchased from the [[Beaumaris Zoo]] by Joseph for £25{{Clarify|date=August 2022 |reason=Is this in Australian pounds or British pounds? The source does not say.}} (~$35) and then was resold to the zoo, arriving on July 14, 1917.<ref name="naturalworlds.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/captivity/zoos/zoos_18.htm |title=The Thylacine Museum – The Thylacine in Captivity: Zoos, Circuses and Menageries (page 18) |access-date=March 1, 2016 |archive-date=August 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826194118/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/captivity/zoos/zoos_18.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> On a visit, the director of the [[Melbourne Zoo]], [[Dudley Le Souef|Mr. Le Souef]], said upon seeing the animal:
{{Blockquote|I advise you to take excellent care of that specimen; for when it is gone, you never will get another. The species soon will be extinct.}}

The thylacine died on September 13, 1919.<ref name="naturalworlds.org"/>

In early 1903, the zoo was gifted a pair of [[Barbary lion]]s, a [[subspecies]] which is extinct in the wild. The female was named Bedouin Maid and male Sultan, who went on to become one of the zoo's most popular animals. Displayed in the Lion House, Sultan was four years old at the time and described as being both "a perfect specimen" and "unusually good tempered". In May 1903, the pair produced three cubs, the first to be born at the zoo. On October 7, 1905, [[Charles R. Knight]] painted a portrait of Sultan and the animal went on to be the focus of many of the zoo's [[postcard]]s. Sultan was also the model for the lion which sits atop the Rainey Memorial Gates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thewildlife.wbur.org/2016/02/17/sultan-a-king-among-lions/ |title=Sultan: A King Among Lions |work=WBUR's The Wild Life |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002627/http://thewildlife.wbur.org/2016/02/17/sultan-a-king-among-lions/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1906, the Bronx Zoo put [[Ota Benga]], a young [[Mbuti people|Mbuti]] man from the Congo, on display along with monkeys and a bow and arrow. He was never returned home and later died of suicide at age 33.<ref>{{cite news |last=Newkirk |first=Pamela |date=June 3, 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/the-man-who-was-caged-in-a-zoo |title=The man who was caged in a zoo |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In 1916, the zoo built the world's first [[Veterinary medicine|animal hospital]] located at a zoo.<ref name="nydailynews.com"/>

In 1926, the Bronx Zoo and the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoological Park]] simultaneously became the first in the country to exhibit [[shoebill]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=William M. |title=Wild Animals In and Out of the Zoo |date=1930 |publisher=Forgotten Books}}</ref>

The same year, [[W. Douglas Burden]], F. J. Defosse, and [[Emmett Reid Dunn]] collected two live adult [[Komodo dragon]]s—the first in America—for the zoo.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burden |first1=W. Douglas |title=Look to the Wilderness |date=1956 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=Boston |pages=169–193}}</ref>

In 1937, the zoo became the first in North America to exhibit [[okapi]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4802/Bronx-Zoo-Debuts-Its-Baby-Okapi.aspx |title=Bronx Zoo Debuts Its Baby Okapi |access-date=October 19, 2018 |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020011613/https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4802/Bronx-Zoo-Debuts-Its-Baby-Okapi.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>