Editing Bronx Zoo (section)

===Recent years===
[[File:Entrance to Bronx Zoo 2008.jpg|thumb|Historical Fordham Road Entrance to the Bronx Zoo featuring Rainey Memorial Gates]]

In 1960, the zoo became the first in the world to keep a [[James's flamingo]], a species which had been thought to be [[Extinction|extinct]] until 1957. They were imported along with the similar [[Andean flamingo]].<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1980.tb00937.x |title=Andean and James' flamingos Phoenicoparrus andinus and P.jamesi in captivity |journal=[[International Zoo Yearbook]] |volume=20 |pages=17–23 |year=1980 |last1=Kear |first1=Janet |last2=Palmes |first2=Prunella}}</ref>

The zoo was one of the few in the world to exhibit [[proboscis monkey]]s outside of [[Southeast Asia]] and, in the 1976 ''International Zoo Yearbook'', the zoo reported having eight monkeys, seven of which were born at the zoo. As of March 1999, it only had two monkeys left, these two being the last members of their species kept in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://proboscismonkey.org/proboscis-monkeys-and-borneo-wildlife/proboscis-monkeys-in-captivity/ |title=ProboscisMonkey.org |access-date=March 2, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031310/http://proboscismonkey.org/proboscis-monkeys-and-borneo-wildlife/proboscis-monkeys-in-captivity/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.ippl.org/newsletter/1990s/077_v26_n1_1999-04.pdf |title=Proboscis Monkeys Caught - Many Die |journal=[[International Primate Protection League|IPPL News]] |volume=26 |issue=1 |date=April 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005085701/https://www.ippl.org/newsletter/1990s/077_v26_n1_1999-04.pdf |archive-date=October 5, 2016}}</ref> In 2003, the pair were sent to the [[Singapore Zoo]].

On June 6, 1990, the zoo received a female [[Sumatran rhinoceros]] named Rapunzel. At the time, the zoo was one of only three in North America to hold the [[critically endangered]] species, with the [[Cincinnati Zoo|Cincinnati]] and [[San Diego Zoo]]s being the others, holding one female each. The three institutions were a part of the Sumatran Rhino Trust's plan to start a [[captive breeding]] program for the species.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/07/nyregion/at-bronx-zoo-a-damsel-in-distress-is-rescued.html |title=At Bronx Zoo, a Damsel In Distress Is Rescued |date=June 7, 1990 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=October 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005114150/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/07/nyregion/at-bronx-zoo-a-damsel-in-distress-is-rescued.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rapunzel was born in the wild in [[Sumatra]] and rescued from an area of [[rainforest]] that was slated to be cleared for a [[palm oil production in Indonesia|palm oil plantation]] in 1989. Though it's believed she bred in the wild, she never produced any calves in captivity. It was eventually determined that she was past reproductive age, at which point she was returned to the zoo in 2000, having been brought out for breeding purposes. She lived in the Zoo Center until her death in December 2005 in her 30s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |title=Rapunzel the Rhino Is Mourned in Bronx |website=The New York Times |date=December 24, 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/nyregion/rapunzel-the-rhino-is-mourned-in-bronx.html |access-date=April 13, 2016 |archive-date=November 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108210333/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/nyregion/rapunzel-the-rhino-is-mourned-in-bronx.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2006, the zoo opened up brand-new [[eco-friendly]] restrooms outside the Bronx River Gate. According to [[Clivus Multrum]], which built the [[composting toilet]]s chosen by the zoo, these facilities can serve 500,000 people and save {{cvt|1000000|U.S.gal|L}} of water a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clivusmultrum.com/green-building-bronx.php |title=Bronx Zoo |work=clivusmultrum.com |publisher=Clivus Multrum |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-date=April 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421195114/http://www.clivusmultrum.com/green-building-bronx.php |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://poopthebook.com/blog/2007/03/11/composting-toilets-bronx-zoo/ |title=Composting Toilets, The Bronx Zoo, and Design that's Disgusting |work=Poop the Book |publisher=The Poop Culture Blog |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208070706/http://poopthebook.com/blog/2007/03/11/composting-toilets-bronx-zoo/ |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 2007, the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] and the [[Fordham University]] Graduate School of Education announced they would offer a joint program leading to a [[Master of Science]] degree in education and New York State initial teacher certification in adolescent science education (biology, grades 7–12). The program began the next year, and is the first joint degree program of its kind.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/enewsroom/archives/archive_1103.asp |title=New GSE Master's Program Approved and Ready To Roar |work=fordham.edu |publisher=Fordham University |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622075839/http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/enewsroom/archives/archive_1103.asp |archive-date=June 22, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Congressman Miller with Bronx Zoo Education Instructor Kate Ma (5620057984).jpg|thumb|[[George Miller (California politician)|Congressman George Miller]] with Bronx Zoo Education Instructor Kate Ma, 2011]]
In 2009, New York City{{Who|date=September 2020}} cut funding for the state's 76 zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. The Wildlife Conservation Society as a whole suffered a $15-million deficit, and the zoo was forced to downsize its staff and animal collection. The budget cuts forced the [[buyout]]s of over 100 employees and [[layoff]]s of dozens more as well as the closure of four sections of the zoo: World of Darkness, Rare Animal Range, the Skyfari, and a small section of the overall still-open African Plains exhibit which featured endangered [[antelope]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/nyregion/07wildlife.html |title=Reorganization at City's Zoos Includes Buyouts and Layoffs |date=April 7, 2009 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122541/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/nyregion/07wildlife.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dailyfinance.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/26/animals-and-money-bronx-zoo-lays-off-hundreds-of-unpopular-an/ |title=Animals and money: Bronx Zoo lays off hundreds of 'unpopular' animals |author=jason cochran |date=April 26, 2009 |work=DailyFinance.com |access-date=November 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308220535/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/04/26/animals-and-money-bronx-zoo-lays-off-hundreds-of-unpopular-an/ |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the end, 186 staff positions (15%) were cut within the WCS. In 2012, [[Michael Bloomberg|Mayor Michael Bloomberg]] passed another budget cut that took $4.7-million from the funding of the zoo and the [[New York Aquarium]], also run by the WCS. This cut represented more than half of what the collections were receiving. However, Bloomberg also passed an [[energy subsidy]] that brought the cuts down to $3.7-million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/05/19/news/economy/bronx_zoo_budget_cuts/ |title=Bronx Zoo animals could be affected by budget cuts – May. 19, 2011 |work=CNNMoney |access-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-date=May 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524152822/https://money.cnn.com/2011/05/19/news/economy/bronx_zoo_budget_cuts/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the summer of 2014, [[U.S. Representative|New York Representative]] [[Carolyn B. Maloney]] visited the [[Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding|Chengdu Panda Base]] in [[Sichuan, China]] and announced her plan to bring [[giant panda]]s to New York City. Initially, she aimed to exhibit them at the [[Central Park Zoo]], though switched her attention to the Bronx after deciding the 6.5-acre zoo didn't have the resources to care for the animals. Maloney and her supporters, which included [[Maurice R. Greenberg]], [[Newt Gingrich]], and [[John A. Catsimatidis]], were met with many obstacles throughout their campaign. Initially, the largest issues were the lack of support from [[Bill de Blasio|Mayor Bill de Blasio]] and [[New York City Hall|City Hall]], and Chinese officials insisting that no more pandas be brought to the United States. However, in October 2015, [[List of ambassadors of China to the United States|Chinese Ambassador]] [[Cui Tiankai]] announced that his country was willing to enter preliminary talks with the city over the matter, and soon after de Blasio and City Hall signed a letter appealing to Chinese officials, drafted by Maloney in 2014. Despite her efforts, Maloney's campaign still has yet to overcome two critical steps in acquiring pandas: funding and the zoo's consent. Both de Blasio and the Wildlife Conservation Society refuse to fund the project, not wanting taxpayer or vital zoo money to go towards the highly expensive project. David Towne, chairman of the American-based Giant Panda Conservation Foundation, estimated that the cost of bringing pandas to the city would be around $50 million.

The foundation has also said that the cost of keeping just one such animal is about $1 million a year, including food, trainers, and habitat upkeep. Additionally, China loans out their pandas for a hefty fee. A study published by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2005 found that the four U.S. zoos holding pandas—the [[Memphis Zoo]], the [[San Diego Zoo]], the [[National Zoological Park (United States)|National Zoological Park]] (located in Washington, D.C., and Front Royal, Virginia) and [[Zoo Atlanta]]—had spent $33 million more on their animals than revenue made off of them between 2000 and 2003. Despite the figures, Maloney believes pandas in her city will do better since the city has a higher population than those four cities combined, and received a record-breaking 56.4-million visitors in 2014. Still, the WCS continues to steer away from bringing in these pandas. In 2014, a senior official from the WCS said Maloney's campaign had reached "a new level of [[absurdity]]" when it was announced she intended to bring a Chinese delegation to the Central Park Zoo. In November 2015, Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and Bronx Zoo Director, released a statement saying:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/nyregion/representative-carolyn-maloney-pushes-for-pandas-in-new-york-city.html |title=Congresswoman's Long Quest: Bringing Pandas to New York |date=February 7, 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220023402/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/nyregion/representative-carolyn-maloney-pushes-for-pandas-in-new-york-city.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://gothamist.com/2015/11/16/pandas_bronx_zoo.php |title=Pandas May Be Headed To Bronx Zoo, If All The Stars Align |work=Gothamist |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224100333/http://gothamist.com/2015/11/16/pandas_bronx_zoo.php |archive-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|The concept of bringing Giant Pandas to New York which the Congresswoman is proposing is complex and would require that a number of complicated issues be considered and resolved before any such plan could be implemented.

Any decision to bring giant pandas to New York would need to be based on positively contributing to the conservation of giant pandas in the wild and a determination that all the requirements necessary to keep the animals well in New York could be met.

Very importantly, there is no funding for this initiative. Building and maintenance of such a exhibit would be an ongoing effort that would require tens of millions of dollars up front and annual support monies for pandas for however long they would be in the city. Any agreement to exhibit pandas would have to come with a guarantee of provision for the necessary funds.}}