Zoo Knoxville gets a few more animals -- made out of wood!
New Wood Sticker animals come to Tennessee
Zoo Knoxville, an establishment rich in history and strongly focused on conservation, has come together with Dust City Designs to bring visitors some pretty adorable Wood Stickers. Available exclusively in Zoo Knoxville's gift shop, they feature a wide variety of the park's most fabulous animals!
Zoo Knoxville is one of the premiere zoological experiences in the Southeast. Committed to sharing ‘wildly fun’ experiences that educate and inspire, we feature acres of creative habitats for animal lovers of all ages to explore.
zooknoxville.org
A zoo of firsts
The Zoo Knoxville everyone knows and loves today was born in 1971, and seven years later marks a tremendous "first" of many granted to the establishment. The zoo successfully mated their most famous resident, Old Diamond, the main attraction, with Toto, a younger female. In 1978, their daughter, Little Diamond, became the first African elephant born in the Western Hemisphere. Because African elephants are endangered in their original habitat, it was hailed as an important achievement, not just for the Knoxville Zoo, but for the elephant world. Only two months after Little Diamond’s birth, Old Diamond became father of the second African elephant ever born in America, when Hillary was born to another elephant mother, Sapphire.
Today, Knoxville Zoo is accredited by the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and has a few distinctions not shared by other zoos. More red pandas have been born in Knoxville than any other zoo in the world. Since the birth of Little Diamond, Knoxville Zoo has gone on to other firsts, including being the first zoo in the world to hatch critically endangered northern spider tortoises. Knoxville was also the first zoo in the world to successfully breed the second generation of captive-born Arakan forest turtles and common spider tortoises, an important contribution in the science of conservation.
Conservation of animals
Zoo Knoxville works with other zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) on a collective Species Survival Plan for all animals that live in AZA-accredited zoos in North America. Working together, we can maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population in zoos to ensure we don’t lose animals to extinction when wild populations are in peril.
The zoo is also involved with conservation work in the field, with award-winning recognition for our efforts to save East Tennessee’s endangered bog turtle and ongoing research with native hellbender and mudpuppy salamanders. Their staff members travel to far-flung places like the Komodo Islands, Madagascar and Indonesia to study animals in their native habitats.
Every guest that visits Zoo Knoxville also helps save wildlife and wild places. The “Quarters for Conservation” program gives 25 cents of every zoo ticket sold to on-going conservation programs around the globe.
Experiences at Zoo Knoxville
With TONS of activities for all ages, Knoxville provides a comprehensive education alongside amazing experiences with some of the zoo's inhabitants. These experiences include: