The First Zoo in the U.S. to Feature Cageless Animals is in Michigan
If you are an admirer of all animals, it’s hard to see wild animals caged up. The mighty lion – King of the Beasts – lying listless and unenergetic behind bars, let alone all the other creatures that long to be free of a steel bar entrapment.
That was how owners of the soon-to-be-opened Detroit Zoo felt back in 1928. When the zoo opened that year, it became the country’s first zoo to feature cageless exhibits where the animals could roam with a lot more freedom. To keep the wild animals away from customers, they were set up in outdoor habitats with moats and rock walls.
When the zoo opened on August 1, 1928, it included bears, lions, various birds, elk, raccoons, and even wolverines!
Throughout the 1930s there were many additions: baboons, buffalo, chimpanzees, elephants, giraffes, prairie dogs, reptiles, and rhinos.
In 1968 the Detroit Zoo was given more exposure with the local TV show Sonny Eliot at the Zoo on Channel 4, WWJ (now WDIV).
Over the decades, more and more addtions and renovations were made: tigers, penguins, amphibians, dinosaur exhibit, aquarium, mandrills, wolves, rides, exhibits, programs, events.....and in 2028 they will be celebrating their 100th anniversary. Can you imagine what a celebration that will be?
The first zoo in the United States to feature cageless exhibits – the Detroit Zoo – is still going strong.