Local history: Alexandria Zoo started 100 years ago with a few animals. Now, there are 500

The Alexandria Zoo had its beginnings as City Park Zoo when it first opened in 1922 with just a few rabbits, goats and deer housed in a row of cages.

Now, 100 years later, the Alexandria Zoo has more than 500 animals and 160 species from all over the world.

It was initially thought the zoo was founded in 1926, said Alexandria Zoo director Max Lakes, but zoo media specialist Angele Ehlers came across some old newspaper articles that showed City Park Zoo was opened to the public in 1922.

The zoo sits on 33 acres and is located on Masonic Drive next to Bringhurst Park. Its original location was near the natatorium by Bolton High School.

A 2006 Town Talk story recalled the Alexandria Elks Club donated two bear cubs named Ake and Roberta in 1928. They became the zoo’s main attraction, much like the white Bengal tigers Hannah and Kumar were in recent years before their deaths.

Ake was named after Alexandria’s commissioner of finance and Roberta in honor of Robert Bringhurst, who was Alexandria’s commissioner of streets and parks from 1919 until he died in 1949.

"And he was a visionary," said late Les Whitt in the 2006 Town Talk story. Whit was the Alexandria Zoo director from 1974-2008. "He wanted everything built in one place so kids could come and spend the day -- the playground, a golf course, the ballfield, the city auditorium and the zoo."

Through the years the zoo had buffalos, a giraffe, seals, a pelican named Pete which was caught on the Red River, and a chimpanzee that was rumored to have bit someone’s finger off and would throw things at visitors. In the past, the zoo was surrounded by a normal fence and people would drive right in with nothing blocking them.

Gus the Lion

Gus the Lion joined the ranks in the 1950s to becoming the zoo’s main star. Gus was named after the late Gus Kaplan, a longtime Alexandria retailer who opened Gus Kaplan's in 1965. Kaplan died in 2011.

According to the article, the late Carl Downs, the zoo’s director in the 1950s, and his family raised Gus from the time he was a cub.

Bobby Hynson, Downs' daughter, was working as a student nurse at Baptist Hospital, now Rapides Regional Medical Center, when her mother called and asked her to bring a baby bottle home but didn't tell her why.

"When I got home, there was Gus," said Hynson. She stayed up all night to feed Gus, who had a big appetite. "When Gus wanted to eat, he wanted to eat."

"And he was my father's heart,” she said in the article. “He would have given me away before giving Gus away. He used to drive Gus around in his car until Gus got too big and wanted to drive. Then he had to be put in a cage."

The zoo's quality dipped in the early 1970s when the United States Department of Agriculture threatened to close it. That’s when city commissioner O'Hearn Mathews appointed the first zoo committee to oversee renovations. It was from this committee that the Friends of the Alexandria Zoo (FOTAZ) had its beginnings.

Les Whitt becomes zoo director

In 1974, a 22-year-old from Natchez, Miss., stepped into the role of zoo director.

Les Whitt took over the zoo, which at the time had seven African lions, five black bears and 14 white tail deer. He found some animals suffering from rickets.

"I got rid of 45% of the animals here," he said in the article. "We gave some to other zoos. Those that were in really bad health, we had to put down. There were two giraffes when I got here, and they went to the zoo in Mexico City. Some of the lions went to the Calgary Zoo in Canada."

He educated people, telling them that zoos are places of conservation and more than just a place to exhibit animals in cages. When he moved here, he even brought some animals from his own collection.

Being zoo director was a dream job for Les, said his wife Lee Ann Whitt in a 2016 Town Talk article on the zoo's 90th anniversary. She was the zoo’s education curator who developed programs that are still used.

The couple’s life revolved around the zoo and it thrived under their care, earning an Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation in 1986. When Les died in 2008, Lee Ann became the zoo’s interim director and then the director in 2009 until she retired in 2020.

AZA accredited

The Alexandria Zoo, Baton Rouge Zoo and Audubon Zoo in New Orleans are the only three zoos in the state to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

“I personally won’t work for a non-AZA zoo,” said Lakes, who has been the zoo director for about two years. “What that means is that our standards and what we do here are the same standards of what some people think of the bigger zoos in the country.”

Those include the San Diego Zoo, the Disney Animal Kingdom Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

“We have to meet the exact same standards as they do,” he said.

Hurricane damages zoo

In 2020, the zoo suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Laura. About 70-75 trees fell across the zoo and winds compromised over 20 animal enclosures. Remarkably, none of the 500 animals were harmed.

After the hurricane, zoos from around the country rallied around the Alexandria Zoo by sending staff and equipment to help clear the damage and rebuild.

Two cougars, Jack and Diane, were housed in Baton Rouge until their habitat could be rebuilt, said Lakes.

Friends of the Alexandria Zoo was able to raise a significant amount of money to replace the structures and habitats that were damaged or destroyed during that time.

The Aussie Aviary, which was under construction when the hurricane hit, opened this past spring. More than 70 birds from four species are part of the interactive exhibit that allows visitors to share a habitat with a zoo animal and feed them.

The next big project will involve a new tiger exhibit for new cats after Hannah and Kumar, the two white Bengal tigers, and Jammu, the Malaysian tiger, all died.

The big issue is the current tiger habitats are more than 30 years old and it would cost more to retrofit them than to build new ones, Lakes said.

“They were amazing habitats when they were built,” he said. But before they can consider getting more tigers, they need to get habitats built that are up to standard.

“Unfortunately, nothing in today’s world is cheap,” he said. “We’ve got to do some fundraising endeavors to raise some money to get those.”

Birthday celebration

To mark its centennial milestone, the zoo is having a birthday bash from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 1. Atwood’s Bakery is making a surprise cake. As to what kind of cake they have planned for this celebration, Lakes says visitors will have to show up Saturday to find out. Cake will be served at 1 p.m.

Tickets are $5 per person ages 2 and up. FOTAZ members are free with ID and membership card. There will be music and other activities.

“I rate this zoo as a world class zoo,” said Lakes. “And when I came here for my interview, the thing that I noticed is, a zoo this amazing, in a town this size, has got to have a history of amazing support from the community. You can’t do it without the community.”

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: 100th birthday bash: Alexandria Zoo celebrates century in community