News Release

INDIANAPOLIS FACT SHEET

Mission Statement: The Zoo will empower people and communities, both locally and globally, to advance animal conservation.

History:

. In 1964, the Indianapolis Zoo opened as a children's zoo in George Washington Park on the city's east side.

. In 1982, the first-ever symposium of international zoo, aquarium, and wildlife authorities was held to establish goals for developing a new world-class zoo.

. In 1985, state, city, and Zoo officials broke ground for new Zoo in State Park.

. In 1988, at a cost of $64 million, the new Indianapolis Zoo opened downtown in with five times as many animals.

. In 1997, IZS opened the new Polly Horton Hix Animal Care Complex, a $3.3 million veterinary and quarantine facility.

. In 1999, the opened as a sister institution to the Indianapolis Zoo, a $14.5 million facility that celebrates the role of plants in our daily lives and provide visitors with a unique opportunity to learn elements of landscape design that they can apply in their own yards.

. In 2002, the Zoo opened its newest major exhibit, the African Elephant Preserve, to accommodate its growing herd.

. In 2003, the Zoo added Southern white rhinos to its collection in a dynamic new exhibit that allows visitors to enter into the exhibit space via an overlook for a truly close up view.

. In 2004, the Zoo opened its Seahorses exhibit presented by Indianapolis Power & Light Company offering more specimens of these intriguing little fish than anywhere in the United States.

. In 2005, the Zoo opened Dolphin Adventure, a $10 million renovation of the existing dolphin pavilion. Dolphin Adventure offers daily dolphin shows in a 1200 W. Washington St. P.O. Box 22309 Indianapolis, IN 46222-0309 317-630-2001 FAX 317-630-5153 www.indianapoliszoo.com re-themed performance Arena, complete new lights, sound system and a coastal wharf theatrical set. The world’s first underwater dolphin viewing dome was also unveiled, along with the Midwest’s only dolphin in-water program.

• In 2006, presented by Carrier Corporation opened as a permanent exhibit in the Deserts Dome, delighting visitors with their social behaviors.

• In 2007, Oceans presented by Old National Bank debuted in the former Waters building. Oceans features the world’s only dog shark petting pool, where visitors are encouraged to touch sharks, challenging their notions and prompting them to think about their relationship to the world’s oceans.

• In 2008, the Indianapolis Zoo celebrated its 20th anniversary in White River State Park.

• In 2009, Dragons of Komodo presented by Citizens Energy Group opened on Memorial Day weekend, bringing the largest lizards in the world to the Circle City for a limited engagement.

Accomplishments:

. The Indianapolis Zoo serves approximately 1.2 million visitors each year.

. While the majority of the nation’s have increasingly defined themselves as conservation parks, emphasizing conservation and research as their primary mission, the Indianapolis Zoological Society also emphasizes the education of our audiences and was the first zoo in the nation to have a building devoted solely to its education department.

. The Indianapolis Zoo is the first institution in the nation to be accredited as a zoo, aquarium and botanical garden (the first two accreditations are from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums [AZA], the latter honor coming from the American Association of Museums (AAM) in recognition of the outstanding and very extensive botanical work done throughout the Zoo grounds by its in-house horticultural staff).

. The Indianapolis Zoo has approximately 250 species of animals, including 19 endangered species, three threatened species, and 16 Species Survival (SSP) animal species. The Zoo has almost 8,000 accessioned plant specimens in its collection.

. The Indianapolis Zoo exhibits animals in realistic natural settings that include: 1) Oceans; 2) Deserts Biome; 3) the Encounters area for domestic animals; 4) Australian and African Plains; 5) Marine Mammals, including the Dolphin Pavilion, walrus, seal, sea and polar bear exhibits; and, 6) the Forests Biome.

. The Dolphin Adventure Pavilion is one of the two largest indoor dolphin facilities in the nation and houses bottle-nosed dolphins, including three calves born at the Zoo.

. The Indianapolis Zoo participates in the AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP)® program for 16 species of threatened and endangered animals. This is a cooperative breeding program among North American zoos that works like a “computerized dating” system and is designed to maintain genetic diversity for the long- term survival of the species.

. The first (and second) African elephants in the world conceived through artificial insemination were born at the Indianapolis Zoo. The first baby, female Amali, was born March 6, 2000 and the second, a male named Ajani, was born on August 4, 2000. The Zoo was honored with the AZA’s highest conservation award, the Edward H. Bean Award, in September 2001, for its landmark research into elephant reproduction. Since then, elephants Kedar and Zahara have been born at the Indianapolis Zoo.

. The Zoo participates in “in situ” and “ex situ” research on the rarest iguana species in the world. Notable successes include being the first institution to successfully breed the Jamaican ground iguana and the Blue Cayman Island iguana in human care. In 2007, the Zoo was again honored to receive the Edward H. Bean Award for its work with the Jamaican iguana.

. The Indianapolis Zoo is the first zoo in the country to have fiber optics technology installed throughout the Zoo and in behind-the-scenes areas for distance learning.

. The Indianapolis Zoological Society is one of a minority of American zoos that receives no direct tax support for operations from the city or state, federal sources.

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3/09