Toledo Zoo & Aquarium
non-profit organization in the USA
The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, rated the top zoo in the country, houses over 10,000 individual animals from 720 species and participates in around 80 species survival programs.
History
1900–1920
The Toledo Zoo began in 1900 when a woodchuck was donated by Megan Cole to the Walbridge Park. By the end of its first year, the Toledo Zoo had a collection of 39 animals, most of which were donated. The park was unprepared for these donations and was forced to use temporary housing such as ravines and boxes for exhibits. In November 1901, the Toledo Zoo nearly lost its entire collection when the winter housing for the animals caught fire. As a result, in 1907, the Toledo Zoo built its first brick building for housing animals, known as the Lion House. During the early years at the Toledo Zoo, most animals were acquired through donations and circuses, and, due to a lack of proper housing, animal escapes were common. In June 1913, the Toledo Zoological Society (TZS) was founded to spur development with William H. Roemer serving as the first president. By 1916, the Toledo Zoo had grown to a population of 471 animals.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14716828. Authority coordinates are 41.619, -83.581. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1920, 1901 and 1907.
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This entry incorporates text from “Toledo Zoo & Aquarium” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.