There was an article in National Geographic that talked about zoos and asked the question, “Are they ethical?” Zoos have come a long way from their beginnings and they are far nicer now than just 50 years ago. Here in Nebraska, we have one of, if not the best, zoo in the U.S. and the world.

The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha had its beginnings in 1894 with about 150 animals. At the time it was called the Riverview Park Zoo. The name was changed in 1963 when Margaret Doorly donated $750,000 to the zoo to be named in honor of her late husband Henry.

Today the Zoo is one of the best and the largest zoos in the world with over 33,000 individual animals representing 972 species. That number is somewhat inflated because of the Aquarium and all of the fish.

However, if you only count terrestrial animals, Henry Doorly is still “number one” with 17,000 non-aquatic animals compared to the San Diego Zoo and the Berlin Zoo which each have about 4,000.

According to Google, the top five zoos in the United States are the Henry Doorly Zoo, the San Diego Zoo, the Bronx Zoo, the Cincinnati Zoo, and the Columbus Zoo.

The oldest of the five is the Cincinnati Zoo, which opened in 1875. This zoo is known for having the last passenger pigeon, Martha, named in honor of Martha Washington. She was sent to the Zoo in 1902, 100 years after Martha Washington’s death. By 1907 the last three passenger pigeons in the world were at the Zoo with one male dying in 1909, the second male in 1910, and Martha in 1914. The Zoo was also the home to the last surviving Carolina Parakeet, a male named Incas, which died in 1918.

The Henry Doorly Zoo, which opened in 1894, is the second oldest with the Bronx Zoo, which was opened in 1899, coming in third. The Bronx Zoo is credited with saving the American Bison, also called the buffalo.

In 1899 the first Zoo director, William Hornaday and Theodore Roosevelt had 26 buffalo captured in Montana taken to the Zoo and a captive herd developed.

In 1913, the Zoo sent 14 animals from the herd to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota and six to the Ft.

Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge here in Nebraska to establish “wild” herds there.

The Columbus Zoo is known for Colo, the first gorilla born in captivity and for Fluffy, a reticulated python that is the largest snake ever in captivity at 24 feet in length.

Each of the other zoos has been named the #1 Zoo in America at one time or another, but the Henry Doorly Zoo has grabbed the honor for the last four years in a row! Why? Well, first you have the fact that it has more animals than any other zoo; secondly, it has the Desert Dome, the Lied Jungle, the Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium which, while not the largest aquarium in the U.S., it is the largest aquarium affiliated with a zoo in the U.S., as well as a number of other impressive exhibits - gorillas, elephants, giraffes, and of course the big cats.

Worldwide approximately 17 million people visit zoos each year with up to two million of those visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo, but is the zoo ethical? That is something you will have to answer for yourself.

No, the animals are not in the “wild”, but then given conditions in the “wild” with pollution, poaching, and habitat destruction, the zoo may just be a better place to be.