TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — From an impressive elephant habitat to a thriving giraffe exhibit, Tucson is home to a world class zoo.
Reid Park Zoo will soon be celebrating its 60th anniversary.
"One person's idea sparked what is now the largest attended attraction in Southern Arizona," said Reid Park Zoo President and CEO Nancy Kluge.
A record 623,000 people visited Reid Park Zoo last year. That number was bolstered by the birth of both an elephant and giraffe calf.
Named after one-time Tucson Parks Director Gene Reid, the 24-acre zoo has come a long way from where it started in the spring of 1965.
Reid and his second in command, Emerson Hall, took a trip to West Texas to see Lubbock's well-known Prairie Dog Town.
"After they got back from Texas, the idea was conceived for a prairie dog town," said Tucson Historian David Leighton.
Leighton spent three years researching the origins of Reid Park Zoo and his essay was recently published in a book on its history. He found out the head of the Lubbock Parks Department offered Reid and Hall 18 prairie dogs.
"Emerson Hall arranged for the prairie dogs to come to Tucson," Leighton said. "He also oversaw the construction of the prairie dog town, which was the first exhibit in what became the Reid Park Zoo."
Tucson's Prairie Dog Town opened in April of 1965, in Randolph Park -- as it was known then -- in what's now the World of Play area. Prairie Dog Town was a big hit for Reid and the Parks Department.
"Once he saw all the kids running around the Prairie Dog Town, and the excited parents, he may have come up with the idea of having a free zoo for the children of Tucson," said Leighton.
Leighton said from there: "It just grew so quickly."
People started donating animals. A woman gave Reid two peacocks because her neighbors were complaining about the noise. Peacocks are still a fixture at the zoo today.
Before long, people were donating more exotic animals. Reid is quoted as saying: "Then someone gave us a monkey, and we were off and running."
"Gene C. Reid contacted Mark Keane who was city manager at the time for Tucson," recalled Leighton. "He said, 'What are we going to do with this thing?' And his response was, 'I guess we'll have to start a zoo.'"
Run on donations, Reid's zoo grew even more in September of 1966. Sabu, a two-year-old Asian elephant, was part of a traveling petting zoo making a stop at El Con Mall. The owner, Alma Jett, could no longer move the 500 pound elephant around the country.
"The zoo raised money to get the animal," said Leighton. "Alma Jett herself donated $1,000 towards it, because she wanted it to go to a zoo rather than a circus."
That is how Reid Park got its start with Elephant conservation.
By 1967, the zoo had a large flight cage for birds, and had added camels. That was also the year Gene Reid's unofficial zoo finally made its way into the city budget.
"A request for $49,404 to the city council," Leighton said."The zoo was growing quite rapidly and he needed actual funds. That's how it became an official zoo versus something he had just kind of started."
Today, Reid Park Zoo has an operating budget of about $10 million. Ironically, you'll no longer find prairie dogs here -- or the controversial polar bears first brought to the desert of Tucson from a Moscow Zoo in 1969.
But you will still find elephants. Reid Park is recognized as one of the top elephant habitats in North America.
"Habitats (are) an important part of it," said Kluge. "But really the care that goes into providing the animals with the best environment where they can show all the things they do in nature, right here at Reid Park Zoo."
Over the past 10 years, there have been three elephant calves born at the zoo: Nandi, Penzi and now Meru.
"Having the baby elephants has been wonderful and wonderful for our guests," Kluge said. "It does show that our elephants are living healthy, happy lives."
Kluge says it also helps preserve these species. She also points to Reid Park Zoo's baby giraffe Moyo.
As Reid Park Zoo gets ready to celebrate its 60th anniversary, they are in the middle of a major expansion project.
"Pathway to Asia will bring tigers back to Reid Park Zoo," Kluge said. "Kind of doing for tigers what we did for elephants."
Pathway to Aisa will also bring a red panda to Tucson. It will be completed in 2026. Then it's on to remodeling the center of the zoo -- as Reid Park continues to grow from those humble beginnings.
"This is really a zoo that Tucson built," said Kluge.
The zoo plans to celebrate its 60th anniversary beginning in January.
Leighton is working with zoo officials to honor Emerson Hall, who helped bring prairie dogs to Tucson, with a memorial plaque or marker.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.