Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of the Houston Zoo.
On this page
Park zoo, non-profit and new habitats
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1922
The zoo opens
The Houston Zoo opens in Hermann Park.
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1961
Reptiles and amphibians
The Reptile and Amphibian House opens; it is now the zoo’s oldest exhibit building.
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1994
Prairie chickens
The zoo begins breeding Attwater’s prairie chickens for release.
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2002
A non-profit zoo
Operation passes from the city to the non-profit Houston Zoo, Inc.
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2008
Elephants
The McNair Asian Elephant Habitat opens.
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2010
The African Forest
The African Forest opens; gorillas arrive in 2015.
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2020
The Pantanal
South America’s Pantanal opens.
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2023
The Galápagos
The Galápagos Islands habitat opens.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
