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A bear in the park
The Memphis Zoo was established in April 1906 with $1,200 from the Memphis Park Commission. A marker records where a bear called Natch was chained that year. The zoo has been part of Overton Park in Midtown Memphis ever since, on land owned by the City of Memphis.


An Egyptian gate, cats and primates
The Herpetarium was built in 1960. In 1990 the main entrance, the Avenue of the Animals, was renovated with an Egyptian design modelled on the Avenue of Sphinxes. Cat Country opened in 1993, and Primate Canyon and Animals of the Night followed in 1995.
New habitats
Northwest Passage opened in 2006, Teton Trek in 2009 and Zambezi River Hippo Camp in 2016. From 2003 to 2023 the zoo was one of four in the United States to show giant pandas, on a 20-year loan from China. Today its 76 acres are home to more than 3,500 animals.



