"On September 16, 1916, Dr. Harry Wegeforth, a local physician, was driving back to his office with his brother, Paul, after performing surgery. As they drove past Balboa Park, Dr. Harry heard a lion roaring. The big cat was one of the animals left over from a small zoo exhibit in the 1915-1916 Panama California Exposition, which had closed earlier that year."
"Dr. Harry had always had an interest in animals, and he had wondered whether San Diego might someday have a zoo. In the bold and impetuous spirit that he would become known for, he turned to his brother and said, half jokingly and half wishfully: “Wouldn’t it be splendid if San Diego had a zoo! You know…I think I’ll start one.” It was the beginning of something that perhaps even Dr. Harry couldn’t have predicted."
"On October 2, 1916, Dr. Harry and his brother met with three local colleagues, Dr. Fred Baker, Dr. Joseph Thompson, and naturalist Frank Stephens, and together they formed the Zoological Society of San Diego. Initially the community thought Dr. Harry was a fool and that the Zoo was a joke: people referred to it as “Wegeforth’s Folly.” But Dr. Harry was determined. He knew it was a gamble, but he loved a challenge. It was his enthusiasm, confidence, charm, and skill—combined with a good measure of stubborn persistence—that set it all in motion. He had a vision from the beginning."
"But all he had to begin with were the animals from the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. At the close of the exposition, the company that had originally been in charge of the animal exhibits had left, with just a few caretakers remaining."
"The rag-tag collection consisted of a row of cages along what is now Park Boulevard, with wolves, coyotes, bears, monkeys, lions, and a few other small species, plus groups of bison, elk, and deer in Balboa Park. The city was reluctantly in charge of the animals, but city managers were looking for another option.
Dr. Harry stepped up and said he would assume responsibility for the animals as the beginning of the Zoo."
"From the start, Dr. Harry wanted the San Diego Zoo to be innovative. He had heard about a new style of exhibits being used in Germany: open-air grotto exhibits surrounded by moats, instead of cages. He decided to try this exhibit design for the San Diego Zoo. The first one built was for bear."
"In 1921, Dr. Harry finally won his struggle to find a permanent home for the Zoo, and the Board of Park Commisioners for the CIty of San Diego, granted the land in Balboa Park."
"A permanent tract of land covering 100 acres (40 ha) in Balboa Park was set aside in August 1921; on the advice of the city attorney, it was agreed that the city would own all the animals and the zoo would manage them."
"The San Diego Zoo is well known for its lush, naturalistic habitats and unique animal encounters and is home to more than 3,700 rare and endangered animals representing approximately 660 species and subspecies and a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 plants."
We walked nearly every inch of the place in two days, and my shutter finger got quite the workout—but even so, this post barely hints at all we saw.
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