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Preserving the World

Ranked best zoo in America by Reader’s Digest, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo has an array of exhibits and a collection of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians that delight more than 1.35 million visitors annually.

It has the world’s largest indoor rain forest, an IMAX theater, a steam train, the Hubbard Gorilla Valley and the Scott Aquarium, where a 70-foot-long acrylic viewing tunnel puts sharks and other fish above and alongside their safe, dry human guests. It has the world’s largest indoor desert beneath a massive geodesic dome and, one flight down, the world’s largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp in the “Kingdoms of the Night.”

Reversing day-night cycles so visitors can view nocturnal creatures in their natural habitats, the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit is home to more than 75 species including the rare Japanese giant salamander and axolotl, a water salamander that resembles a walking fish; alligators, bats, blind cave fish and other species, many in barrier-free habitats.

Few people, however, are aware the zoo is a world leader in plant and animal conservation training, education and research.

The zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research (CCR) is a magnet for scientists and students from around the world. A $6 million project completed last year doubled the space devoted to studies in nutrition, veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology and molecular genetics.

The work done at the zoo is intended to have a global impact through numerous projects and collaborations in conservation programs. All of the CCR programs place great emphasis on student and professional training, technology transfer and research in the conservation of endangered species.

The expansion project also added space to the conservation center’s Laboratory for Rare and Endangered Plants. Work in the lab, directed by Margaret From, includes propagation methods for bamboo – work that has the potential of helping giant pandas in China, and may aid the zoo in its continuing effort to bring a pair of pandas to Omaha for display.

“We are well known for the size and quality of our exhibits and the rarity of our collection,” says Dr. Lee G. Simmons, zoo director. “But what also sets us apart is our world-class, cutting-edge research center. The scope of what we’re doing here is tremendous.”

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
www.omahazoo.com