San Diego Zoo Celebrates 100th Anniversary
San Diego Zoo Celebrates 100th Anniversary
GUEST:Rick Schwartz, ambassador, San Diego Zoo Global
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Dr. Harry Wegeforth founded the San Diego Zoo in 1916 after driving past Balboa Park and hearing a lion roar from a small zoo exhibit in the 1915-1916 Panama California Exposition, which had closed earlier that year.
San Diego Zoo Global
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A page from The San Diego Union shows a story on the zoo's first elephants, May 21, 1923.
San Diego Zoo Global
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A crowd looks at the zoo's lion den, 1923.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Schoolchildren visit the zoo, 1927.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Trainer Charles Jensen practices with four sea lions for San Diego Zoo's first sea lion show, 1928.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Dr. Harry Benchley stands next to the newly completed aviary at the San Diego Zoo, 1937.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Keeper Robert Cihlar is seen with a trio of young elephants, 1941.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Guests look at different macaw species at the San Diego Zoo, 1957.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Guests look at the new polar bear grotto exhibit at San Diego Zoo, 1960.
San Diego Zoo Global
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This rocky hillside exhibit was built for the zoo's first pair of clouded leopards, 1977.
San Diego Zoo Global
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A giant panda visits San Diego Zoo from China, 1987.
San Diego Zoo Global
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Veterinarian Dr. Jack Allen and keeper Karen Barnes check out a cheetah cub in a new veterinary medical center at San Diego Zoo, 2001.
San Diego Zoo Global
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The San Diego Zoo Safari Park's sign appears in this undated photo.
San Diego Zoo Global
The San Diego Zoo is marking its centennial with a celebration in Balboa Park this Saturday. In its 100 years, the zoo has grown from a few abandoned animals in the park to a global zoological society that includes the Safari Park and centers for conservation research.
The zoo happened by accident. Dr. Harry Wegeforth, a local physician, was driving past the park and heard a lion's roar. The animals had been left behind following the end of the 2015 Panama-California Exposition. Wegeforth went on to found the San Diego Zoo.
Rick Schwartz, an ambassador for the San Diego Zoo, talks about the history of the zoo and how it's celebrating the centennial Thursday on KPBS Midday Edition.
