Oregon Zoo — Zoo in Portland

Oregon Zoo and its collection

Oregon Zoo, opened in 1888, is a zoo in Portland, Oregon, United States.

Washington Park, some two miles south-west of the city centre, is the setting for a collection dating from 1888; no zoo further west of the Mississippi is older. More than 1,800 animals are kept, representing over 230 species, nineteen of them endangered and nine threatened. A substantial plant collection is maintained across the gardens and exhibits.

Exhibits

Predators of the Serengeti cost $6.8 million and opened in September 2009, adding 2.5 acres on the former Alaska Tundra site. Three black bears joined Black Bear Ridge in April 2010, after the previous trio were euthanised for health reasons.

Things to do

Things to do include Carousel and Keeper talks.

Conservation and approach

Recovery programmes take in northern leopard frogs, western pond turtles, Mazama newts, California condors and two butterfly species, while a community science scheme run from the zoo tracks American pika. It was the first anywhere to breed the Oregon silverspot butterfly, and the first to breed the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit.

What the venue says

• On-site options include spots like the AfriCafe and various food carts offering snacks and meals.
• Paid parking is available within Washington Park, including designated accessible spaces located near the zoo's main entrance requiring a valid DMV Disabled Parking Permit.
• The zoo is mostly ADA-accessible, though it spans a sloped hillside with about 150 feet of elevation change.
• Manual wheelchairs and electric scooters are available for rent at the gift shop on a first-come, first-served basis.
• It also provides free sensory kits (certified by KultureCity), a wheelchair drop-off zone, accessible transit options via the MAX light rail, and complementary admission tickets for one-to-one support people.