ZooAmerica

ZooAmerica's founder, Milton Hershey

In 1905, Franz and Louise Zinner moved to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, from Weisenberg, Germany. Mr. Zinner was unable to keep the 12 prairie dogs which he had been given by a friend, so he gave them to Milton S. Hershey who went on to use them as an attraction at Hershey Park. In 1910, Mr. Zinner received a black bear from the same friend and once again, it was given to Hershey. With the acquisition of another animal, Hershey decided to build a zoo that included bears, birds, deer, and other animals.

In 1910, the park officially opened and throughout the year, the zoo received a few more bears, angora goats, fox squirrels, opossums, peacocks, pheasants, and zebus. In 1914, the zoo received a lion, monkeys, and a leopard. In 1915, the zoo received major renovations to help alleviate the overflow since new animals were arriving. Those included the addition of the Hershey Laundry building. Once the renovations were done, the center of the zoo had a large building and every enclosure was renovated and some exhibits were built along the creek. In 1916, the zoo displayed hundreds of animals.[1]

By 1934, the zoo covered more than 40 acres, had a reptile house and a pair of baby elephants, but they were sold after Hershey overheard a guest talk about how they prefer the monkeys.

Milton Hershey with an elephant at ZooAmerica

After Milton Hershey's death and the end of World War II, the zoo opened under new leadership. The zoo acquired a variety of new animals including African sheep, antelope, aoudad, bison, black bear, chipmunk, crow, deer, duck, emu, fox, goat, goose, groundhog, hare, hawk, llama, monkey, opossum, owl, parakeet, partridge, pheasant, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, and wolf. The zoo also built a diversified wildlife education exhibit on Pennsylvania's wildlife.

In 1971, Hershey Park and Zoo America both closed for renovations. A year later, they both re-opened, the zoo included a new monkey island, a barnyard petting zoo and baby animals such as llamas and elephants. Six years later, John Strawbridge III became the new director of ZooAmerica. Under his direction, the zoo was connected with Hershey Park and decided to focus entirely on North American animals. He even made sure the animals had naturalistic exhibits.

The new North American Wildlife Park occupied 11 acres and consisted of five sections: North Woods, Eastern Woodlands, Big Sky Country, Grassy Waters, and Cactus Community.

In 1982, ZooAmerica was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums becoming only the second zoo or aquarium in Pennsylvania to get accredited.[5]

A black bear at ZooAmerica

Finally, in 2000 ZooAmerica opened a new bear exhibit featuring hills, grass, toys, and a 13,000-gallon swimming pond with fish for the bears. The following year two albino alligators were temporarily acquired, and another in 2012.

In 2004, the zoo established a program for kids to become more involved with conservation. It included an official mascot, Ranger Scratch, and the Ranger Scratch Kid's Club, a program designed to educate kids about conservation and environmental issues. Five years later, the zoo finished construction of their new education building, the Woodlands Education Center, which gives guests experiences with animals.[6][7]

Goodyear an Alligator Snapping Turtle, who lived at ZooAmerica

The first section of the zoo is the Southern Swamps, which has a variety of animals from marshy, semi-tropical areas. Some of the animals include, but are not limited to the American alligator, barred owl, eastern diamondback and pygmy rattlesnakes, gopher tortoise, roseate spoonbill, Florida Gar, and more.[8]

Another exhibit at ZooAmerica is the Great Southwest, which includes a section with nocturnal animals, armadillos and an open-bird sanctuary. Some animals on exhibit include the black-footed ferret, burrowing owl, chuckwalla, coati, vampire bat, desert box turtle, desert tortoise, nine-banded armadillo, ocelot, ringtail, roadrunner, tarantula, and thick-billed parrot.[9]

The Eastern Woodlands exhibit provides guests with a unique experience on how animals are adapting to an ever-changing eastern United States. Some animals, which can be seen include the red-tailed hawk, river otter, barn owl, American black bear, bobcat, white-tailed deer, and eastern wild turkey.[10]

The black bears at ZooAmerica

Towards the end of the zoo is Big Sky Country, which exhibits animals in their native environment in a unique way. It has vast pieces of flat grass, replicas of the bottom of mountain summits and areas where short grass meets with tall grass. Some of the wildlife species include the American elk, prairie dog, pronghorn, turkey vulture, black-billed magpie, sandhill crane, long-eared owl and mountain lion.[11]

Finally, the last exhibit at the zoo is their Northlands exhibit, which showcases animals that are native from Newfoundland across Canada into Alaska. Some animals on exhibit there are the American marten, bald eagle, Canada lynx, gray wolf, porcupine, snowy owl and peregrine falcon. It provides a great experience on how animals survive in some of the coldest climates.[12]

An American marten at ZooAmerica

In Carole Marsh's book, The Mystery in Chocolate Town...Hershey, Pennsylvania and in Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier by M.M. Eboch, ZooAmerica is mentioned multiple times.

In Milton Hershey: The Chocolate King, ZooAmerica is mentioned quite a few times. The film was narrated by Jack Perkins and is available on Netflix and Biography.com.[18]