A couple of bears and fifty birds… It looks like the beginning of a children's story, but in fact, it is the beginning of the history of one of the most visited zoos in the United States. Today, the number of visitors exceeds one million people annually. But once it was only residents of the California city of Fresno and its surroundings.

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo opened in 1908. Then its inhabitants were the pair of bears and a few birds. For 30 years of their co-existence, the number of animals has grown to one hundred species. Unfortunately, this was still not enough to increase attendance and raise funds for their maintenance. The zoo got lucky only in 1949 when the administration purchased several Asian elephants. This event coincided with a bright celebration in the city-a 49-day rodeo and a parade in its honor. The appearance of elephants in the parade attracted public attention and significantly improved the financial condition of the zoo. Since then, its collection has been replenished with an increasing number of new inhabitants. The number of visitors also increased. In 1957 the zoo became a full member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums “AZA”.

Today, Fresno Chaffee Zoo is a huge zoological park, occupying half the territory of the Roeding Park. It has about 200 species of animals. In addition to the familiar monkeys, giraffes, and camels, you can meet the red wolf and grizzly bear, go on an excursion to the exotarium and butterfly pavilion and admire the huge stingrays in spacious aquariums. Special attention should be paid to aviaries with red kangaroos and emu, which attract hundreds of curious tourists every day.

Every year, the zoo administration comes up with new entertainments for its visitors. For example, the opening of a children's water attraction simulating a waterfall in the wild. So young guests can feel like real conquerors of the jungle.