National Zoological Park (United States)

The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, commonly known as the National Zoological Park or simply the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to "provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats". The National Zoo has two campuses. The first is a 163-acre (66 ha) urban park located at Rock Creek Park in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C., 20 minutes from the National Mall by MetroRail. The other campus is the 3,200-acre (1, 300 ha) Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI, formerly known as the Conservation and Research Center) in Front Royal, Virginia. On this land, there are 180 species of trees, 850 species of woody shrubs and herbaceous plants, 40 species of grasses, and 36 different species of bamboo. The SCBI is a non-public facility devoted to training wildlife professionals in conservation biology and to propagating rare species through natural means and assisted reproduction. The National Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The two facilities host about 2,700 animals of 390 different species. About one-fifth of them are endangered or threatened. Most species are on exhibit at the Rock Creek Park camp

Park data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).