Point Defiance Zoo Timeline 1841

· The United States sent an exploring expedition under Charles Wilkes to the Northwest. Wilkes named Commencement Bay and is attributed with the naming of Point Defiance: “With batteries placed on the point and the opposite shore, I could defy the whole world.”

1866

· Point Defiance was claimed as a military reservation, having been so designated by Executive Order signed by President Andrew Johnson.

1888

· On December 19, Tacoma persuaded Congress to allow park development at the Point approved by President Cleveland. Tacoma proceeded to develop park features.

1889

· Board of Park Commissioners was formed.

1891 · Point Defiance Park began Zoo endeavor with two deer and an opossum, the latter a gift from the superintendent of Tacoma Railway & Power Company. · Through park Superintendent E.R. Roberts’ efforts the zoo accumulated a fine collection of animals and birds. Funds were procured by prominent businessmen who raised money by subscription to buy new animals and to enhance the zoo. · Roberts had also raised two black bears – named Jack and Mollie – from cubs. 1900

· The bear pit was completed. Constructed of substantial material, the stone enclosure’s floor and den were made of concrete and surrounded by iron bars. A bath was located in the center of the pen.

1902

· Park fire burned more than 50 acres.

1904

· Many of the animals showcased at the zoo arrived by ship. “Whenever a ship’s officer belonging at Tacoma runs across an animal or bird he thinks will add to the attractions of Point Defiance, he is very apt to bring it along, for sailors more than any other class of people are interested in collecting and preserving exhibits from the distant parts they visit.”

1905

· On March 3, Tacoma was granted full title to the 638 acre park by U.S. Congress. Park is described as a “splendid seaside resort,” accessible by trolley line. · Oscar Olsen began work as custodian and keeper of animals in Pt. Defiance Park Zoo on October 15.

1906

· Buffalo paddock was added.

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1907

· Animals at the zoo included “Kadie” an Alaskan bear, “Jack and Mollie” both black bears, an ocelot, a herd of buffalo, a herd of elk, a black vulture, three bald eagles, a golden eagle, four Japanese hawks, two native hawks, three owls, “Tommy” the monkey, and an alligator.

1911

· Frank Gotch, a black bear cub, arrived at the zoo.

1913

· Romeo and Juliet, native grizzlies of the Canadian Rockies, arrived at the zoo. Romeo was known as the saluting bear. The grizzly learned to perform a military salute during the First World War. Soldiers of the 91st division from Fort Lewis taught Romeo the trick.

1914

· Following a complete restructuring of the park, the zoo was moved to higher ground, closer to its present location. The animal house was placed farther away where the old greenhouse stood.

1926

· On April 9, a baby baboon, known as the “sacred baboon of India” was born to parents Mary and John. Both parents were purchased from a circus the previous fall. Named Peggy, the baby baboon was the only baby sacred baboon of India ever born in captivity.

1927

· Peggy, the pride of Point Defiance Park and greatest attraction ever housed at the zoo at that time, celebrated her first birthday on April 9. In June Peggy passed away form an attack of indigestion. A visitor to the zoo stuffed a cherry through a small hole in the cage. Peggy, ignorant to dietetics, ate the cherry, and afterward went into convulsions which ended in her death.

1929

· Oscar Olsen, after nearly a quarter of a century of service, was dismissed by the Metropolitan park board for reasons of economy. Oscar went into the business of commercial game farming.

1932

· Four brown bears, two coyotes, a golden eagle, a hawk, 30 pigeons, and a pair of doves moved to the Point Defiance Zoo from Spokane. After facing a hard winter with imminent danger of going homeless, the park board there was forced to get rid of them because of finances. · Famous old Frank Gotch, the black bear passed on at the age of 40 years, 21 of which were spent at Point Defiance.

1936

· Aquarium opened in the two story pavilion with 20 tanks housing over 100 specimens. Oscar the octopus was the main attraction. · Romeo the saluting bear, ailing from rheumatism, died in his cage on December 11.

1937

· Oscar Olsen returns to his position as head zookeeper of the zoo.

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· Cecil Brosseau takes over as director of the Point Defiance Aquarium. 1938

· Some of the animals at the zoo included black bears, polar bears, coyotes, wild cats, Wallaby kangaroos, Java monkeys, raccoons, beavers, silver tipped rabbits, chipmunks, European stag, cow elk, white fallow deer, mule deer, white tail and black tail deer, Santa Rosa boars, spider monkeys, sphinx and longarmed baboons, ducks, China and Mongolian pheasant, bantam chickens, pigeons, doves, cranes, peacocks, parrots and cockatoos and parakeets, Guinea fowl and canaries. · A harbor seal donated by local oyster farmer came to the aquarium on August 20. Dub Dub, named for a children’s nursery rhyme, became the main attraction.

1942

· Toby, a year old female lion was given to the Metropolitan park board by S.A. Hagerstrom of Seattle in May. · In October, Alice, a two and a half month old lioness cub was purchased from Jess Klasey, a Morton automobile dealer, who obtained her from a passing circus.

1949

· Oscar M. Olsen, 68, who for 33 of his 45 years in Tacoma had been head zookeeper at the point Defiance Zoo, died in January. · On February 27, a newspaper article was printed chronicling the outdated and rat infested animal house at the zoo. The following Monday, the park board voted to tear down the old animal building. Due to limited funds it was doubtful that the house would be replaced. Thus, the lions were to be taken to Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo on a loan basis due to the inability of the Park board to maintain the shelter which had been condemned.

1950

· Alice gives birth to Norma, a female lion cub. The father is Nemo.

1951

· In January, a group of lion lovers led by a Mrs. Dale Graham, descended on the zoo just at the time when the Seattle zoo truck arrived to cart Nemo and Alice off to the Woodland Park zoo. The committee besieged Ed Johnson, director of the Woodland Park zoo. Johnson retreated in confusion and returned to Seattle without his cargo. · A city-wide fund drive to build a new $25,000 animal shelter at the zoo was created in February. Wild West post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, volunteered to head the drive. · “If You Don’t Want Us – Seattle Does” became the slogan for the campaign.

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· The week of February 11 to 17 was set by Mayor John H. Anderson as Zoo week in Tacoma. 1952

· On June 1, the drive ended, bringing in approximately $12,000 to begin construction on the new animal shelter. · Tacoma voters assured construction of the animal building by approving the park district’s special capital improvement program in the March election which would make funds available beginning in 1953.

1953 · Cecil Brosseau bequeathed the body of the aging 16 year old Dub Dub to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Seattle for biological research. 15 was thought to be the ripe old age of a seal at sea. 1954 · In July, the new $123,000 animal house was opened, housing three lions, a cougar, a jaguar, and two white-faced gibbons. The modernistic sandstone house also featured red-tiled floors, radiant heat, ¾ inch glass windows, two recreation rooms, and cold storage lockers for meat. 1957

· Dub-Dub became the oldest living hair seal ever kept in captivity when he turned 20 in August.

1958

· The Zoo started the development of the farm Zoo in March which was open for five days a week during the summer months.

1963

· Aquarium moved to Zoo site. · Dub Dub made his way from his small wooden tub of 25 years, to a new 50,000 gallon tank.

1964 · In February, a 24 year-old man shot and killed Fuzzy, a 6-year-old polar bear, in his cage. A fund for the purchase of a new bear was started. · In April, two new polar bears were purchased for $2,000 acquired from the Fuzzy I fund. A male, Fuzzy II from the Seattle Zoo, and a female, Frostie, from Canada. · Norm Winnick, a native of Canada, was hired as director of the zoo. He came from the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, where he had worked as a keeper of gorillas and elephants. · Dub Dub, the Ponce De Leon of Point Defiance, turned 26 years old. 1965

· In December, Gus, the first sea otter to be kept in captivity arrived at the zoo. Another captive otter, an older female, died en route to Seattle.

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· Cindy the elephant was donated to the zoo by Otis P. Jordan, a Portland contractor, who had used her to promote his shopping center in Nevada. At just under three years old and weighing 3,000 pounds, the contractor wanted to get rid of Cindy before she got too big. At the time funds were not available to build a permanent home for Cindy, so a fund was begun to raise the estimated $10,000. 1966

· In March, construction began on the new elephant house being built adjacent to the animal house based on the money raised in the elephant house fund. · In May, the new elephant house was completed. Cindy, the zoo’s first elephant, makes it her new home after living temporarily in the farm zoo for 6 months.

1967

· The red wolf was placed on the endangered species list.

1968 · Dub Dub, the Methuselah of the waterfront, defies science and turns 30 years old. 1969

· Two red wolves are transported thousands of miles from their natural habitat in the southeastern U.S. to the Point Defiance Zoo. The wolves came here because the people at the Tacoma zoo were the only ones who took a serious interest in saving the wolf.

1971

· In November, a proposed bond issue to finance a $14 million zoological park and marine mammal research center failed. The bear cages, built in 1905, had begun to deteriorate and became a safety hazard for the three residing grizzly bears.

1972 · In February, Dub Dub, at 33 the oldest harbor seal in captivity at the time, died. 1973 · A captive breeding project was established throughout the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium with the support of the Tacoma Zoological Society to certify the genetic purity of wild caught dogs, to increase the number of genetically pure red wolves in captivity, and to maintain a continuing red wolf gene pool for re-establishment of the species in the wild and/or distribution to selected zoological parks. · The Endangered Species Act was created. 1975

· The City Council agreed to appropriate $27,000 in federal revenue-sharing funds to put up a 3,700 foot chain-link fence around the zoo in 1976.

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1976

· The zoo became inadequate to the needs of its animals as its facilities failed to adhere to modern standards. The zoo’s polar bear, Frostie, was housed in a 1905 vintage outdoor cage. The grizzly and Kodiak cages literally fell apart. Five fullgrown lions shared a 12-by-15-foot cage. A 40-foot-diameter corral, housing Cindy the elephant became much too small for her growing size.

1977

· The Metropolitan Park District proposed a $7-milion bond issue to rebuild the Point Defiance Zoo in a new “Adaptations” theme. The new theme would display the animals in open habitats behind cleverly concealed moats. Federal restrictions would be enforced against the zoo, causing the mammal house and bear cages to be closed, if the bond were not to pass. · In November, the public approved the $7-million bond issue for improvements to the Zoo/Aquarium designated to graphically tell a story of how particular animals have adapted to their environments since their evolution. All but the aquarium, aviary, sea otter and red wolf exhibits were to be replaced or remodeled. Also provided in the bond package was $1 million for a new parking lot. · A “fast track” approach was used in the planning of the new zoo, cutting the planning process in half in order to maximize use of bond money.

1978 · After 18 years of residence Gus, the first sea otter in captivity, died. The death caused the zoo staff to stop plans for construction of a third otter pool and start planning a bigger and better exhibit. · Zoo director, Norm Winnick, was accused of staff morale problems and inhumane treatment of animals by Bob Rusbult, head zoo keeper, and Jens Knudsen, a Pacific Lutheran University biology professor. The Metropolitan Park Board later found the charges were not proven conclusively. · In August, “Close Encounters” began three weeks of sessions giving participants the opportunity to explore the lives of the facility’s animals and experience activities designed to provide close encounters of various kinds. · In November, Bob Rusbult, after a month long leave due to illness, submitted his resignation citing that conditions hadn’t changed with zoo director Norm Winnick. 1979 · The zoo abandons the “Adaptations” theme after controversy arises regarding the teaching of evolution. A “Pacific Rim” theme is then adopted in which animals from around the Pacific Rim are to be exhibited. The theme would focus on three major areas, each subdivided into various climate and area habitats. The three included the North Pacific Rim, the South Pacific Rim, and the India and Himalayas section.

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· Zoo began development on several new exhibits including new polar bear complex, Muskox exhibit, remodeled Zoo Farm, Aquarium remodeling, Rocky Shores complex, World of Adaptations, and a new Mammal House. · Point Defiance Zoo’s African lions and Bengal tigers were to be moved out to be later replaced by Asian lions and Siberian tigers. The changes were part of the zoo’s Pacific Rim concept – featuring animals from only those countries, islands and continents that border the Pacific Ocean. · On July 28, a ground-breaking ceremony kicked off the construction of the polar bear exhibit. · On September 8, the zoo had its first annual Zoo run and Polar Bear Romp to benefit the Tacoma Zoo Society. 1980 · In March, point Defiance Zoo director Norman Winnick resigned giving personal reasons. Winnick’s administration of the zoo had been under severe criticism on several occasions in the previous five years including criticisms from Sue Pressman, director of wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington D.C, and allegations of inhumane animal treatment from his staff in 1978. Dr. George Blanks, curator of education, took over temporary direction of the zoo. · Construction of the Polar Bear Complex was completed in September. · Mukluk, a 1 ½ year old female polar bear, was purchased from the Sacramento Zoo as a result of a successful recycling drive by Tacoma and Puyallup Campfire groups. Another polar bear, Tillicum, was also purchased from the Riversbank, S.C., Zoo. Although the Exhibit was complete the bears were kept away from the public in order to give them time to get to know each other. · Three snow-white artic fox puppies, each just seven months old, were added to the polar bear exhibit. 1981 · In January, the polar bear exhibit was opened to the public. Mukluk and Tillicum joined Frostie, the zoo’s only polar bear, in the exhibit. · Also in January, just days after the new exhibit was opened, Frostie was shot in the back with a .22 caliber firearm. Frostie was not seriously wounded and didn’t seem to be in any discomfort. The gunman was not found. · On March 15, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium began charging an admission fee. The Aquarium was included in that fee.

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· In March, “Operation Oomingmak,” a zoo expedition to Alaska, resulted in the capture of six yearling musk oxen for a new exhibit under construction at the zoo. The animals – two males and four females – were rounded up on Nunivak Island just off the west coast of Alaska in the Bering sea. · After $50,000 in improvements the Farm Zoo reopened in July, including wideopen enclosures that allowed optimum viewing of the animals and the acquisition of several additional farm animals. · Tom Otten was named general curator of the zoo. Otten was a curator of marine mammals at Marineland of the Pacific near Los Angeles. 1982 · In April, an expedition, conducted by zoo director Tom Otten, captured four bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Florida. The dolphins were to be displayed in the Rocky Shores exhibit, soon to be finished. · Tom Galdabini, senior vice president of Leonard Guss Associates Inc., Was elected president of the Tacoma Zoo Society for 1982-83 · The polar bear exhibit earned the 1982 Exhibit Achievement Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association for "Best New Exhibit" of the year and is still regarded as among the best in the world · E.T., the two month-old stranded walrus, arrived at Point Defiance to be included in the newly constructed Rocky Shores, the spectacular $1.8 million marine mammal habitat. A week later Rosie, another stranded walrus, makes her home at Point Defiance Zoo. · After showing a progressively worsening aggressive behavior, Cindy the elephant became too unruly to keep at the zoo. Roger Henneous, director of the elephant program at Portland’s Washington Park Zoo, evaluated Cindy and described her as, “…the most dangerous elephant in the country.” · In the spring the World of Adaptations opened, replacing the old aviary. Highlighting animals’ abilities to adapt and survive sometimes hostile environments of the earth, the more than 35 exhibits displayed a variety of animals from aardvarks to lemurs to lizards to tarantulas. · On October 22, Rocky Shores opened to the public. The exhibit showcased four bottlenose dolphins, Rosie and ET, sea lions, seals, and sea birds. · In October, zoo officials received a request to donate Cindy to an elephant breeding program at the San Diego Wild Park. Two months later Cindy was accepted into the program on the condition that her first female offspring become the property of the Point Defiance Zoo. Gary Miller, an elephant trainer at San Diego, described Cindy as “an intelligent animal who is terribly bored.”

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1983

· The zoo acquired two female baby African elephants from the International Animal Exchange near Dallas. Thandi, whose name means “beloved one” was purchased for $24,000 as a permanent resident of the zoo. Moyo, whose name means “heart” came to the zoo on a loan basis. · In February, Cat, one of the zoo’s four dolphins, died. The remaining three became sick and were then sent to a California marine park for observation. Harmful bacteria was traced to a faulty drain in one of the earthen beams surrounding the exhibit. · In August, Thandi and Moyo, the zoo’s two baby elephants, moved into the newly constructed Southeast Asia exhibit. In addition to the elephants, the $346,000 complex also housed members of the monkey family and Bengal tigers. · The Metropolitan park Board decided to sell the three dolphins that were being held in California. The dolphins had returned to health and it was decided that the Northwest climate was too much for them and may have aided in their illness. · Gary Miller, former elephant trainer at the San Diego Animal Park, joined the staff at the Point Defiance Zoo. Along with him came Moja, a 17-month-old African elephant, on loan indefinitely from San Diego.

1984

· An anonymous donor contributed $41,000 and the Zoo Society added $10,000 more for construction of Center Stage, a new outdoor performance area at the Point Defiance Zoo. · Two sea otter pups were born on the same day in June. The first, born to Cordova, was rejected as the second, born to Nooka, was also rejected. In an unusual turn of events the first pup was then adopted by Nooka who had rejected her own. The second pup died of drowning. The adopted pup then died a few weeks later from a punctured lung that may have been caused by a tussle between the three female adult otters. · Five sharks were added to the main tank of the North Pacific Aquarium. · On July 18, three beluga whales: “Inuk” meaning Eskimo or man, “Sikku” meaning ice, and “Mauyak” meaning melting snow, arrived at the Point Defiance Zoo to occupy the dolphin tank. · In August, Rama, a 17-month-old male Asian elephant, came to the zoo on loan from the elephant-saturated Washington Park Zoo in Portland until he became old enough to enter their breeding program.

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· PDZA received the highest conservation award of the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, The Edward H. Bean Award, for the Red Wolf LongTerm Propagation Program. 1986

· In March, Dixie, a 22-year-old polar bear from the Woodland Park Zoo, joined Tillicum, Mukluk, and Frostie in the Polar bear exhibit at the Point Defiance Zoo. She was moved to the zoo in mid-January following the death of a mate. · A Campaign headed by Tacoman Jane Brosius was mounted to raise $10,000 for the construction of a bronze statue of Dub Dub as a monument to the creature who deserves single-most credit for the success of the Aquarium. · In August Rosie became sick and lost 100 pounds due to an intestinal problem. Due to a lack of means required to analyze Rosie’s ailment, she was sent to Sea World of California in San Diego for diagnosis and possible treatment. · Seven highly endangered red wolves, extinct except in captivity, left Point Defiance Zoo’s breeding program for release in the wild. They flew to Raleigh, N.C. where they were to spend six months in pens before being released into the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge.

1987

· In September, the first endangered American red wolves to roam free in a decade were released weeks behind schedule. The historic release represented the first time an endangered carnivore was repatriated to a portion of its native American habitat. · In February, Rosie returned to the Point Defiance Zoo from Sea World 300 pounds heavier. Rosie was diagnosed with a possible psychological disorder as the cause of her eating problem as no physical ailments could be detected. · Wally, a 3-week-old stranded porpoise, was found on a beach in Southern Oregon. The first-known infant harbor porpoise in captivity lived at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium until it died on October 16. · In December, the newly constructed Tidepool is dedicated along with Larry Anderson’s bronze sculpture of Dub Dub.

1988

· Rosie, one of two walruses at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, died in February of a chronic gastrointestinal problem. · Georgie-Girl, a 7-year-old, 1,200 pound pacific walrus, arrived at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in April to join E.T. · Tom Otten took a job at Sea World as coordinating curator for all the four Sea World parks, but returned to Tacoma after Sea World management underwent a massive reorganization and plans fell through.

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· Another stranded harbor porpoise pup was found on a beach near Seaside, Ore., on the Fourth of July. Indy, as it came to be called, was brought to the Point Defiance Zoo, and lived for 1 ½ days in a quarantine pool until it died of acute gastroenteritis brought on by stress. · In December, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium adapted a holiday promotional campaign used by the Toledo Zoo in Ohio where hundreds of thousands of lights are arranged into the shape of animals. Zoo officials called it ZooLights. · Also in December, the San Diego Wild Animal Park made it clear that they were no longer able to keep Cindy the elephant due to her behavior problems and refusal to mate with the park’s male elephant. 1989

· In February Cindy seriously injured a trainer at the San Diego-area zoo. She kicked and slugged him several times with her trunk and head, giving the man multiple cuts and a broken collar bone. · Point Defiance agreed to return Cindy to the zoo as long as they were able to provide an enclosure big enough for her as well as Thandi and Moyo, the two elephants already housed at the zoo. · The Point defiance Zoo & Aquarium agreed to house two beluga whales, caught in Hudson Bay, until a new whale exhibit at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium could be completed. Point defiance was criticized by the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in contributing to the unwarranted harassment and potential harm of the whales. Even after an impassioned protester claimed that capturing whales was “every bit as evil as taking slaves from Africa” the park board continued with its plans to house the whales. · In July, the South Pacific Aquarium opened to the public. The 25,000 square foot aquarium contained 300,000 gallons of warm sea water in three separate tanks. A protected lagoon featured dozens of colorful tropical fish and just beyond the lagoon was the open ocean tank which featured large sharks, rays and groupers. · In September, 11-year-old polar bear, Mukluk died after becoming ill.

1990

· Cindy the elephant made her move to Portland’s Washington Park Zoo for two years while the new $2 million elephant barn was constructed.

1991 · On October 4, the expanded 5,259 square-foot elephant viewing barn was opened to the public. The $2.3 million exhibit featured heated floors, 27-foot high ceilings and a state of the-art health care restraint chute. Thandi and Moya remained in the old barn until the 7,000 square-foot yard was completed.

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1992 · On February 20, Cindy returned to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium after ten years. She was moved into the new elephant barn and acquainted with Thandi and Moya. · Frostie, the 30-year-old female polar bear, died of liver cancer. · In August, Mauyak gives birth to a 125-pound male calf, but respiratory problems cause the calf’s death minutes after it surfaces in the Rocky Shores pool. · In December, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium took a controversial new approach to elephant management in which handlers were prohibited from working with Cindy except from behind a barrier. 1994 · Mauyak and Inuk’s second calf, a 119-pound female is born in July, but dies minutes later. Veterinarians said the calf’s blowhole opened underwater. 1996

· Suki, a 32-year-old aggressive elephant, made Point Defiance her new home after making life difficult for handlers at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo. Point Defiance became an ideal home for Suki, due to the success of it’s protected-contact elephant program with Cindy. · The zoo joined a public-private partnership with the Point Defiance Zoological Society in order to keep the zoo alive. Under the plan the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma would continue to own the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, but the Point Defiance Zoological Society would manage the zoo.

1997

· Two 1-year-old polar bear cubs, Blizzard and Glacier, arrived at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium from the Calgary Zoo in Canada. · In June, Thandi and Moyo, the zoo’s two African elephants, moved to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The park, a cross between a 500-acre zoo and theme park, bought each of the elephants for $10,000 to be placed in their elephant breeding program. · Point Defiance Zoo received two 4-year-old male snow leopards, named Taiga and Sol, on loan from the Washington Park Zoo in Portland. · After two unsuccessful attempts at giving birth, Mauyak, the beluga whale at Point Defiance Zoo again became pregnant and was traded to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium along with her mate Inuk. In return Point Defiance acquired Naya, an 8-year-old female beluga. · In September, a four month old male walrus named Nuvuk was transported to the Point Defiance Zoo after being rescued on September 5 in Barrow, Alaska.

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· In December, Hanako, a 34-year-old Asian elephant, came to the Point Defiance Zoo from the Washington Park Zoo in Portland. Hanako was unpredictable and therefore an appropriate candidate to replace Thandi and Moya in the zoo’s protected contact environment. · The Zoo Society hired a consultant to evaluate exhibits and facilities at Point Defiance Zoo. Given a steady – though not superb –attendance and a lack of new offerings at the zoo, the consultant concluded that only the significant upgrades and additions would pull the zoo from a “death spiral.” 1998

· From May to September, two koalas were on exhibit thanks to the Queensland Koala Education Conservation Project of the San Diego Zoo. Along with the koala exhibit, the zoo also exhibited twenty-five brightly colored South Pacific parrots called lorikeets for the summer. · After risks of losing its accreditation with the American Zoo & Aquarium Association a new $35 million bond package was introduced that would give the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium a much-needed makeover. Included in the renovation would be a Southeast Asia Exhibit with naturalistic habitats and an expanded elephant outdoor area. Also a renovated front entrance and gift shop as well as a new veterinary hospital. · In August, the Point Defiance Zoo received a 9-week-old clouded leopard cub named Raja. · In November, Josie, a 3 ½ month old female clouded leopard joined Raja from Cleveland Metroparks on a recommendation from the clouded leopard Species Survival Plan. · Also in November the $35 million bond failed, falling short of the 60 percent approval it needed to pass.

1999

· In January, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium again made plans to put the $35 million bond issue in the March election. The zoo determined that if the bond were to fail, it would cost $5 million just to close the zoo. The $5 million would include staff salaries, utilities, animal care, and animal transfers to other facilities. · The American Zoo and Aquarium Association put the zoo on a type of probation until representatives could evaluate the zoo. Without accreditation the zoo would lose its endangered species, loaned animal exhibits like the koalas, and their operating agreement with the veterinary medical students at Washington State University.

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· In March, the $35 million bond issue passed. Over a 10-year period, new animal exhibits – such as the Southeast Asia animal facility, a children’s play area that offers nature-oriented activities, a new entrance area and veterinary hospital – would be built with the bond money. · On September 8, Tillicum, a 31-year-old polar bear, died in its sleep a the point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Tillicum died of old age and complications from a cardiac condition. · County Council members denied the zoo the ability to propose a $8 million bond to be used for annual operating costs. Zoo officials couldn’t use the money from the $35 million bond to build new exhibits or get new animals until the operating budget was sufficient to take care of what they already had. · In October, after nearly two decades of service at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Tom Otten announced he was leaving the zoo for a job in San Diego. 2000 · On June 27, the Tacoma City Council approved a resolution requesting that the Pierce County Council place an issue on the September 19 ballot to raise sales tax. The funds would cover the day-to-day expenses of the newly approved exhibits. · On September 19, Pierce County voters approved proposition 1, increasing the sales tax in order to provide funding for parks, the zoo, and Northwest Trek. Less than a week later, the zoo received verbal notice from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZAA) that fully accredited status would be continued. · May 19 – September 4, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium welcomed Dinosaurs! The three-acre forest featured animatronic dinosaurs, a Dig Site, and an Extinction Maze. 2001

· The Washington Antique Carousel Society joined a partnership with the Point Defiance Zoo to place a carousel, which the Society had built, on zoo grounds in 2004. The carousel would include animals that are native to the Northwest as well as endangered species and zoo animals.

2002

· Cindy celebrated her 40th birthday with a birthday cake made of alfalfa and Timothy hay, apples, carrots, bananas, corn on the cob, melons, pears, strawberries in tiered layers, and topped with cut fruit and strawberries. · Cordova, a 25-year-old Northern sea otter believed to be the oldest in captivity, was humanly euthanized in September after suffering from an inoperable ovarian tumor.

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· In September, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was officially received a five-year accreditation from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association, meaning the Tacoma facility met rigorous standards in animal care and other areas. Failure to pass the test would have cost the zoo dearly. · On November 19, Cindy the beloved Asian elephant was euthanized after worsening degenerative arthritis left her unable to stand. Zoo officials contracted with a Graham firm to haul the carcass to Seattle for what they thought would be a cremation. But it was later discovered that the hauler took her remains to the Pierce County Landfill instead. · In December, construction began on the $2.94 million open-air amphitheater to feature covered seating for 350 and hillside seating for an additional 850 visitors. · Two full-grown male polar bears rescued from the Suarez Brothers Traveling Circus in Mexico were transported to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to be featured in the polar bear exhibit. The bears were later named Boris and Kenneth. 2003 · On February 16, the zoo’s elephant barn was rededicated to the memory of Cindy the elephant. · In April, Josie the rare clouded leopard gave birth to two male cubs. The cubs were later named Kwan Jai (sweetheart) and Rama (king) through the zoo’s Name That Cub contest. · On April 28, five Red wolf pups were born after the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium became the first to use noninvasive hormonal monitoring technique to establish the ideal time to artificially inseminate female wolves. · In October, Gulliver and Mya, a pair of muskox calves joined the animal family at the point Defiance Zoo & aquarium. The 5-month old and 4-month old youngsters came from the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage under the auspices of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. · On October 15, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium dedicated its new Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater along with the newly constructed animal hospital. The environmentally friendly hospital featured a “living roof” to catch and filter rainwater before directing it into a cistern, recycled building materials, solar panels to heat water that warms the floors. · The first big surgical patient at the new animal hospital was Boris who received five root canal procedures. 2004 · In May a slate of animal-education programs began at the new Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater at the zoo.

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· On July 1, the $10 million Asian Forest Sanctuary, adding to the zoo’s Pacific Rim theme, opens to the public with two Sumatran tigers, a Malayan tapir, white-cheeked gibbons and other new animals.

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