If you need additional information or wish to request an interview with any Minnesota Zoo staff member, please contact:

Timeline

FACTS

• The Minnesota Zoo opened on May 22, 1978 to educate the public about critical environmental issues. Today, the Zoo provides award-winning recreational, educational and conservation programs – locally, nationally and internationally. It is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA).
• The Zoo is home to more than 2,900 animals and 504 species from around the world. Animals include Amur tigers, Chinese takin, wolverines, sharks & fish, gibbons, a variety of birds, domestic farm animals, and many other rare and endangered species.
• There were 246 births and hatchings at the Minnesota Zoo in 2008.
• The Zoo, located on 500 acres, is the largest zoo in Minnesota and has an annual attendance of over 1.3 million visitors.
• The Minnesota Zoo has 240 employees, over 1,000 volunteers, and approximately 44,000 members households. In FY07, it had an annual operating budget of $18.7 million.

• The Minnesota Zoo participates in 24 Species Survival Plans (SSPs), a program of the AZA designed to help ensure the survival of selected threatened wildlife species.
• The Minnesota Zoo has coordinated the AZA’s Tiger SSP since 1987 and the AZA Cervid Taxon Advisory Group since 1994. It currently manages breeding of three of the six remaining tiger subspecies: Amur, Sumatran, and Malayan (formerly Indochinese). The Zoo participates in the South China Tiger Recovery Program, the North American Amur Leopard Field Conservation Program, the Ulysses S. Seal Conservation Grant Program, the Indonesian Adopt-A-Park Program, the Trumpeter Swan Restoration Project, and the Bluebird Recovery Project.
• The Minnesota Zoo is continuing its long-term trumpeter swan restoration partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR).

• Over 100,000 students visit the Minnesota Zoo each year. The Zoo has developed numerous programs, including the Mentor Program, Zoo Camp, Family Zoo Adventures, Preschool, Scouts, and behind-the-scenes tours to interactively educate guests about the Zoo and its animals.

GUEST INFORMATION
Location
Highway 77 South (Cedar) and 38 (McAndrews) in Apple Valley, Minnesota
Located only minutes south of the Mall of America

Hours
The Minnesota Zoo is open every day except Thanksgiving & December 25.
Memorial Weekend–Labor Day 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily
September 9 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (to 6 p.m. weekends)
October–April 30 9 a.m.–4 p.m. daily
May 9 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (to 6 p.m. weekends)

Services
Stroller and wheelchair rental, birthday parties, baby changing and nursing areas, locker rentals, bus service, lost and found, food service, First Aid, ATM, and Zoo maps

Contact
Zoo Information Line 952.431.9500 or 800.366.7811