A Zoo Comes to
Baltimore
In the mid-1800s, the definition of“ zoo” was very loose.“ Anybody who had a donkey attached to a fence could claim they had a zoo,” jokes Fowler. In the 1860s, there was even an unofficial zoo in Druid Hill Park led by the park manager, who tended to a small number of animals that were donated by Baltimore residents, including four swans, the first animals in the park to be put on display for the public.
A few years later, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to create what was then known as The Baltimore Zoo. Along with swans, some of the zoo’ s early animals were sheep and deer.“ On occasion, people visiting abroad would also bring back a monkey and [ the collection ] started to build from there,” says Fowler. By 1880, the Baltimore Zoo— which became The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in 2004 to honor its influence throughout the state— had nearly 300 animals.
The zoo wouldn’ t be a Baltimore institution without a few eccentric moments in its history. In 1923, Baltimore mayoral candidate Howard W. Jackson took the election primarily because he supported bringing the first elephant to the zoo. Two years later, Baltimore children helped the zoo purchase that elephant, Mary Ann, by donating pennies for the cause.
Then, in the 1950s, The Baltimore Zoo became known for its talented artist, Betsy the chimpanzee( 1951 to 1960), who was a
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