CINCINNATI

Cincinnati manages to make national headlines quite often.  Most recently, some of those headlines were related to our zoo.  The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is the second oldest zoo in the country - it was established in 1875, just one year after the Philadelphia Zoo.  Cincinnati was so heavily populated by immigrants at that time that the first guide book was printed only in German.  It was seven years before one was printed in English.

The first animals included white-tailed deer, raccoons and a crow - animals that I might see in my back yard.  The current totals are 1,900 animals of over 500 species.  This zoo has breeding programs that make it one of the most prolific incubators of any in the world.

Harambe, the ape, and Fiona, the hippo, have made this a famous zoo in the last year.  The former by dying and the later by living.   Currently, the breeders have a sheep dog acting as a nanny for three newborn tiger cubs.

The Cincinnati Zoo first became very famous with the acquisition of a gorilla named Susie.  A zoo trainer taught the beast to eat with a knife and fork.  Two shows were put on each day to show off her skills.  She became very popular with the locals and received world wide fame.  Over 16,000 people showed up for it's birthday celebration in 1936.  She lived until 1947.

Sitting on 80 acres in the middle of the city, it is a landmark of which we should all be proud.  Is there anyone who would like to visit it with me?  Let me know.
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