The Zoo is reopening May 21! Stay tuned for details on free timed-entry ticket pass reservations, safety measures, free timed-entry Asia Trail/Panda Passes and special Smithsonian National Zoo Member benefits.

The National Zoo preceded the founding of the New York Zoological Park and Munich's Hellabrun Zoo, and thus may have been the first major zoo to be located in a spacious, landscaped setting. The Zoological Park's primary aim was not for the entertainment of people, but for the preservation of endangered animals indigenous to the United States. The Zoo was created at a time when American's were concerned about "the closing of the frontier" and the dominance of a new, urban, industrialized society, and the Zoo's animals were reminders to visitors of the disappearing American Wilderness. In addition to conventional animal houses, extensive pastures for grazing were planned along with natural rock quarries to contain bears, a scheme that was unsuccessful.