Henry Doorly Zoo
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The Henry Doorly Zoo is a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It began in 1894 as the Riverview Park Zoo; in 1963, Margaret Hitchcock Doorly – wife of Henry Doorly – donated $750,000 to the zoo with the stipulation that the zoo be renamed after her late husband. Today, it is considered by many to be one of the top zoos in the United States; in May 2004, it was voted by Reader's Digest as the best zoo in America.
The zoo features several major exhibits including:
- The Lied Jungle, at 61,000 square feet (5,700 m²), is the world's largest indoor rain forest. The jungle allows visitors to walk along a trail on the floor and on a walkway above the animals.
- The Scott Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium opened in 1995. It features water dwelling animals from around the world, including puffins, penguins and a plethora of fish. A 70 foot (21 m) long tunnel allows visitors to walk beneath the ocean floor. The tank is 17 feet (5 m) deep and holds 850,000 US gallons (3,200 m³) of salt water. Visitors can see sharks, rays and coral reef fish.
- The world's largest indoor desert. The Desert Dome has geologic features that represent deserts from around the world, including the Namib Desert of southern Africa and the Sonoran Desert of the southwest United States. Animals from each desert represented are on display, including meerkats, bearded dragons and prairie dogs.
- Beneath the desert dome lies the Kingdoms of the Night, the world's largest nocturnal exhibit. It features dozens of nocturnal animals including bats, alligators, flying squirrels, a beaver lodge and feathertail gliders.
- The Hubbard Gorilla Valley opened in 2004. The valley gives the gorillas a larger outdoor habitat, while allowing visitors a close-up view of the creatures. A new orangutan exhibit opened in May 2005.
The zoo has a world class genetics research program that has discovered several new species. The world's first "test-tube" gorilla in-vitro fertilization resides at the zoo. The gorilla was created and born at a zoo in Ohio with sperm frozen by the Henry Doorly reproductive research team.
The zoo also features the world's second-largest free-flight aviary, an IMAX theater and many other exhibits.
The Omaha Zoo Railroad, a narrow gauge steam-powered train ride, carries visitors on a circular sweep through the grounds. There is also a road tram which makes four stops throughout the zoo, and a carousel on which visitors of all ages can ride handcrafted recreations of wild animals.