A physician's decision after hearing lions roar in 1916 gave you the San Diego Zoo, now home to over 12,000 animals. The Zoo was founded in 1916 by Dr. Harry Wegeforth, a physician who heard the roar of lions from animals left behind after the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and decided on the spot that San Diego should have a permanent zoo. Wegeforth's informal beginning — he essentially traded medical services for donated animals — grew into an institution that today houses more than 12,000 animals representing 650 species across 100 acres of beautifully landscaped canyons.
The Zoo pioneered the concept of barless, open-air habitats in the 1920s, replacing the iron cage model that dominated zoo design at the time. More importantly, the San Diego Zoo and its sister institution the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido have become world leaders in wildlife conservation and captive breeding programs. The California condor was rescued from extinction here: by 1987, every surviving condor had been brought into captivity; breeding programs rebuilt the wild population to over 500 birds.
Giant panda breeding, cheetah conservation, and dozens of other programs have made this institution's scientific work as significant as its public-facing exhibits.