GLADYS PORTER ZOO

zoological park in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., which has one of the world's finest reptile collections. Opened in 1971, the 12-hectare (30-acre) park is owned by the city and operated by a local zoological society. The zoo houses about 1,700 specimens representing almost 400 species. Except for the herpetarium, the zoo's exhibit area is divided according to continent, with tropical America, Indo-Australia, Asia, and Africa as the focal points. Many of the animals are housed and displayed on islands or in large open enclosures behind moats or electrically charged wire fences. Part of the world's herd of endangered Arabian oryx is maintained at the zoo.