NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK

zoo in Washington, D.C., that was established under the Smithsonian Institution by acts of the U.S. Congress in 1889 and 1890, when a site in the wooded valley of Rock Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, was purchased. The Smithsonian was authorized to transfer to the zoo the animals kept in cages at the rear of the Smithsonian Institution. Various government departments, including the foreign consular service, donated specimens, and many exotic specimens have been received as gifts from foreign governments. The zoo, which occupies about 76 hectares (187 acres), has approximately 2,500 specimens of more than 425 species. It has developed one of the finest small mammal collections in the world and has become famous for breeding pygmy hippopotamuses. Rarities include a white Bengal tiger, received in 1960, and a pair of pandas, a gift from China in 1972. A remodeling program in the 1960s resulted in the construction of an outstanding great flight cage and new hoofed-stock areas. A hospital-research building was added in 1970. In 1975 the zoo acquired 1,280 hectares (3,150 acres) in Front Royal, Va., to use as a conservation and research centre.