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A gem in the Minot community

Roosevelt Park Zoo: A special part of Minot history

Eloise Ogden/MDN ABOVE: Roosevelt Park Zoo, the oldest public zoo in North Dakota, is observing its centennial this year. The centennial is based on the zoo’s first building. The Zoological Building now is the zoo’s Aviary.

“Minot is to have a zoo. This will delight the youngsters and some of the older boys and girls as well,” the Ward County Independent newspaper in Minot reported in April 1914.

Roosevelt Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in the state of North Dakota

The history of the zoo dates back to 1914 when a decision was made to open a zoo in Minot.

In the winter of 1914-15 a road was constructed through Riverside Park and the zoo was started.

The first animals in the zoo reportedly were 12 fox squirrels and 12 gray squirrels.

Submitted Photo TOP RIGHT: This photo of the Zoological Building is undated but the vehicles at the left side of the photo indicate it is likely from the 1920s. The building was opened to the public in December 1921.

The park board decided to buy two buffalo in South Dakota (a bull and a cow for a cost of about $600), some coyotes, foxes, bears and raccoons. Plans were to also install a cage of monkeys during the summer. Park board members said the parks already had the squirrels.

The first animals for the zoo arrived in February 1915, at Riverside Park.

A 1927 Minot Parks souvenir book said the zoo had several families of monkeys, buffalo, elk, deer, African lions, mountain lions, kangaroos, bobcats, raccoons, lynx, coati, badgers, foxes, guinea pigs, 21 kinds of wild ducks, eagles, silver black foxes, flying squirrels, swans, alligator, pheasants, talking parrots, cockatoos and others.

The Zoological Building, now the Aviary, was built in 1921.

The first exotic animals, a pair of Nubian lions purchased for $250, arrived between 1924 and 1930.

On Sept. 11, 1924, Riverside Park was renamed Theodore Roosevelt Park and a bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt on his horse was dedicated.

Darius T. Ritchey, who was parks superintendent from 1945-1971, is often credited for helping to grow the zoo.

The Minot Park Board broke ground in August 1972 for a new feline house for the large cats in the zoo. The facility was financed with the help of the Greater Minot Zoological Society, the City of Minot and many donations.

A nonprofit organization, the Greater Minot Zoological Society, created in 1970 to promote the zoo, later changed its name to the Zoo Crew. About a year ago the organization went back to its original Greater Minot Zoological Society name.

A children’s zoo was opened a number of years ago within the main zoo. Reached by a walk-bridge, the area covers about a half-acre area and resembles a farmyard with a barn.

Roosevelt Park Zoo has survived near closure during the Depression and in later years when its operating money was low. It has gone through major flooding of the Souris River, most recently in 2011, when animals and birds had to be evacuated, some going to other zoos during that time.

The flood of 1969 caused every bird and animal to be moved from the zoo which led to the redesign of the zoo grounds. The foot bridge, a feline house, and a new bear den were constructed, according to zoo information.

Zoo births attract many visitors. A few of the significant births include:

– Two lion cubs born in April 1930 were the first such cubs born in the Minot zoo.

– A baby kangaroo born at the zoo in 1956 was believed to be the first kangaroo ever born in North Dakota.

– The birth of tiger cubs in the 1960s parented by the zoo’s first pair of tigers initiated the zoo’s first involvement in a tiger breeding program.

– A Grant zebra foal born at the zoo in August 1984 was the first zebra ever born in a North Dakota zoo. Photos of the foal and its mother were printed in newspapers across the country.

There’s been some “celebrities” at the zoo over the years. Tigers purchased for the zoo performed in the Clyde Beatty, Shrine and Gil Gray circuses. The Minot Daily News reported a lion purchased for the zoo in the 1960s was the second cat in the world that could walk a tightrope.

A cougar born at the zoo in 1981 was the star performer of Bob Steele Animal Productions in Florida in promotional advertising for Lincoln-Mercury dealers. The Minot Daily News also reported the cat, named Beaux, was trained to ride a motorcycle and sit at a bar and drink from a glass. Beaux appeared on the TV show, “That’s Incredible,” in November 1983.

Two mascots of the former 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Minot Air Force Base lived at the zoo for a number of years. “Liberty” and “Eagle,” a brother-sister pair, were donated to the zoo when the squadron deactivated in 1983. At the air base, the cats were always known as “the mascots” or “the lynx mascots” but actually they were bobcats (Lynx rufus) and not lynx. Col. Jack Broughton, a 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron commander, was responsible for getting the live mascots for the squadron in 1963. Both cats are no longer living.

Throughout the following years to the present, additions of new animals, new exhibits and the participation in the Species Survival Program have greatly enhanced the zoo. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Minot’s zoo was a free zoo for many years. In December 1979 the Minot Park Board voted to charge admission to the zoo.

In November 2016, the Minot Rotary Club held a rededication to thank community partners for the refurbishment of Soo Line steam locomotive No. 735 at its site at the zoo. The locomotive was dedicated 60 years earlier on Nov. 5, 1956.

During the winter of 2016-2017 the zoo remained open on certain days unless weather did not permit it. The winter opening offered visitors a different type of zoo experience to summer, according to Becky Dewitz, zoo director at that time. She said some animals, like the wolves are much more active when its colder.

More plans to increase visitors’ experience at the zoo were planned starting with the 2017 zoo season. “We’re going to try to do more demonstrations about the animal training program and hands-on interactions with some of our animal ambassadors with our animal outreach program,” Dewitz said.

In December 2017, Ron Merritt, Minot Parks executive director, Jennifer Shirley, vice president of the Minot Zoo Crew, now Greater Minot Zoological Society and chairman of the Centennial Capital Campaign, announced the launch of the community’s part in a three-phase project for new lion, tiger and leopard habitats for the zoo. It was the first large-scale capital campaign leading up to the zoo’s centennial year celebration in 2021.

“We’re asking for our community to come together and help us to get these exhibits these major renovations we’re talking about at the zoo,” Merritt said. He said the Minot Park District was 100 percent behind the project. “Roosevelt Park Zoo is a gem in our community and we’re very proud of it,” he said.

Subsequently, ground was broken for two of the habitats: the Amur Tiger River Valley, a new habitat for the tigers to roam at the site of the existing duck pond near the Visitor Center’s entrance, and the African Lion Savannah, a new habitat to allow visitors to see lions in natural surroundings. Renovation of the existing cat complex for the leopards would be the final portion of the project.

The $2.8 million Severson Ahart African Lion Savanna, the new home for the zoo’s African lions, opened in September 2019.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in June 2020 for the completion and official opening of the $3.4 million Amur Tiger River Valley.

The African lion and Amur tiger habitats total $6.2 million. Of that amount, $2.2 million was a revenue bond from the Minot Park District and the rest was community donations.

Jennifer Kleen, executive director of the Greater Minot Zoological Society, said the renovation of the former cat habitat for the leopard habitat is estimated to cost $2.8 million. Construction of the leopard habitat will be done in 2022. Financing the leopard habitat includes $1.3 million left over from the African lion and Amur tiger habitats and a cash reserve match of $800,000 from the Minot Park District. As of Feb. 12, $480,627.59 was still needed for the cash reserve match.

Despite going through two major floods in the past 52 years – the flood of 1969 and the flood of 2011 – the zoo has bounced back each time into a fully viable facility for visitors with a wide variety of zoo inhabitants plus providing special programs including conservation experiences and other activities for visitors from kids to adults to have a total zoo experience.

Today’s zoo has about 159 animals and about 68 species. In 2020, more than 95,000 people visited the zoo.

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