El Paso Zoo: History, Attractions, and Future Developments

The El Paso Zoo, formerly known as Washington Park Zoo and later as the El Paso Zoological Gardens, is a thirty-five-acre zoological park in El Paso, Texas, that houses more than 200 animal species, including several endangered ones. Established in 1910, it is located near the Chamizal National Memorial and the Bridge of the Americas, which links El Paso to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. It serves as a major attraction for visitors from West Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico.

The zoo is organized into four sections: Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Chihuahuan Desert, each featuring animals native to those regions. The facility includes attractions such as an amphitheater, event venues, restaurants, a playground, a gift shop, a rope course, splash pads, and an animal-themed carousel. The Franklin Canal, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, runs through the zoo.

Founding and Opening of the Zoo

The zoo traces its origins to January 1910, when John L. Vaughan, a Mexican Central Railway agent at Moctezuma, Mexico, donated several deer to the city of El Paso. Vaughan, who had raised the deer, intended that the animals would provide educational and recreational opportunities for children. The city accepted the gift as the foundation of a municipal zoo. Additional animals were donated to the effort, including a gray wolf in April. The animals were exhibited at the north end of Washington Park, near the zoo's current site.

In March 1910 plans for a zoo facility in the southwest section of Washington Park were submitted to the city council’s park committee. Limited funding required gradual development. The design included an elaborate entrance, central fountain, cages, aquarium, aviary, and promenade. Admission was to be free. By June the animal exhibit had been relocated to its new location.

By the early 1920s the zoo had built its first concrete and steel structures and expanded its collection to include monkeys, lions, birds, elk, buffalo, and other species. During the Great Depression, due to high expenses and fund shortages, the city considered closing the zoo and ultimately reduced its number of large animals to contain overcrowding. In 1939 the city expanded its collection with an emphasis on animals native to the Southwestern United States and brought the total number of species to about 100. Although the zoo had been active for more than three decades by 1941, some sources incorrectly cite that year as its founding date. By 1942 the zoo had become overcrowded and had poor sanitary conditions. The zoo’s difficulties were compounded that year by the acquisition from a defunct circus of several lions, which the city struggled to feed amidst World War II meat shortages. By the war’s end the excess lions had been sold.

Zoo Development and Expansion

The zoo’s facilities remained in poor condition into the early 1950s. In 1954 the city allocated $26,500 for improvements. In 1955 the zoo began construction of a sea lion pool (the sea lion exhibit debuted the following year), a bear pit, and a mammal house. In 1956 voters approved a $180,000 bond measure for further improvements and expansion. That year the zoo acquired Mona, its first Asian elephant, who was a major attraction at the zoo for more than four decades until her death in 2001. In 2013 the El Paso Times described her as the zoo's "most popular resident ever."

Plans to expand the zoo’s facilities under the 1956 bond issue included grottos, an elephant pen, and a duck pond, along with upgrades to the zoo’s appearance. Construction began in 1957 but was halted in 1958 due to funding shortages. Some unfinished projects, such as a bird sanctuary and housing for hooved animals, were left in incomplete states for several years. As of 1961 the zoo attracted an estimated 500,000 visitors annually. In 1962 the Parks and Recreation Department studied two ways to raise funds to improve the zoo: charging admission and creating a nonprofit to support the zoo. That year the city unfroze the remaining bond money and allocated an additional $51,000 for improvements, which included the completion of the unfinished projects and the construction of two new buildings and a redesigned entrance. The facility was also renamed the El Paso Zoological Gardens.

In 1963 the nonprofit El Paso Zoological Society was established as an independent entity funded by local donors. It supported the zoo through volunteering and fundraising for animal acquisition, conservation, and education. Earlier that year a National Recreation Association report, citing high maintenance costs and limited public demand, recommended closing the zoo and replacing it with a smaller children's zoo or park at McKelligon Canyon.

The city retained ownership of the zoo and continued modernization efforts. In 1964 plaques were added to identify species and their origins. In 1967 the zoo debuted a $100,000 bond-funded pavilion for tropical animals. In 1970 Mayor Peter de Wetter’s Council for Social Action proposed a five-year capital plan with nearly $2 million allocated for zoo improvements and expansion. The plan recommended that the zoo be removed from the Parks and Recreation Department and either a new board be created to operate the zoo or that operations be turned over to the Zoological Society. The later proposal was endorsed by the Parks and Recreation Department, although it ultimately retained responsibility for the zoo. By 1973 attendance had dropped to about 85,000 annually. That year a zoo advisory board was created, which promptly proposed introducing admission fees to help fund acquisitions and improvements. The admission fees were implemented the following year.

In 1972 the Zoological Society began studying the possibility of relocating the zoo to McKelligon Canyon or Castner Range. The Society cited limited room for expansion and drainage issues at the current site. In 1974 the U.S. Department of Agriculture found both the zoo and the proposed McKelligon Canyon site unsuitable for sanitation and quarantine purposes, while the Caster Range site was deemed acceptable. Despite the society’s efforts, the zoo was never relocated. In 1979 the city allocated $78,000 to hire additional staff after officials cited understaffing as a factor in several animal deaths.

Accreditation and Continued Expansions

In 1980 the zoo became the thirty-fourth zoo accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA; later the Association of Zoos and Aquariums). It joined the Fort Worth and San Antonio zoos as the only accredited facilities in Texas and became eligible for federal funding. In the early 1980s, in accordance with AAZPA guidance, the zoo launched a docent program to educate the public on animal care. In 1980 the zoo board launched a multi-million-dollar renovation plan, ZoOasis, developed with a Chicago-based consulting firm. The master plan included the expansion of the zoo across Franklin Canal over the area then occupied by Dudley Field, home of the El Paso Diablos, and the division of the zoo into sections based around the places of origin of animals. However, the high cost of the plan was a source of contention within zoo leadership.

In 1984 the zoo partnered with Cielo Vista Mall, which hosted several days of zoo-themed events, to raise $1 million for a North American bear pavilion. By then little of the ZoOasis master plan had been realized. In 1985 the zoo began construction on its first major expansion, the South American Pavilion. Later that year the city dissolved the politically-appointed zoo board and granted the Zoological Society greater control over planning and budgeting. Voters passed a $5 million bond measure for improvements, including development of the Asia section east of the existing zoo, in 1986. The Asia section opened in 1997.

In January 1990 the zoo risked losing AAZPA accreditation due to issues such as poor signage, inadequate lighting, substandard fencing, and outdated records. The zoo’s accreditation was restored after a follow-up inspection demonstrating improvements in these areas in August. In 1999 the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an investigation into alleged animal abuse at the zoo. Following the announcement of the investigation, a 1998 video of staff beating Sissy, an elephant, was made public. In early 2000 the city was charged with violation of the Animal Welfare Act. Zoo director David Zucconi was forced to resign, and Sissy was relocated to a Tennessee sanctuary. The incident sparked lasting concerns about elephant welfare at the zoo, bolstered by the death of Mona in 2001.

In 2000 voters approved a $33.4 million bond issue to double the size of the zoo, along with other improvements. The expansion called for the acquisition of Dudley Field and the Washington Park Senior Center and the creation of a large Africa section. The senior center was relocated in 2004, and Dudley Field was demolished the following year. That year the Dallas-based Meadows Foundation pledged up to $131,000 in matching funds toward a new education building at the zoo. The Africa section debuted in 2010. In 2002 the University of Texas at El Paso began collaborating with the zoo to develop a zoology program at the university.

Current Status

In 2012 the zoo hired Kansas-based WDM Architects to implement a fifteen-year, phased master plan, which included the creation of the Chihuahuan Desert section and the wildlife amphitheater, to be funded through $50 million in bond allocations. The Chihuahuan Desert section opened in late 2019. In 2014 Western Refining founder Paul L. Foster and Alejandra de la Vega-Foster pledged $2 million over six years to the zoo. The funds supported construction of the treehouse playground, funded programing for the amphitheater, and covered 8,000 memberships for military veterans and their families.

In 2019 the zoo launched Quit Bugging Me, an annual Valentine's Day campaign inviting participants to name a cockroach after someone, often an ex-partner, which would then be fed to insectivores. The campaign gained international attention, and by 2023 the zoo had received more than 75,000 name submissions and raised more than $20,000 from participants in more than ninety-five countries. Zoos worldwide have since imitated this initiative.

In March 2024 the city, alleging mismanagement of funds, ended its more than sixty-year partnership with the Zoological Society. In May the society filed a lawsuit against the city over funds collected for the zoo. In July the zoo partnered with the Paso del Norte Community Foundation as its new fundraising arm. In early 2025 the society reorganized as the Conservation Society of El Paso.

In March 2025 the zoo lost its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums due to deferred maintenance, though animal care was not cited as a concern. Zoo officials acknowledged the loss would impact funding and announced plans to appeal the decision.