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Caldwell Zoo Continues 50-Year Tradition of Educating Children, Delighting More Than 600,000 Visitors Each Year
$6.5 million construction and renovation heralds new era for this exciting regional destination

For the last 50 years, the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX has delighted millions of visitors. The zoo began as the backyard menagerie of businessman and philanthropist D.K. Caldwell. Today, true to Caldwell's vision and under the caring guidance of his nephew, Executive Director Hayes Caldwell, the Caldwell Zoo has become an exciting regional destination and one of the finest small zoos in the country with 2,000 animals representing 250 different species.

Now completing a $6.5 million construction and renovation project that is fully funded by the Caldwell Foundation, the Caldwell Zoo will unveil a spectacular new public entryway, a new   animal hospital, animal holding buildings, picnic area, parking lots, and walk-through exhibits beginning in October of 2003.

The new arrival plaza and exhibits were developed by a planning team comprised of zoo personnel and Jones & Jones, an internationally acclaimed Seattle based design firm specializing in zoos, aquariums, and other environmental centers.

Beginning in October, visitors to the Caldwell Zoo will experience a new arrival sequence that begins with at an expansive arrival plaza framed by a new gift shop and a visitor services building that houses restrooms, first aid, security and stroller rental.

Adjacent to the visitor services building is Phase I of the new Children's Zoo. Here animals are housed in a series of corrals to provide extensive animal contact opportunities for children.

The renovation also includes a new 4,500-square-foot veterinary hospital,   separate buildings for holding mammals and birds not on exhibit, expanded parking facilities for 750 cars, and a bus parking lot with picnic areas and restroom facilities.

As visitors leave the entry area that leads to the main animal exhibits, they'll enter a series of state-of-the-art walk-through exhibits separated by a waterfall and moat system. Here Lemurs, Squirrel Monkeys, Tamarins, Flamingos, Scarlet Ibis and Roseate Spoonbills will greet visitors with a profusion of color and visual stimulation--the sights and sounds of animals from exotic places across the globe.

This first-class regional destination attracts over 600,000 visitors each year, including numerous groups of school children, seniors and other civic and special interest organizations. The Caldwell Zoo has been recognized as one of the top zoos in the South for visitors along with Zoo Atlanta, Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Fort Worth Zoo and the North Carolina Zoo. The Caldwell Zoo has been a leader by establishing a long tradition of educational programs for children. These programs provide enjoyable, innovative and educational experiences to stimulate their appreciation of the natural world.

Supported primarily by funding from the Caldwell Foundation, in the fall of 2003, the zoo for the first time began to charge a nominal admission fee in order to ensure that it becomes a self-sustaining organization for future generations. One of 208 zoos in North American accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), until the fall of 2003, the Caldwell Zoo was the only free admission AZA zoo that did not receive public funding. The Caldwell Zoo's annual operating budget tops $4 million.

For decades children in the Tyler region have been on a first-name basis with animals at the Caldwell Zoo. Originally there was just one parrot, two squirrels and a monkey in the backyard petting zoo of the preschool D.K. Caldwell founded. But the collection grew to include alligators and much more. Many children have fond memories of Kimbo the elephant and many other animals in our predator-prey exhibits representing East Africa, North America and South America.

Today visitors to the Caldwell Zoo from across North Texas are provided with a close-up experience with lions, elephants, giraffes and zebras grazing in natural East Africa habitats. The natural rolling topography of the zoo provides a breathtaking glimpse of these magnificent animals with barriers virtually hidden from view. Visitors can dine with the animals at the Caldwell Zoo, where the main restaurant, picnic area and a second gift shop overlook the African Savanna below.

Jaguars, mountain lions and bison populate the open North America exhibits, while giant anteaters and squirrel monkeys let visitors see a snapshot of South America. Each regional area features animals in "native" habitat, allowing patrons to stroll through the wooded, park-like setting to enjoy the panorama of animals moving freely in their protected terrain.

Hayes Caldwell first worked at the zoo when he was 13 years old. He pursued his unwavering interest in animals at Texas Tech University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Park Administration in 1972. After graduation, he returned to work as assistant director of the Caldwell Zoo and was promoted to executive director in 1697, not long before his uncle's death in 1977.

The younger Caldwell led the zoo's transformation with development of a 50-acre master plan and aggressive building program that began in the late 1970s and continued throughout the 1980s. Kimbo, that much-beloved Asian elephant, was actually the catalyst for the Caldwell Zoo's initial expansion.

In 1970 a group of youngsters broke into the zoo and a number of birds and small animals were killed. Tyler school children began taking up a collection of change and gave the money they raised--$4,000--to D.K. Caldwell to help replace the animals. Touched by the gesture, he decided to do something wonderful for the children--he purchased Kimbo.

Only three feet tall and still taking formula from a bottle when she arrived, as Kimbo grew, the zoo had to grow around her. When Hayes Caldwell took on the job of executive director, his first priority was to build the Elephant House for Kimbo. She moved into her new home in the fall of 1977 where two companions, an African elephant, and   Rolinda later joined her.

In 1999, the zoo's master plan was extensively updated to address continued attendance growth and the zoo's concentration on exhibits representing three distinct regions. Over the last two decades, the Caldwell Zoo has also become deeply involved in AZA Species Survival Plans. The zoo promotes education and research in conservation issues and participates in breeding programs including those for endangered and other species.

Kimbo actually inaugurated the zoo's cooperative breeding program for endangered species in the mid-1980s when she was loaned to the Fort Worth Zoo for its Asian elephant-breeding program. Meanwhile, the Caldwell Zoo received an African elephant, Tonya, on loan from the St. Louis Zoo.

"It is difficult for one zoo to breed both Asian and African elephants," Caldwell explained. "By working together, zoos can accomplish much more and protect a wider variety of endangered and threatened species."

The Caldwell Zoo has successfully bred a number of animals including cheetahs, giraffes, black rhinos, African lions, and Chilean flamingos.

The active breeding program is a key component of the Caldwell Zoo philosophy, which is dedicated to the preservation of the world's wildlife and the enrichment of the lives of zoo visitors, especially children.

Located at 2203 Martin Luther King Drive, just off of Gentry Parkway, the Caldwell Zoo is easily reached from the U.S. Highway 69 exit off Interstate 20. The zoo is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. April 1 through September 30 and 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. from October 1 through March 31.The zoo is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. For more information, call 903-593-0121.