Denver Zoo

The Denver Zoo began in 1896 with a single orphaned black bear cub named Billy Bryan. Bears remain part of its story: Bear Mountain, built in 1918, was among the first zoo exhibits in the United States to replace bars with naturalistic rockwork, and it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The zoo occupies about 80 acres of City Park, east of downtown Denver. Its habitats range across continents, from Toyota Elephant Passage, a large complex shared by Asian elephants and other species, to Predator Ridge, home to African lions and other carnivores, and Primate Panorama with its gorillas and orangutans.

Attracting more than one and a half million visitors a year, it is one of Colorado's most popular attractions. Its mix of historic and modern habitats suits families as well as visitors interested in how zoo design has changed over the past century.