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The Raleigh Jaycees held a professional football exhibition game, the net proceeds to go towards studying the possibility of establishing a state zoo. They collected $18,000 for the study.
The N. C. Legislature convened. They passed a bill, pushed and promoted by the Jaycees, creating the N. C. Zoological Garden Study Commission to evaluate the feasibility of the State Zoo. The nine-member commission, using the money provided by the Jaycees, wrote and published a feasibility report recommending that a State Zoo was not only possible but desirable as well.
The North Carolina Zoo Society, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, was incorporated to raise funds for the Zoo.
The N. C. Legislature convened. After reading and considering the North Carolina Zoological Garden Study Commission's report, the General Assembly passed a bill creating the North Carolina Zoological Authority, a state agency with a 15-member board of directors. Norwood W. "Red" Pope of Raleigh was appointed chairman by Governor Robert W. Scott. To assist the Authority in its responsibility as "the sole authority in the establishment and location of the North Carolina Zoological Garden," the General Assembly appropriated $250,000 for development purposes. (The Authority also has a 100-member advisory board made up of affluent and influential citizens.)
The Authority Board of Directors began to meet on a quarterly basis. The Site Selection Criteria Committee was formed to draw up and publish a stringent set of rules to be followed by all communities vying for the Zoo location.
To download a PDF of the Zoo history click here.
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N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.
The Zoo is closed Christmas day and during severe weather. Call our information line at: 1-800-488-0444.
