Raccoon River Zoo is a zoo in Raccoon River, Iowa. It is owned and operated by the Greene Foundation.
History
Raccoon River Zoo began in 1919 when Milo Brixley began setting up a variety of cages for monkeys, bears, camels, cattle and a jaguar on a large plot of land he had purchased. near Raccoon River, Iowa.
The zoo was quite popular amongst the locals and soon grew its collection to include lions, giraffes, zebras, gorillas, orangutans, chimps, seals and even a beluga whale from Nunavut, Canada.
In 1933 the zoo received its largest and most famous residents. Two pairs of Resident Orcas were introduced into a circular, concrete pool in the center of the grounds.
The whales quickly began drawing in more visitors than ever before, as thousands of midwesterners gathered to see the marine leviathans.
1934, the zoo hatched its first Scarlet Macaws, the beginning of a successful history in breeding these endangered parrots.
In 1939 the Zoo’s reptile house opened to the public.
Later in 1945 the zoo had finished construction on a 10 million gallon marine habitat on the left side of the park just off the central pavilion. Titled ‘Pelagica’, it was a huge pool, separated into three portions and connected by channels. The habitat exhibited many species including Bottlenose Dolphins, Pilot Whales, Sharks, Rays and a multitude of fishes.
The instillation drove guest attendance up even higher than before, which, leading into 1950 made the zoo a nationally known and very profitable attraction, allowing for the construction and creation of even more advanced habitat infrastructure, including a planktonic broadcast system accompanying the arrival of a variety of filter feeding species such as the Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, Minke Whales, and Pygmy Right Whales.
These creatures were also some of the largest animals in captivity at the time. And the only baleen whales.
1974 saw the creation of the Desert Loop, featuring Gemsbok, Scimitar Oryx, Camels, and a wide variety of Reptiles and Invertebrates
As the zoo continued its operations, by 1980 nearly all of the old 1920s and 30s era habitats were replaced by more modern ones.
In 1991 one of the zoo’s Dwarf Minke Whale’s gave birth, marking the first successful breeding of a Baleen whale in captivity.
Just one year later a Pygmy Right Whale was born, at that point meaning every species of marine mammal at the zoo had produced offspring.
In the coming years babies would be produced almost yearly at the zoo.
In 1993 the Chimpanzee Forest Preserve opened to the public, replacing the outdated monkey house habitat they had been exhibited in for the past 60 years. This project resulted in the decommission of the Desert Loop, and the creation of the smaller Oryx Trails exhibit, phasing out species like the Caracal, Javelina, Dromedary Camel and others out of the zoo’s collection.
1994 Oryx Trails opened to the public.
1997 saw the opening of two new habitats joined together under the name of the ‘Boreal Trail’
The Boreal Trail consists of Tiger Territory and Grizzly Mountain. Featuring Amur Tigers, Grizzly Bears, a rescue Bald Eagle, Coho Salmon, North American River Otters and Raccoons.
In 2004 a large add-on to the Pelagica habitat was constructed, connecting the end of the Boreal Trail to the large aquarium featuring a rocky coastline for sea otters, seabirds, and a variety of marine invertebrates. Pelagica was renamed to ‘Pacific Ocean’ upon opening of this expansion.
In 2014 the zoo’s orcas were sent to a netted sea pen in a whale sanctuary to live the rest of their lives as wild as possible. Their tank was retrofitted to house three Southern Elephant Seals.
Animals and Exhibits
Australia
- Southern Cassowary
- Tasmanian Devil
- Numbat
- Rainbow Lorikeet
- Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
- Galah
- Saltwater Crocodile
- Brush-tailed Bettong
- Australian Masked Owl
- Tawny Frogmouth
- Freshwater Crocodile
- Perentie
- Heath Monitor
- Yellow-spotted Monitor
- Sand Goanna
- Black-headed Monitor
- Woma Python
- Australian Walking Stick
- Red Kangaroo
- Eastern Gray Kangaroo
- Antilopine Kangaroo
- Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
- Bennett’s Wallaby
- Emu
- Brolga
- Short-beaked Echidna
- Koala
- Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
- Bohra paulae
- Chaeropus ecaudatus (Southern Pig-footed Bandicoot)
- Chaeropus yirratji (Northern Pig-footed Bandicoot)
- Cryptogyps lacertosus
- Diprotodon opatum
- Dromornis stirtoni
- Genyornis newtoni (Newton’s Mihirung)
- Gunggamarandu maunala
- Hulitherium tomasetti
- Ikanogavialis papuensis
- Macrotis leucura (Lesser Bilby)
- Malleodectes mirabilis (Hammer-biter)
- Maokopia ronaldi
- Megalibgwilia owenii
- Meiolania brevicollis
- Meiolania wyandottensis
- Melomys rubicola (Bramble Cay Melomys)
- Murrayglossus hacketti (Hackett’s Giant Echidna)
- Onychogalea lunata (Crescent Nail-tailed Wallaby)
- Namilamadeta snideri
- Ninjemys oweni
- Notamacropus greyi (Toolache Wallaby)
- Palorchestes azael (Marsupial Tapir)
- Paludirex gracilis
- Paludirex vincenti
- Perameles eremiana (Desert Bandicoot)
- Perameles myosuros (Southwestern Barred Bandicoot)
- Phoeniconaias proeses
- Procoptodon goliah (Giant Short-faced Kangaroo)
- Psephotellus pulcherrimus (Paradise Parrot)
- Quinkana fortirostrum
- Rheobatrachus silus (Southern Gastric-Brooding Frog)
- Rheobatrachus vitellinus (Northern Gastric-Brooding Frog)
- Simosthenurus occidentalis
- Thylacinus cynocephalus (Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger)
- Thylacoleo carnifex (Marsupial Lion)
- Varanus priscus (Megalania)
- Wonambi naracoortensis
- Yalkaparidon coheni
- Zygomaturus trilobus
- Hadronyche pulvinator (Cascade Funnel-web Spider)
- Hypolimnus pedderensis (Lake Pedder Earthworm)
- Aplonis fusca (Tasman Starling)
- Columba vitiensis gedmanae (Lord Howe Island Pigeon)
- Cynoramphus subflavescens (Lord Howe Island Parakeet)
- Gerygene insularis (Lord Howe Island Gerygene)
- Meiolania platyceps (Lord Howe Island Horned Turtle)
- Ninex novaeseelandiae albaria (Lord Howe Island Boobook)
- Nyctophilius howensis (Lord Howe Island Long-eared Bat)
- Perphyrie albus (White Swamphen)
- Rhiphidura fuligenesa cervina (Fawn-breasted Fantail)
- Turdus vinitinctus (Lord Howe Island Thrush)
- Zosterops strennus (Robust White-eye)
- Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae (Norfolk Pigeon)
- Lulage leucopyga leucopyga (Norfolk Triller)
- Nestor preductus (Norfolk Kaka)
- Pampusana norfolkensis (Norfolk Ground Dove)
- Crocidura trichura (Christmas Island Shrew)
- Emoia nativitatus (Christmas Island Forest Skink)
- Pipistrellus murrayi (Christmas Island Pipistrelle)
- Rattus macleari (Maclear’s Rat)
- Rattus (Bunomys) nativitatus (Bulldog Rat)
- Gallicolumba salamonis (Thick-billed Ground Dove)
- Gallinula sylvestris (Makira Woodhen)
- Microgoura meeki (Choiseul Pigeon)
- Nyctimene santacrucis (Nendo Tube-nosed Bat)
- Uromys imperator (Emperor Rat)
- Uromys porculus (Little Pig Rat)
- Accipiter efficax (Powerful Goshawk)
- Accipiter quartus (Gracile Goshawk)
- Caloenas canacorum (Kanaka Pigeon)
- Charmosyna diadema (New Caledonian Lorikeet)
- Coenocorypha neocaledonica (New Caledonian Snipe)
- Ducula davidi (‘Uvea Imperial Pigeon)
- Eclectus infectus (Oceanic Eclectus Parrot)
- Gallicolumba ferruginea (Tanna Ground Dove)
- Gallirallus lafresnayannus (New Caledonian Rail)
- Megapodius molistructor (Pile-builder Megapode)
- Meiolania mackayi
- Mekosuchus inexpectatus
- Mwalau walterlinii (Lini’s Megapode)
- Porphyrio kukwiedei (New Caledonian Gallinule)
- Rhynochetos orarius (Lowland Kagu)
- Sylviornis neocaledoniae
- Tyto letocarti (New Caledonian Barn Owl)
Children’s Zoo
- Chilean Flamingo
- Cotton-top Tamarin
- Chicken
- Goose
- Goat
- Sheep
- Common Dwarf Mongoose
- Fennec Fox
- Laughing Kookaburra
Pelagica: A World Underwater
- Anemone Crab
- Atlantic Thorny Oyster
- Banggai Cardinalfish
- Blue Sea Star
- Bubbletip Anemone
- Coral Beauty Angelfish
- Dimpled Encrusting Montipora
- Electric Flame Scallop
- Elegant Feather Star
- Elegant Firefish
- Fire Corals
- Fire Goby
- Fire Shrimp
- Finger Coral
- Flame Scallop
- Flowerpot Coral
- Flame Angelfish
- Frogspawn Coral
- Giant Barrel Sponge
- Giant Clam
- Golden Spot Sea Squirt
- Knobbly Mushroom Coral
- Leaf Plate Montipora
- Lobed Brain Coral
- Marine Betta
- Maxima Clam
- Moon Wrasse
- Ocellaris Clownfish
- Peppermint Shrimp
- Red Feather Star
- Red Slate Pencil Urchin
- Semicircle Angelfish
- Sexy Shrimp
- Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
- Staghorn Coral
- Variable Bushy Feather Star
The Open Ocean consists of several more large viewing windows into the Pelagica tank looking into a recreation of the barren open ocean, modeled after the East Pacific Ocean, specially the Muertes Shelf, one of which being one of the largest in the world. At 75 feet long, 26 feet tall and nearly 3 feet thick.
- Cuvier’s Beaked Whale
- Dwarf Minke Whale
- Dwarf Sperm Whale
- False Killer Whale
- Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
- Pygmy Right Whale
- Pygmy Sperm Whale
- Short-finned Pilot Whale
- Strap-toothed Whale
- Green Sea Turtle
- Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Blacktip Reef Shark
- Bowmouth Guitarfish
- Brown-banded Bamboo Shark
- Coral Catshark
- Epaulette Shark
- Green Sawfish
- Longcomb Sawfish
- Port Jackson Shark
- Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
- Silky Shark
- Smalltooth Sandtiger Shark
- Tiger Shark
- Whale Shark
- White-tip Reef Shark
- White-spotted Bambooshark
- Zebra Shark
- Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray
- Chilean Devil Ray
- Giant Oceanic Manta Ray
- Leopard Whipray
- Ribbon Eel
- Snowflake Moray Eel
- Bigeye Trevally
- Bluefin Trevally
- Common Remora
- Crevalle Jack
- Eastern Pacific Bonito
- Giant Trevally
- Indo-Pacific Sailfish
- Lagoon Triggerfish
- Peruvian Pacific Sardine
- Peruvian Anchovy
- Tarpon
- Azure Damselfish
- Barrier Reef Chromis
- Bicolor Anthias
- Bird Wrasse
- Blackbar Soldierfish
- Blackspotted Puffer
- Blue-Green Chromis
- Blue Ring Angelfish
- Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
- Bluestriped Grunt
- Copperband Butterflyfish
- Coral Grouper
- Dragon Wrasse
- Emperor Angelfish
- Forceps Butterflyfish
- Foxface Rabbitfish
- French Angelfish
- Giant Grouper
- Goldenstriped Soapfish
- Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse
- Humpback Grouper
- Humphead Wrasse
- Largemouth Blenny
- Latticed Butterflyfish
- Leopard Coral Grouper
- Longhorn Cowfish
- Map Puffer
- Masked Butterflyfish
- Milkfish
- Narrow-lined Puffer
- Orbicular Batfish
- Pacific Double-saddle Butterflyfish
- Papuan Toby
- Pennant Coralfish
- Pinnate Spadefish
- Porkfish
- Powder Blue Tang
- Raccoon Butterflyfish
- Red-belted Anthias
- Ring-tailed Cardinalfish
- Royal Angelfish
- Saddle Butterflyfish
- Sailfin Tang
- Samurai Squirrelfish
- Sea Goldie
- Silver Moony
- Speckled Butterflyfish
- Squarespot Anthias
- Striped Surgeonfish
- Threadfin Butterflyfish
- Tomato Clownfish
- Two-spot Red Snapper
- Yellow-edged Lyretail
- Yellowtail Coris
- Yellow Tang
Chimpanzee Forest
- Common Chimpanzee
- Red River Hog
Oryx Trails
- Common Ostrich
- Gemsbok
- Roan Antelope
- Aardvark
- Addax
- Dama Gazelle
- Scimitar-horned Oryx
Tiger Territory
- Amur Tiger
- Egyptian Fruit Bat
Grizzly Mountain
- Coho Salmon
- Northern Bald Eagle
- North American River Otter
- Raccoon
- Grizzly Bear
Other Attractions
Evoscope
A 4D theater and ride, this 2-hour experience is not included with admission. Taking you across time to view the different eras of life on earth, narrated by David Attenborough.
Dinosaur Safari
34 animatronic dinosaur species.
Natural History Museum
- Fossil Hall
- Pleistocene Hall
- Spec Hall
- Deep-Sea
- Caverns
Education and Conservation
TBA