Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary

Zoo in California, United States

Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary

Sign at the entrance to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary

38°40′55″N 121°09′54″W﻿ / ﻿38.682°N 121.165°W﻿ / 38.682; -121.165
Date opened| 1963
Location| Folsom, California, United States
No. of animals| ~100[1]
Website| www.folsomzoofriends.org

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (originally Folsom Zoo) is a zoo and animal sanctuary located in the city of Folsom, California, in the United States, which has been open since 1963.[2] The facility differs from traditional zoos and is more like a sanctuary in the way the animals are acquired and the care they receive. Though the facility allows visitors like a traditional zoo, the animals are not bred, sold, or traded.[1]

The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary is supported by Friends of the Folsom Zoo, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which helps by providing both funding and volunteers.

## History

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The zoo took in its first animal in 1963, when the University of California at Davis Veterinary Department asked the Folsom Park superintendent to add an orphaned bear cub to the few animals he had been keeping around the park office. A cage was built for the bear, Smokey joined the other animals, and the Folsom Zoo was born.[3]

The name was changed to Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary in 2002 to better describe the zoo's goal of taking in animals that cannot be released back to the wild. The animals at the zoo belonged to private parties who either had them seized or relinquished them, wild animals that have injuries that would prevent them from being released back into the wild, and wild animals that have been captured due to their interactions with humans. Once in the zoo, the animals are generally not bred, sold, or traded; but are cared for until they die.[3]

## Animals at the zoo

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Many, but not all, of the zoo residents are native to North America. Animals at the zoo include bears, tigers, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, wolves, wolf hybrids, coyote, sheep, mule deer, macaques, squirrel monkeys, raccoons, skunks, eagles, parrots, and ravens.

In 2004, the zoo took in two tigers from a Riverside County, CA facility called "Tiger Rescue", where more than 90 dead tigers were found, and other exotic animals were existing in illegal conditions.[4] The owner of Tiger Rescue, John Weinhart, was convicted on 56 felonies of child and animal abuse.[5]

## References

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1. ^ a b "Friends of the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary". Friends of the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
2. ^ "The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary". City of Folsom. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
3. ^ a b "History of the Folsom Zoo". Friends of the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
4. ^ "90 Tigers Found Dead At Calif. Home". CBS News.
5. ^ "Save the Tigers".

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.

* Official website
* Official site for Friends of the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary

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Zoos of California

Zoos|

* Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake)
* California Living Museum (Bakersfield)
* California Science Center (Los Angeles)
* Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)
* CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)
* Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary
* Fresno Chaffee Zoo
* Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)
* Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista)
* Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (Palm Desert)
* Los Angeles Zoo
* Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi)
* Oakland Zoo
* Orange County Zoo
* OstrichLand USA (Buellton)
* Sacramento Zoo
* Safari West (Sonoma County)
* San Diego Zoo
* San Diego Zoo Safari Park
* San Francisco Zoo
* Santa Ana Zoo
* Santa Barbara Zoo
* Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)
* The Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley)

Aquariums|

* Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)
* Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)
* Birch Aquarium at Scripps (La Jolla)
* Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)
* California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)
* California Science Center (Los Angeles)
* Central Coast Aquarium (Avila Beach)
* Heal the Bay Aquarium (Santa Monica)
* Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach)
* Monterey Bay Aquarium
* Ocean Institute (Dana Point)
* Ocean World (Crescent City)
* Roundhouse Aquarium (Manhattan Beach)
* Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center
* Sea Life Aquarium at Legoland California (Carlsbad)
* SeaQuest Folsom
* Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz)

Animal sanctuaries|

* Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres (Acton)
* Shambala Preserve (Acton)
* Wildlife WayStation (Angeles National Forest)
* The Gentle Barn

Animal theme parks|

* SeaWorld San Diego
* Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo)

Defunct zoos|

* Gay's Lion Farm
* Griffith Park Zoo
* Jungleland USA
* Lion Country Safari
* Marineland of the Pacific
* Marine World/Africa USA

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