[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 72 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2619-S2620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join Senator 
Feinstein and me in recognizing the centennial of the San Diego Zoo 
Global, a world-class facility dedicated to providing expert animal 
care and promoting wildlife conservation.
  Founded in 1916, the San Diego Zoo Global began as a sanctuary for 
abandoned animals left behind after the Panama-California Exposition 
held in San Diego. The zoo expanded quickly, opening its doors to rare 
and exotic animals donated by private owners, purchased from circuses 
and other zoos, and rescued from the wild. In the 1950s, zoo director 
Dr. Charles Schroeder had the idea of exhibiting animals in a large, 
free-range habitat that provided space for breeding and conservation 
research. His dream became a reality in 1972 with the opening of the 
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a one-of-a-kind 1,800-acre habitat that is 
now home to more than 3,200 animals. Over half of the park has been set 
aside as protected native species habitat.
  Throughout the years, the San Diego Zoo Global has played a critical 
role in preserving rare wildlife and habitats through its Institute for 
Conservation Research, housed in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center 
for Conservation Research. Founded in 1975, the institute is one of the 
largest zoo-based research centers in the world and has led several 
successful efforts to protect some of the world's most endangered 
species, including the magnificent California condor. The zoo led the 
effort to save the condor by designing and implementing a successful 
25-year captive-breeding process that reintroduced the species to its 
native habitat. At the start of the program, the California condor was 
near extinction; today the current condor population is more than 420, 
with approximately 200 living in the wild in California, Arizona, Utah, 
and Mexico.
  The San Diego Zoo Global is also making an immediate and lasting 
impact in our Nation's classrooms. Each year, the San Diego Zoo and the 
Institute for Conservation Research hosts a workshop for middle and 
high school teachers from across the United States. This hands-on 
experience allows educators to develop innovative lessons in 
conservation to bring back to their students.
  Over the past 100 years, the San Diego Zoo Global has opened its 
doors to millions of visitors from around the

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globe, setting a new standard for zoological institutions worldwide. 
Senator Feinstein and I want to congratulate the staff, volunteers, and 
supporters of this extraordinary organization for the important role 
they play in the care and preservation of our earth's most beautiful 
creatures and habitats. We know their work will continue to make a 
profound difference for generations to come.

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