Sandy Head Zoo
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 Sandy Head Zoo Underground Station entrance, 2012 | |
| Date opened | December 11, 1856 |
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| Location | Sandy Head, Hope Province, Satavia |
| Land area | 17 hectares (42 acres) |
| Annual visitors | 955,391 (2019-20) |
| Memberships | WAZA |
| Website | www |
Sandy Head Zoo (formerly known as the Royal Satavian Zoological Gardens until 1949) is the largest zoo in Satavia and Asteria Inferior and the oldest zoo still in operation in the Asterias. Opened in 1856, the zoo has undergone several major renovations and redesigns, including a move from its original location at the foot of King Charles Mound (now in central Port Hope) to its current location at Sandy Head in Cape James in 1949. The zoo is a nonprofit institution, and is subsidised by taxpayers in both the Hope Province and the National Capital District.
The zoo houses approximately 300 different species of animal and is home to the largest single collection of rare and endangered species in the Asterias. The zoo is organised into biome and region-based zones and covers an area of 42 acres. Located some 14 miles southeast of Port Hope, it is linked to the capital by a stop on the Port Hope Underground Cape James line. The zoo is managed by the Hope Province Zoological Trust, having been purchased by the Government of the Hope Province in 2005 from the private ownership of the Goldman family, a wealthy Estmerish banking family after the zoo faced collapse as a result of the 2005 recession.
The zoo is now involved in numerous conservation efforts both within Satavia and the Asterias, but also prominently in Bahia where many animals are facing extinction as a result of habitat loss. In 2022, the zoo announced it had entered into a partnership with the Bahian Zoological Association in order to promote conservation within Bahia.
History
Origins
In January 1854 the Zoological Association of Estmerish Asteria was founded by four prominent Estmerish businessmen, the most notable being Abraham Goldman. The group, renamed to the Zoological Society of Satavia by May 1855, purchased a plot of land at the foot of King Charles Mound, then on the outskirts of Port Hope (at the time known as Sandy Cove), and soon after construction began on the zoo's first exhibit. In December 1856, the zoo was opened as the Satavian Zoological Gardens by then Governor-General Sir Benedict Massy with eighteen animals of six different species, all native to Satavia: one Jaguar, two Aldabra giant tortoises, two Satavian tapirs three Geoffroy's spider monkies, four Guanacos and six lesser rheas. By 1870 the zoo had expanded to become the largest in Asteria Inferior, and in 1875 Richard XII of Estmere awarded the zoo the "Royal" prefix.
Growth and development
1890 saw the zoo's largest renovation to date, with the expansion of a dedicated Bahian region of the zoo, and saw the zoo's first Lions arrived. The zoo also began its first major breeding programme around this time, and the first elephant born in captivity in the Asterias, Ellie, was born in 1906. The zoo began research into hybridisation around this period, and the world's first recorded Liger in captivity was born in the zoo sometime around 1910. The zoo continued its liger breeding programme, even breeding the world's first and only Liliger in 1994 (the largest such programme in the world) until it was discontinued in 1996 as it was believed to serve no purpose in furthering global conservation efforts.
The years following the Great Collape proved desperately difficult for the zoo, as many Satavians were forced to cut back on unnecessary expenditure. As many zoos across Satavia collapsed, the Goldman family looked towards the Satavian government for help to prop up the zoo; unable to pay the full costs required to keep the zoo afloat, the Goldman's used their political influence in Morwall to secure a loan from the Estmerish government at the same time as Estmere provided the Satavian government with a bailout. The zoo was able to recover to its pre-collapse strength by 1918, and bought its first animal since before the Great Collapse in May 1918 - a Clouded leopard called George. The zoo's Euclean-inspired extensive gardens were practically destroyed in 1921 following a case of early Boxwood blight, and had to be reconstructed in the years that followed.
Three people died after the zoo's lions escaped from their enclosures on the morning of the 12th May 1925 causing the Satavian government to introduce new legislation that regulated zoos for the first time. All the lions were recaptured in the next two days, except for one, four-year-old Haki, who was never returned to the zoo. Despite a year-long national manhunt, Haki remained unlocated. There were numerous reported sightings of Haki throughout the southeast of Satavia during the next 10 years, however, Haki was not found throughout this period. On 26th February 1936, a farmer in Cape Devon, in the far north of the Hope Province, claimed to have seen a large male lion. A search in the surrounding area initially revealed nothing; however, two days later on the evening of the 28th of February, a police officer from Clericford saw the lion whilst driving between Keyborough and Macquaire. The officer shot the lion, which was then taken to Port Hope for further analysis. Despite the primitiveness of animal identification at the time, zoo officials concluded that the lion was most probably Haki based on his general appearance and estimated age. Nonetheless, sightings of Haki continued for the next ten years and his true fate has become a matter of national speculation.
Great War, recovery and entering the modern age
The zoo was relatively unaffected by the Great War, despite the destruction seen in other parts of Satavia. In fact, during this time the zoo saw higher revenues than it had seen for many years as a result of a huge influx of Nuvanian soldiers occupying Satavia. Nuvania's zoos were significantly smaller than the Royal Satavian Zoological Gardens and had far fewer species of animals. During the war, many Nuvanians would visit the zoo as part of a weekend holiday destination, particularly those visiting Nuvanian soldiers on leave in the city. Although this had largely trailed off as the war raged on and Nuvania began to lose ground on its eastern front.
By 1939, the zoo was unable to expand as the city of Port Hope had engulfed the zoo that had once been on the outskirts of the capital. By 1944, the zoo directors had decided to construct a new zoo further outside the city and purchased a 42-acre plot of land in Cape James. Construction on the new facility began in 1945, and the initial stage of the zoo construction was completed by 1948.