[4][5][6][7][8] In 1975, the Las Vegas Zoological Society entered a 99-year lease with the city council for 255 acres at Tule Springs.

The Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park[16] was started by Pat Dingle (1947–2018),[17] a Vietnam War veteran who later spent 12 years with the North Las Vegas Police Department.

[18] The zoo opened in 1981, as the Southern Nevada Zoological Park, located on a half-acre site at 1775 North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas.

[1][21] In 1992, Dingle unveiled plans for a new biological park named Deserts of the World Biopark, to be built on the nearby 250 acres.

Local television stations aired numerous stories about the ape's death, including a videotape of the beating.

[19][23][24] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspected the zoo and found that Dingle was not in compliance with the law, in relation to the ape's death.

Dingle subsequently said that the younger ape may have been poisoned by radical animal rights activists with the hope of shutting the zoo down.

In July 1993, approximately 25 protesters, mostly former employees, staged a weekend demonstration outside the zoo calling for Dingle's involvement to be terminated.

However, according to Dingle, the longstanding controversy over the ape's death dissuaded possible donors and prevented growth of the zoo.

[23] In December 1995, the city sued Dingle and threatened to foreclose on the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park if he did not repay the loan immediately.

[1][24][29] Former employees were disappointed with the settlement, although the USDA stated that it usually avoids harsher sanctions because they result in less funding for food to feed animals.

[21] Without having to make further mortgage payments for the parking lot parcel, Dingle hoped to pay off the city loan and possibly have money left to expand the zoo.

[23] The city lawsuit was settled in January 1998, when Dingle agreed to turn over his lease on the state park acreage in exchange for the retirement of his loan.

[36] The zoological park exhibited over 150 species of plants and animals, including the last family of Barbary apes in the United States.