Pittsburgh saw its zoo grow beginning in the late 1930s when the Works Progress Administration and donations from foundations spearheaded expansions, including then the second largest aquarium in the United States.

[3] The Pittsburgh Zoo opened on June 14, 1898, as Highland Park Zoo,[4] after Christopher Lyman Magee donated $125,000 (about four million dollars when adjusted for inflation)[5] for the construction of a zoological garden in Pittsburgh's Highland Park.

However, as time progressed, the animal exhibits eventually became more naturalistic, and the zoo's goal became more focused on conservation.

[12] Two major construction prohectsIn 2000, the AquaZoo underwent a $17.4 million renovation, and was renamed the PPG Aquarium.

[13] In 2006, the Pittsburgh Zoo completed Water's Edge, a marine exhibit that allows guests to have close encounters with polar bears, sea otters, and sand tiger sharks.

[15][16][17] The prosecutor, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Stephen Zappala, calling the incident a "tragic accident", has stated he will not charge Maddox's mother, Elizabeth Derkosh, 34, who had lifted the visually impaired boy up on top of the railing to get a better view.

This section of the zoo is an interactive children's area, and contains a petting zoo stocked with domesticated animals;[14] a reptile house; a playground; and several exhibits featuring wildlife from Pennsylvania, including white-tailed deer, North American beavers, river otters and barn owls as well as a California sea lion exhibit.

Kid's Kingdom has been highly ranked by both Parent Magazine and America's Best Zoos Travel Guide.

When the aquarium was renovated in 2000, Chuckles was transferred to a customized pool five times the size of his previous home.

This section features some of the most critically endangered big cats of Asia, including Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, as well as several other Asian animals, such as Komodo dragons[24] and red pandas.

This section, opened in 1983, is the result of the zoo's Master Plan of 1980, which was dedicated to create more naturalistic exhibits than what existed at the time.

[14] Completed in 1987, this section of the zoo is modeled to give the viewer the impression that he or she is walking along a river in an African savanna.

This section of the zoo contains lions, African bush elephants, Masai giraffes, Grant's zebras, eastern black rhinos, American flamingos, common ostriches, nyalas, dwarf crocodiles and Galápagos tortoises.

It was originally housed a pack of African wild dogs, but they were removed because of the incident on November 4, 2012 in order to ensure the safety of the visitors.

Although the veterinary staff attempted to alleviate Rocky's pain, his quality of life continued to rapidly decline, and he had to be humanely euthanized.

A blind elephant seal, named Coolio was rescued by the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center and arrived at the zoo early in 2014.

[31][32] Opened in June 2015, The Islands exhibit is a 22,000 square foot exhibit featuring several endangered animals including tomistomas, Philippine crocodiles, Aldabra giant tortoises, Visayan warty pigs, clouded leopards and siamangs.

The exhibit has scenery intended to provide the atmosphere of a tropical island, and includes a large area of sand with beach chairs and umbrellas.

The area displays rainforest animal species from rainforests around the world like Africa, Asia, and South America, featuring a mixed species exhibit housing capybaras and giant anteaters, as well as exhibits for ocelots, fossas and a pygmy hippopotamus.

This was a major feat for the zoo, because Victoria was the first African elephant to be born and survive in North America since 1982.

The father of both of these calves is a bull named Jackson, who is currently the only male African breeding naturally in North America.

[citation needed] On August 8, 2006, the zoo's female Amur tiger, Toma, gave birth to a litter of three cubs.

The male cub, Grom (name meaning Thunder for he was born during a thunderstorm), had been taken from his mother because Toma was not being very attentive to him.

On September 12, 2008, the baby cub was named after Billy Ray Cyrus, the country music and television star.

Zoo representatives said the donors who paid to name the cub "Billy Ray" wanted to honor a late family member who was a big Cyrus fan.

At the same time, the zoo's vet staff hand-fed the puppies a liquid diet fortified with enzymes.