The Roger Williams Park Zoo of Providence, Rhode Island, contains more than 800 animals in natural settings from a total of 160 species from around the world.

The Roger Williams Park Zoo first opened in 1872 as a limited collection of small animals, including raccoons, guinea pigs, mice, squirrels, rabbits, hawks, peacocks, and anteaters.

In the 1900s, the facility began to spread out over the entire park, featuring a variety of animals such as monkeys, hoofstock, bears, and big cats.

In 1962, Sophie Danforth founded the Rhode Island Zoological Society to increase public awareness of the neglect and to raise funds for improvement, and it remains the organization that supports and manages the zoo.

It includes constructing a new rainforest building to be completed in 2018, a new exhibit for California sea lions and Humboldt penguins, a shorebird aviary, and a new tiger habitat.