Phoenix Zoo, located at 455 N. Galvin Pkwy, in Phoenix, Arizona, United States , opened for public in 1962. The last elephant left in 2025Phoenix Zoo elephants were managed in Protected Contact.
The Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962 and is the largest privately owned nonprofit zoo in the United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the zoo was founded by Robert Maytag, a member of the Maytag family, and operates on 125 acres (51 ha) of land in the Papago Park area of Phoenix. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. The Phoenix Zoo began as a personal project of Robert Maytag, who formed the Arizona Zoological Society (now the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation) with the intention of opening a zoo in Phoenix; before this time, there were a few modest proposals to establish a zoo in the fast-growing city, but none moved past the discussion stage. Although Maytag died unexpectedly a few months before its opening, the zoo opened on schedule on November 21, 1962. It was originally named the "Maytag Zoo", but was renamed the following year to "Phoenix Zoo" to identify it more closely with the community. English Wikipedia