1920-23

(Montgomery, Alabama, USA) What began in a small downtown park in Montgomery, Alabama has now grown, expanded and become a premiere American zoological facility. The Montgomery Zoo started with humble beginnings as a small children’s zoo as a part of a local community park in the 1920s. While at Oak Park, the zoo housed alligators, monkeys, bears, and assorted other animals. There was a small train and carousel for the children.

(Baoding, Hebei, China) Baoding Zoo was founded in 1921, and was founded by Cao Yu, who was then the director of the direct subordinate army, so it is known as "Cao Yu Garden". After liberation, it gradually developed into a comprehensive park with breeding, exhibiting and protection of wildlife.

(Lucknow Zoo, India) Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens was established on November 29, 1921 to commemorate the arrival of the Prince of Wales to Lucknow. Its establishment was conceived by the then Governor Sir Harcourt Butler. The complex was established in the 18th century by Nawab Nasiruddin Haider, the then Nawab of Awadh as a mango orchard. At that time it was known as Banarasi Bagh. Even today, in the colloquial language, the locals call it Banarasi Bagh. In the evening by the Nawabs, as the evening of Awadh used to be famous, a Baradari was built to sit here, which is still situated in the middle of the zoological garden with all its grandeur and dignity.

(Aomori, Tohoku, Japan) The Asamushi Aquarium was founded in 1922 by the Biology Department of the School of Sciences of Tōhoku Imperial University.

(Springfield Zoo, Missouri, USA) Heffernan Zoological Park WAS established way back in 1890. It was located at the current site of Dickerson Park Zoo and was started by businessmen H.S. Heffernan and James Reilly. Heffernan Zoological Park, establishIn 1894, the site of the first zoo was purchased by Jerome Dickerson Sr. and became known as the Interstate Fair Association and Zoological Gardens. The property contained a racetrack and three stables and a large amphitheater overlooking the racetracked way back in 1890. It was located at the current site of Dickerson Park Zoo and was started by businessmen H.S. Heffernan and James Reilly. The Springfield-Greene County Park Board purchased the land from the Dickerson Estate in 1922 with the stipulation that it always be known as Dickerson Park, he said, and it became home to Dickerson Park Zoo the following year.

(Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) At the time of the park's creation, the city of Bridgeport was home to Phineas T. Barnum and his world-famous circus. Barnum would exercise his animals through the streets of Bridgeport, and people gathered in Beardsley Park to see zebras and camels walking by. In 1920, Bridgeport Parks Commissioner, Wesley Hayes, began a campaign to create a city zoo within the park. He requested that the citizens of Bridgeport contribute animals to start the zoo. Within the first year, eighteen exotic birds were donated.

(Oakland, California, USA) Henry A. Snow, recognized as a naturalist, collector, African big game hunter, film producer and museum advocate, established the Oakland Zoo then known as Snow zoo in downtown Oakland. This first Zoo was located at 19th and Harrison in downtown Oakland. Snow Park now occupies the site of the zoo's first home.

(Houston Zoo, Texas, USA) In 1922, the city built a fence in Hermann Park to house Earl the bison and other animals, opening to the public later that year.

(San Francisco Museum, California, USA) The magnificent Steinhart aquarium opens to the public

(Sanford, Florida, USA) The Central Florida Zoo was first established as the Sanford Zoo in 1923 when a rhesus monkey was given to the Elks Club in Sanford by a traveling circus. More animals were added to the collection, held by the Sanford Fire Department, including a female monkey, a bulldog, a skunk, an opossum, a raccoon and a squirrel.

(Duluth, Minnesota, USA) The Lake Superior Zoo was founded in 1923 by a West Duluth businessman, Bert Onsgard, when he built a pen for his white-tailed deer "Billy". This helped his vision spread through the community, who in turn helped him build the zoo. The Pittsburgh Steel Company donated a rail car of fencing, people donated exotic pets, and school children raised money to buy two lion cubs. A bridge was built over Kingsbury Creek, which runs through the zoo.

(Monroe, Louisiana, USA) Back in 1923, when the zoo first opened its gates in Forsythe Park, it boasted just 15 animals eager to meet curious visitors. The original name of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens Zoo was Bernstein Park Zoo, named after Mayor Arnold Bernstein who was Mayor of Monroe in 1919 until his death in 1937.

(Racine, Wisconsin, USA) The Racine Zoo was founded on March 1, 1923, by local businessman Jacob Stoffel, Jr. His donation of three monkeys spurred the city of Racine to build a small zoo in Island Park. By the end of that year, the zoo featured deer, badgers, gray foxes, and Rocky Mountain goats.

(Paignton, South West England, United Kingdom) Herbert Whitley was an avid collector and breeder of animals, started after the gift of two canaries by his mother as a child, and had inherited a family fortune made in brewing prior to the death of his father, MP Edward Whitley. He moved with three of his four siblings to Devon, and after studying agriculture at Cambridge University, returned and went in to business with his brother, William. They bought agricultural land holdings, and set about breeding prime livestock. In July 1923, Herbert decided to open his collection to the public as Primley Zoological Gardens. At opening, the admission was one shilling for adults and sixpence for children, with exhibits including bears, monkeys, zebra, baboons, hyena, and many varieties of bird.

(Mexico City, Mexico)  In 1890, Porfirio Díaz signed a commitment to build a zoo in Chapultepec to increase the role of civilized entertainment. The zoo was inaugurated July 6, 1923, by Mexican biologist Alfonso Luis Herrera using donations from private citizens and governmental funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Development, and also with funds from the Society of Biological Studies. The zoo opened in 1924.  Herrera wanted to recreate the famous zoo and aviary of Moctezuma II. He wanted to exhibit the native species for Mexicans, along with other species from the rest of the world. 

(Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA) Elmwood Park Zoo was founded in 1924, when a private landowner donated a small piece of property and a handful of white-tailed deer to the Borough of Norristown. Run by the Borough as a division of Elmwood Park, the zoo exhibited a collection of animals throughout the 1920s, including monkeys, bears, peacocks, deer, raccoons, and rabbits. Popular for its exhibits, the zoo was also a destination because of the natural spring that provided clean water to borough residents.