- Record: Senate Floor
- Section type: Floor speeches
- Chamber: Senate
- Date: April 20, 2026
- Congress: 119th Congress
- Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a milestone for one of west Tennessee's greatest treasures, the Memphis Zoo. Earlier this month, on April 4, 2026, the Memphis Zoo celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding. I am delighted to acknowledge this important occasion for one of the world's first-class zoos, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe every year.
On April 4, 1906, the Memphis Park Commission allocated $1,200 to establish the Memphis Zoo. Over the past 120 years, the Memphis Zoo has expanded to include over a dozen exhibits, including Cat Country, Animals of the Night, the Herpetarium, the Aquarium, the Northwest Passage, Teton Trek, and the Zambezi River Hippo Camp. Additionally, in April 2003, the zoo opened a noteworthy exhibit that was home to two giant pandas for nearly 20 years. In total, the Memphis Zoo contains more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species.
has consistently been ranked as one of our Nation's premier zoological attractions, including earning the ranking of “#1 Zoo in the U.S.” in 2008, as well as multiple Top Zoo rankings from various publications. Located in Overton Park in the heart of Memphis, the zoo has served for over a century as one of Tennessee's finest tourist attractions. I congratulate the Memphis Zoo on this historic anniversary, and I recognize its tremendous benefit to the Memphis community.