The Birmingham Zoo is a zoological park that opened in 1955 and is located, along with the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, in Lane Park, a 200-acre (81 ha) city-owned park near the western terminus of U.S. The 122-acre (49 ha) zoo is home to almost 800 animals representing over 200 species, including many endangered species from six continents. The Zoo is managed by a private non-profit corporation and is a member of the AZA, participating in many Species Survival Plans (SSP). The first gorillas of Birmingham arrived in June 1966 from Africa. They were a couple called Joe and Pongi (still alive). Up to date, they did not have any baby gorilla, because they never kept a social family group able to breed.
