Micke Grove Zoo is a small 5 acres (2 ha) zoo that opened in 1957 in Lodi, California

Lodi, California

Lodi is a city located in , in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of January 1, 2011 is 62,473....

. It is located within Micke Grove Regional Park, which includes a Japanese garden, the San Joaquin Historical Museum, an amusement park, and picnic shelters.

History

In 1938, the Micke family donated the 258 acres (104.4 ha) oak tree park to the county of San Joaquin

San Joaquín

San Joaquín is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.The alcalde's office and municipal building is located at Ave...

. The zoo opened in 1957 and Ronald Theodore Reuther

Ronald Theodore Reuther

Ronald Theodore Reuther was a committed naturalist who spent decades managing and improving several major zoos, and was an aviation enthusiast. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Conservation, Reuther held curator and director positions for the Micke Grove Zoo, the Cleveland Zoo, the...

 was its first curator.

Currently, it is home to native animals and exotic species, some of which are endangered, and was at one point the smallest zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...

. However, the zoo lost its accreditation in 2006 due to cramped habitats and aging exhibits, leading to a pair of endangered Rodrigues flying fox

Rodrigues Flying Fox

The Rodrigues Flying Fox or Rodrigues Fruit Bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae, the flying foxes or fruit bats. It is endemic to Rodrigues, an island in the Indian Ocean belonging to Mauritius. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is a sociable species...

es being moved to another zoo.

Animals

Included in the current collection is an endangered Chinese alligator

Chinese Alligator

The Chinese alligator or Alligator Alligator sinensis) is one of two known living species of Alligator, a genus in the family Alligatoridae. The Chinese alligator is native only to China...

 and a variety of lemur

Lemur

Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...

s, and with an expansion currently underway snow leopard

Snow Leopard

The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...

s and Oriental small-clawed otter

Oriental Small-clawed Otter

The oriental small-clawed otter , also known as Asian small-clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5 kg. It lives in mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,...

s will be added in 2010. Many primates and birds can also be found at the zoo, including parrot

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s and tortoises from Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

.

Education

Educational programs and fundraising are provided by the Micke Grove Zoological Society.