(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] Ah, a day at the zoo.

(water splashing and seagulls squawking) A chance of getting up close to some of the world's most unique species.

- [Male Speaker] She made it look easy.

(audience applauds) - [Narrator] Making memories along the way.

- Love that it's shaded.

It's really nice for kids and family.

(happy upbeat music) - [Narrator] Whether you're North or South Carolina, you're not far from not one, but two world class zoos.

Coming up, we go on safari exploring the histories of both the North Carolina Zoo and Riverbanks Zoo.

Learn how civic groups championed their creation almost 50 years ago.

Meet families making lasting memories with each visit and hear from keepers working each day to save endangered species from extinction.

All that and more on this episode of "Trail of History."

(happy upbeat music) (upbeat electronic music) - [Narrator] On most days, just outside Asheboro, you'll find folks making their way through the gates of the North Carolina Zoo in droves.

Once inside, they scatter across the zoo on their own personal safaris.

- Oh, I've been coming here probably 50 years.

- [Narrator] For Henry Hogan, it's a photo safari.

- It's relaxing.

The stress level goes down when you come in here.

Just me, my camera, and just enjoy, like I say, the animals, the wildlife.

(upbeat electronic music) - [Narrator] The scene repeats itself down in Columbia, South Carolina as visitors from all over seek unique wildlife interactions at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens.

- I'm from Michigan.

This is amazing.

(parrots loudly chirping) - I am literally like in love right now.

This is so cool.

Hi!

- [Narrator] Combined, both zoos annually welcome nearly two million visitors to explore the beauty, behaviors, and personalities of the hundreds of species that call the zoos home.

- My favorite animal is the giraffe.

- My favorite animal would probably have to be the tiger.

- Truthfully, it's probably the gorillas or the chimps, and now the baboons.

(upbeat music) - [Male Speaker] We love to talk to families that have generations upon generations of coming when they were little.

(various animal sounds) - [Narrator] Folks like Riverbank Zoo regular, Kristi Adams.

- My husband and I have been bringing our kids here since they were born.

It's a different experience every time.

Sometimes we're feeding the giraffes, sometimes we're watching a bird show.

It's just a unique place to spend family time.

- We've been coming here for pretty much my whole life, so it's always been a fun family day that we got to do together.

It's a great learning environment.

Getting to learn about all these different animals has always been super fun for me and both of my siblings.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] By the numbers, the North Carolina Zoo puts up some impressive stats.

- We have 2,666 acres, 500 developed, and that makes this a very, very big park.

- [Narrator] In fact, according to Diane Villa, it's the world's largest natural habitat zoo, and its mission is clear.

- So the mission of the North Carolina Zoo is to protect wildlife and wild places and inspire people to join us in conserving their natural world.

- [Narrator] The idea for the North Carolina Zoo first developed in the 1960s, and to get the concept off the ground, well, that required a bit of creative fundraising.

- A few people were inspired and wanted to have a state-run zoo, and they challenged the Raleigh Jaycees to have a series of professional football games to fundraise to fund a study to get a state-run zoo.

(crowd cheering) Back in 1967, they had a professional football game in Raleigh.

It was the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, six dollars a ticket, and they raised $18,000 to do the study.

- [Narrator] With money for the study now in hand, the state legislature created a commission, and, by 1969, work to identify possible locations was underway.

- The criteria that they put together for the site was that it had to have a thousand acres, it had to have zoning around it to keep it natural, as natural as possible.

They had a shortlist.

Randolph County in 1971 was selected, and the site was actually called Purgatory Mountain (laughs) which is kind of a scary-sounding name, but we are built around a mountain and it's called Purgatory.

- [Narrator] But one thing that wasn't stuck in purgatory was the idea for the zoo.

They had 1300 acres to work with, and it was time to get building.

- They wanted it to be progressive, a modern zoo, something that, and this is very important, that was really good for the animals.

Initially, what we opened was an interim zoo, and that opened in 1974 while we were building the current zoo.

The original master plan for the North Carolina Zoo included seven continents.

So that was the vision.

The original continents that we built were first Africa, and then we started building North America in 1994, and now we're building Asia.

So we're coming full circle to that original master plan that was developed in 1974.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Around the same time, folks in Raleigh were dreaming of the future North Carolina Zoo.

Down in Columbia, South Carolina, community leaders with similar ambitions for the River City were doing a bit of dreaming of their own.

- The rivers were unique and something that they felt like they could capitalize on.

So that started the conversation in, well, what can we do near the river?

And the suggestion came up, "Well, what about a children's zoo."

- [Narrator] Now to make the new zoo happen, Riverbanks Zoo president and CEO, Tommy Stringfellow, says proponents of the new zoo knew they needed support from multiple stakeholders.

- They wanted to put it on the banks of the Saluda, but they felt like it needed to be a multi-community support thing where not only Richland County and the city of Columbia, but Lexington County and West Columbia, it would have buy into it, too.

We wanted all of them to be involved.

- [Narrator] Once the community got on board, the project to build a children's zoo went into motion, but along the way plans changed.

- [Tommy] It became more than a children's zoo with the first director they hired.

He wanted to be one of the biggest and best zoos in the country, so the next thing he's bringing in exotic animals, lions and elephants.

It's what happened in 1974 when it formally opened.

We, along with two other zoos, were only zoos in the United States that Were built from scratch, us, North Carolina Zoo, and Minnesota Zoo.

- [Narrator] Since opening close to 50 years ago, the zoo on the banks of the Saluda River continues to put Columbia on the map.

- We are the Southeast's most visited zoo, and what that means is we drive a ton of tourism into Columbia.

- [Narrator] And now the zoo's mission.

- Our mission is to create connections.

I would have to say that's my favorite of the three.

Create connections, impact conservation.

We are caring for over 3000 different animals, 360-something individual species of animals.

- [Narrator] With all the animals, facilities, and visitors, it takes a small army to make sure things run smoothly.

- So we have about 270 full-time staff, and that's from our animal keepers to our maintenance department to our operations year round.

And then we have about another 300 seasonal employees that work selling tickets and running the attractions and cleaning the park, and that traditionally with our food and beverage employees is around 700 when we are going wide open.

(upbeat music) (rushing water) - [Narrator] Something that wasn't on the original master plan at Riverbanks Zoo is just a short tram ride over the river and through the woods to the zoo's very own botanical garden.

- The garden actually opened in 1995, so we're starting to get close to 30 years as a garden.

- [Narrator] Director of Horticulture, Andy Cabe, at Riverbanks not only maintains the botanical garden, but along with his staff their role is critical to creating safe habitats for the residents of the zoo.

- Thirty years ago, when I was studying horticulture in school, I never imagined that zoo horticulture was a thing, and zoo horticulture really is a thing.

We're the ones that take care of the exhibits and the grounds of the zoo.

You've got a lot of different parameters you have to keep in mind.

Number one, toxicity is very important.

There are lots of plants that we can plant in the garden, but if an animal ate them in their exhibit, they might get sick, so we have to take toxicity into consideration.

We work closely with the zookeepers on some of these exhibits, the veterinarians certainly to make sure anything that we're planting isn't toxic to whatever animal exhibit we're planting it in.

What I really like every day is it's always something different.

I'm always seeing something different, certainly learning stuff on a constant basis.

The learning never ends.

Riverbanks for horticulture is like a giant classroom.

We are interesting in the sense that we have a dedicated zoo and a dedicated botanical garden, and with one admission ticket you get to see both, so you get to see two kinds of completely different experiences.

- [Narrator] The Garden at Riverbanks was the brainchild of two former employees.

- I give a lot of credit to Jim Martin and Jinx Farmer, who were both employees at Riverbanks at the time of the inception of the garden.

Those two from the horticulture end of things were the masterminds of creating this back in 1995.

It gives a lot of validation when you see the public out here, and sometimes they're taking pictures, taking notes, asking gardeners questions about certain plants, wanting to find things that will work in their yards.

That's what we're here for.

Go visit your public gardens, check 'em out.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Now, for a bit of zoo history through the centuries, have you ever heard the term "menagerie?"

Webster defines it as a collection of wilder foreign animals kept especially for exhibition.

And the concept goes back a few thousand years.

These living collections were a sign of wealth.

In 1793, the first public zoo opened in Paris, France, setting a trend for cities around the world to build their own.

But these early zoos left much to be desired in terms of their captive residents.

- They were cage after cage after cage after cage, and you just walked along and there was no cohesion.

It was just, "Oh, look at this, this strange-looking animal."

It was kind of, the term we use now is the "walk and gawk."

- [Narrator] Villa says that's not the case though at the North Carolina Zoo.

- We didn't want to create that here in North Carolina.

That's disrespectful to the animals.

Here at the North Carolina Zoo, large natural habitats.

Our largest habitat is the Watani Grasslands Reserve.

It's 40 acres.

So that's an example of just how large we try to give the animals the space for them to roam, for them to run, and to display their natural behaviors.

(upbeat music) We give our animals choice.

So if they want to move away from the guests and go and sleep behind a tree and chill out for a little bit, they can do that.

We're not gonna force them to perform, if you will.

- [Narrator] But there's more than just scale at work here.

- When we're designing habitats for the animals, first we look at the needs of the animal but also the people as well.

You really don't see the containment, if you will, and that's very much by design.

We want people to feel immersed with the animals.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Modern zoos aren't stopping with habitat design improvements.

- We've been purposely changing some of the language that we use around zoos.

We recognize that some people are on the fence about having large animals or exotic animals under human care.

And again, I'm using terms like "under human care" because that's what they are.

They are still wild animals, and we try to create a habitat for them, a home for them that meets all their needs psychologically, physically, mentally, physically.

Here at the North Carolina Zoo, we have a full veterinary hospital, as an example, to make sure that we are providing the best care that we can for these animals.

- [Narrator] Now, to ensure zoos, like the North Carolina and Riverbanks Zoo, (child screaming) give their very best care to their animal population, each goes through an accreditation process with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

- It's the gold standard for the criteria that we need to follow to run a zoo.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Around the world, the impact of climate change has many zoos rethinking their missions.

- How can we ensure the future protection and survivability of a lot of the endangered species?

The change in thinking was zoos should become more of the arks of the future, arks of hope, being able to establish insurance colonies that would ensure their survival since a lot of 'em are endangered already.

- [Narrator] Conservation programs are on full display at both zoos.

Staff at each actively work to protect endangered species from around the world as well as right here in the Carolinas.

For eighth grader, Micah McGlasson, visiting from Florida, her passion, the American red wolf.

- They're just like an underappreciated species.

Everybody says they care about wolf conservation, and they're always talking about the gray wolves and overlooking red wolves.

- [Narrator] The red wolf once roamed across the American southeast, but today-- - The American red wolf is considered the most critically endangered canid in the world, and the only population of wild red wolves is found here in the eastern North Carolina coast.

Currently, there's a little over 30 red wolves in the wild right now, and the goal of the North Carolina Zoo is to continue to provide and build a healthy and viable population of red wolves in human care, and also promote the education and the awareness of the plight of the red wolf in the landscape.

- [Narrator] Jay Stutz is the curator of mammals here at the North Carolina Zoo and says saving the red wolf from extinction will take continuous effort.

- The challenges for red wolves in the the past has been hunting and just human population.

Humans for the longest time, they wanted to farm and they wanted to hunt on their land, and so that culture had continued up until 1980 when the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild.

Currently, the challenges for red wolves continue to be land encroachment or habitat loss.

(wolf howling) - [Narrator] The North Carolina Zoo participates in the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife's Red Wolf Recovery Program.

- We are one of many collaborating partners that are involved in the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and the primary goals of that program is to help with the success of the recovery effort of red wolves in North Carolina.

Currently at the North Carolina Zoo we have 29 red wolves.

- [Narrator] With so few red wolves left in the wild, the North Carolina Zoo, along with other breeding programs, often are the only chance for people like Micah and her mother to see a real live red wolf.

- I love red wolves and they're beautiful animals that deserve better, and I really hope they can make a comeback.

Hopefully, someday they'll be able to be back in the wild and live how they should.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Dustin Smith, Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians at the North Carolina Zoo has an interesting factoid for you.

- North Carolina is lucky to be home to more species of salamanders than anywhere else in the whole world.

There are more than 60 species of salamanders in North Carolina alone.

- [Narrator] One of those species is the elusive Hellbender.

Smith and his staff at the NC Zoo are working with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission to gauge how they're doing in the wild.

- Even though we know that we have a very large population, that population has declined by likely more than 50% just in the last 10 years.

And so because of that and because of the research that's gone into it, we know that this species is in decline and it needs attention.

And our current program consists of installing Hellbender nest boxes, and these Hellbender nest boxes are used in rivers that may be declining in health, or there may be less Hellbenders than there used to be, and these will provide them with new nesting locations as well as hiding locations.

- [Narrator] One thing that might surprise you about the Hellbender, their size.

- Hellbenders, although they can reach a length of almost three feet long, the average size Hellbender that anyone's gonna see in the wild is gonna be about a foot and a half to two feet long.

- [Narrator] While quite large, Hellbenders play hide and seek at what you might call a professional level in the wild, so your best chance to see one of them is here at the NC Zoo's Stream Complex.

(upbeat music) At Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, visitors to the newly remodeled Darnal W. and Susan F. Boyd Aquarium & Reptile Conservation Center enter a world filled with snakes, turtles, fish, and other scaly creatures, but they also get introduced to several leading conservation projects.

Meet aquarium curator, Kendra Bottini.

- This is the coral lab that's part of the AZA Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project.

These corals were in peril because of the devastation that's occurring on the reef tract, and so we are holding them to keep them healthy and safe for future restoration, reproduction, and hopefully get some of these guys back on the reef when the reef is healthy.

I am overseeing them.

I am checking on them making sure they are looking healthy.

We do measurements yearly for them to see their growth.

- [Narrator] By having the coral at the zoo, Bottini says the public gets a chance to take away something.

- One thing I really hope they understand is that corals are not just rocks, that they are beautiful, growing, living things.

The reefs protect Florida from hurricanes, they help to act as nurseries for fishes, not just reef fishes, but also sport fishes, which are important.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Right next door to the coral lab, the gecko breeding lab.

- These are all leaf tailed geckos.

They're from Madagascar.

That's the only place in the world that they're found.

And Madagascar, the rainforests are disappearing at an alarming rate.

So some of these geckos are very imperiled in their native habitats.

- [Narrator] Sean Foley, Riverbanks Curator of Herpetology says the zoo's gecko breeding program helps maintain a population of these unique creatures that they share with other zoos around the world.

- The very first ones we got were 1992.

We got two geckos.

Now we have over 300 geckos, and we've been able to breed them over the years, so we've sent them to over 40 different zoos and aquariums across the United States and even to Europe.

- [Narrator] As you can see, the gecko's wall-climbing ability would make them excellent spies, but here at Riverbanks, they serve as conservation ambassadors.

- We want people to be able to see that we're breeding these, we're sharing them with other zoos, and then they can kind of make that connection, "Oh, they're from Madagascar.

"Well, what's going on in Madagascar?"

Madagascar is losing their forests just like some of the forests are disappearing here in South Carolina.

So there's all these connections that we just want people to be able to see.

(relaxing guitar music) - [Narrator] While the animals at any zoo get the starring role and the zookeepers often win best supporting actors, there's an entire army of staff that keeps the zoo running, and it's a 24/7, 365-day job.

- Running the North Carolina Zoo is like running a small city.

It's so complicated.

There's so many moving parts from admissions, transportation, environmental services, cleaning the park, purchasing and accounting, but we also have food services.

We bring upwards of a million people here every year.

It's a lot of people to feed.

Then, of course, we have our park rangers, 24-hour security around the park, and they don't take a day off.

That's holidays, that's weekends, that's overnight.

Same with our keepers.

Every day they have to come in and take care of the animals.

It's a lot more complicated than most people would think.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Down at Riverbanks with almost five decades on the job, Facilities Projects Manager Joe Christofoli says-- - I love my job.

I mean, I work at Riverbanks Zoo.

I work around animals.

I work around making sure that the facility runs good.

I've been here for almost 46 years.

- [Narrator] And he's seen a lot.

- It was not as big as it is now.

- [Narrator] The years have not been without exciting moments for Joe.

- In the Gorilla Barn, we've got yellow lines painted on each side of an area, and you're supposed to be on that side of the yellow line.

The gorilla still was able to reach my pants leg, and he was literally pulling me into the cage.

And so I was just undoing my pants and he could have it all.

You know, I really didn't care at that time.

- [Narrator] In his three-plus decades at Riverbanks, Facility Support Supervisor Ronnie Higingbottom has also seen a bit.

- The one that probably sticks in my mind the most is we was offloading a black rhino and he stuck his horn through the crate, and I was about two foot away from it.

It woke you up real quick.

- [Narrator] But make no mistake, these veteran employees love what they do.

- The satisfaction of doing a job well done, making sure everything's right the way that I would want it to be done for me.

Riverbanks Zoo is a great place to work.

- I would love to put 50 years you've worked in here, I've got 46.

I don't know.

We'll just have to see what happens.

(upbeat music) (indistinct chatter) - [Narrator] Variety in scale, location, animals and landscaping means both the North Carolina Zoo and Riverbanks Zoo along with their botanical gardens, offer something different to their visitors, factors that make the zoos major economic engines in their respective communities.

Riverbanks CEO, Tommy Stringfellow.

- There's over 150 million a year in economic impact.

It drives people that are coming into the state to spend money, to also see these magnificent animals.

- [Narrator] And at the NC Zoo-- - Our impact is about $180 million a year here in the heart of North Carolina.

By the time we open Asia in 2026, we expect that to grow to 300 million.

That's a significant impact in a rural area here.

The businesses here in Asheboro, they need our tourism influx.

We bring upwards of a million people into this county every single year.

- [Narrator] Beyond the impressive attendance statistics and economic impact, most agree that it's the intangibles that make up a zoo's legacy.

- As we grow, we continue to balance a great place to bring your family, find some fun entertainment, as well as being able to educate and show the community what we do behind the scenes for the care and well-being of our animal population.

- It's such a family tradition.

You bring your kids to the zoo.

It's an outdoor family-friendly experience.

(indistinct chatter) It's a common ground for everybody.

- [Narrator] An outdoor outing is exactly what Jamil Kabir had in mind for his family on their trip to the NC Zoo.

- I'm here with my family.

It's my wife and my two sons.

We love nature.

We love getting out to national parks, national museums, national zoos, and just learning and educating our children as well as ourselves.

- [Narrator] And watching his kids at the zoo brings up his own memories.

- Oh, man, to just watch how I came up through zoos and through nature parks and then now I get to pass that on as my dad passed that on.

I get to pass that on to my sons.

It's just a generational, like just happiness.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] And while the family memories are important, in the end those that work at the zoos want visitors to take away one thing.

- We want people to care about animals.

When people care about animals, they tend to protect the animals.

Zoos are a wonderful way to do that because it's a place for people to learn what they can do, it's a place for people to learn about the plight of these animals, but it's also a place for people to have fun, so it's not a doom and gloom place.

We have hope and that's important, and I think zoos provide hope for the future.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] So the next time you're looking for a bit of family fun mixed with a bit of learning, a day at the North Carolina Zoo or Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia just might fit the bill.

We thank you for watching this episode of "Trail of History."

(upbeat music) (energetic music) - [Announcer] A production of PBS Charlotte.