Editing Saint Louis Zoo (section)

===1971 through present===
[[File:STL Elephant.jpg|thumb|Elephant at the zoo]]
In 1972, the zoo joined the [[Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District]] and began to receive revenue from a public property tax of 8 cents for every $100 assessed.  This enabled continued improvements and upgrades of exhibit areas.  Two major areas of the zoo, Big Cat Country and Jungle of the Apes, were constructed in 1976 and 1986, respectively.<ref name="zoo_main"/>

{{anchor|Living World}}
In 1989, the Living World, a two-story building including classrooms, a reference library and teacher resource center, an auditorium, two exhibit halls emphasizing evolution and ecology, a large gift shop, a restaurant, and offices was built.<ref name="zoo_main"/> It was designed by [[Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov/history/peopledetail.cfm?Master_ID=2163 |title=George Hellmuth |publisher=city of St. Louis |access-date=15 January 2020}}</ref>

In 1993, the zoo received a donation of the {{convert|355|acre|km2}} Sears Lehmann farm, located west of St. Louis.  It is to be used for the breeding of endangered species and educational purposes.<ref name="zoo_main"/>

In 1998, new areas were added with the Emerson Children's Zoo. Phase I of River's Edge, which opened in 1999, represented Asia: featuring Asian elephants, cheetahs, dwarf mongoose, and hyenas.<ref name="zoo_main"/>

[[File:Butterfly zoo.JPG|thumb|Butterfly House]]
In 2000, the Monsanto Insectarium, now called the Bayer Insectarium, including the Butterfly House, was built.<ref name="zoo_main"/> The North America (Missouri and Mississippi Rivers) portion of River's Edge opened in 2001.  In 2002, the third phase, featuring habitats of South America and Africa, opened with hippos, rhinos, warthogs, carmine bee-eaters, capybaras, and giant anteaters.

In 2003, the Penguin and Puffin Coast opened with both outdoor and indoor exhibits.  Also new that year was the Mary Ann Lee Conservation Carousel, featuring unique hand-carved wooden animals representing endangered species at the Saint Louis Zoo.  The Donn and Marilyn Lipton Fragile Forest opened in 2005. Caribbean Cove, which features [[stingrays]], opened in 2008.<ref name="zoo_main"/>

[[File:Polar bear stl zoo.jpg|thumb|Polar bear in exhibit]]
In 2010, the zoo started ''The Living Promise Campaign'', a project that promised to raise $120 million to improve the zoo. In 2015, the zoo opened Polar Bear Point, a $16 million facility that includes different landscapes and exhibits about the polar bear's relationship with the Arctic ecosystem. Its first resident is named Kali, an orphaned polar bear donated to the zoo by the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]. In 2017, the zoo added Centene Grizzly Ridge, an $11.1 million, 7,000 sq ft state-of-the-art habitat that replaced the bear grottoes built in 1921, which were used until 2015 when they were closed for the construction of Grizzly Ridge. Grizzly Ridge opened 15 September 2017 and is now home to two orphaned grizzlies from Montana. Huckleberry, or Huck, and his sister Finley were given to the zoo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By the end of the project in 2014, the zoo had exceeded this goal by $14 million, which funded not only Grizzly Ridge or Polar Bear Point, but also Sea Lion Sound (a new and improved way of viewing the sea lions, including a walk-through tunnel), and improvements to other areas of the zoo such as Peabody Hall and River's Edge, among others.<ref>{{cite web|title=Centene Grizzly Ridge|url=https://www.stlzoo.org/visit/thingstoseeanddo/thewild/grizzly-ridge|website=Saint Louis Zoo|publisher=Saint Louis Zoo|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref>

The most recent update to the zoo is the addition of the Michael and Quirsis Riney Primate Canopy Trails, a $13 million, 35,000 sq ft state-of-the-art outdoor exhibit for the zoo's primates. Primate Canopy Trails opened 12 July 2021 and is connected to the nearby Primate House built in 1925.<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael and Quirsis Riney Primate Canopy Trails To Open July 12, 2021|url=https://www.stlzoo.org/about/contact/pressroom/pressreleases/michael-and-quirsis-riney-primate-canopy-trails-to-open-july-12|website=Saint Louis Zoo|publisher=Saint Louis Zoo|access-date=25 August 2022}}</ref> It replaced some of the outside primate habitats connected to the Primate House.

In 2013, the Saint Louis Zoo began a massive expansion of facilities and space for both visitors and staff. Most notable  is a new development planned on 13.5 acres on the grounds of the former Forest Park Hospital, across Interstate 64 from the zoo campus. Once completed, the new facility would feature offices and classrooms, year-round exhibits, a mixed-use development that will link the complex with the adjacent [[Dogtown, St. Louis|Dogtown]] neighborhood, and an "iconic" connection of the two sites over Interstate 64. Most importantly, it was to shift all parking to the hospital site, freeing up roughly nine acres currently used as a surface lot for additional exhibits.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.stlzoo.org/files/3813/8021/1169/Expansion_Framework_Plan_Executive_Summary_Saint_Louis_zoo.pdf |title=Framework Plan 2013 |publisher=Saint Louis Zoo |access-date=7 June 2017 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906005437/http://www.stlzoo.org/files/3813/8021/1169/Expansion_Framework_Plan_Executive_Summary_Saint_Louis_zoo.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In June 2022, a five-year-old eastern black rhinoceros named Moyo was permanently transferred to Alabama's [[Birmingham Zoo]] to eventually develop his own family.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fox2now.com/news/missouri/saint-louis-zoo-hopes-their-black-rhino-creates-a-family-in-alabama/ | title=Saint Louis Zoo hopes their black rhino creates a family in Alabama | date=28 July 2022 }}</ref> Unfortunately in late January 2024, Moyo suffered severe complications after a dental procedure. The zookeepers euthanized him afterwards.<ref>[https://bhamnow.com/2024/01/30/beloved-birmingham-zoo-eastern-black-rhinoceros-passes-away Beloved Birmingham Zoo Eastern Black Rhinoceros passes away]</ref> 

The St. Louis Zoo is currently developing a second campus in north St. Louis County, with a target opening date of 2027.<ref name="stlzoo.org">{{Cite web |title=Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park Updates |url=https://stlzoo.org/news/saint-louis-zoo-wildcare-park-updates |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Saint Louis Zoo |language=en}}</ref> This $230 million, 425-acre campus will be called the St. Louis Zoo Wildcare Park and focus on endangered ungulate species and enormous habitats.<ref name="stlzoo.org"/> The proposed initial list of animals includes Giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Greater kudu, Addax, Bongo, Roan antelope, Somali wild ass, Przewalski's horse, Scimitar-horned oryx, Waterbuck, Nile lechwe, Banteng, various Gazelle species, Southern white rhinoceros, Eland, Sable antelope, Bactrian camel, and Ostrich. Proposed attractions include safari rides, an observation tower, glamping, and a museum.<ref name="stlzoo.org"/>

In March 2023, the St. Louis Zoo unveiled its first electric [[C. P. Huntington|''C.P. Huntington'']] locomotive, named after Mary Meachum. The Emerson Zooline Railroad will eventually replace its remaining diesel-powered locomotives with the electric model.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hahn |first=Valerie Schremp |title=St. Louis Zoo unveils first electric train for its railroad |url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/st-louis-zoo-unveils-first-electric-train-for-its-railroad/article_d2695369-fecb-575d-a314-39fcfcc4dff7.html |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=STLtoday.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Skrivan |first=Laurie |title=Photos: The St. Louis Zoo debut's first electric train, the Mary Meachum |url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/photos-the-st-louis-zoo-debuts-first-electric-train-the-mary-meachum/collection_0cfe64d0-42b8-5c6c-8b91-d086c19f570c.html |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=STLtoday.com |language=en}}</ref>