zoo

A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term zoological garden refers to zoology, the study of animals. The term is derived from the Greek , , 'animal', and the suffix , , 'study of'. The abbreviation zoo was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which was opened for scientific study in 1828, and to the public in 1847. The first modern Zoo was the Tierpark Hagenbeck by Carl Hagenbeck in Germany. In the United States alone, zoos are visited by over 181 million people annually. Etymology The London Zoo, which was opened in 1828, was initially known as the "Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London", and it described itself as a menagerie or "zoological forest". The abbreviation "zoo" first appeared in print in the United Kingdom around 1847, when it was used for the Clifton Zoo, but it was not until some 20 years later that the shortened form became popular in the rhyming song "Walking in the Zoo" by music-hall artist Alfred Vance. The term "zoological park" was used for more expansive facilities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Washington, D.C., and the Bronx in New York, which opened in 1847, 1891 and 1899 respectively.