Jackson Jambalaya

Thanks for posting this piece of nostalgia. The Zoo definitely has its issues. However, there are a lot of really good things going on at The Zoo right now. To name a few: New long term partnership with JSU to sponsor the tiger exhibit, new Ampitheatre seating being built from a donation from the Gertrude Ford Foundation, new partnership with MSU vet school, Nucor Steel is renovating the new Red Panda exhibit which will be next to the orangutan exhibit, new giraffe coming in this summer, a grant was received to renovate the historic rhino barn, a new changing facility is now open next to the very popular splash pad, and starting August 1st you can now purchase a Jackson Zoo license plate due to a generous donor underwriting the cost of getting that program established. Additionally, the Zoo is debt free and is in the middle of long term master planning.

Please support the Zoo by buying a membership for your and/or your family, attending the popular events (Ice Cream Safari, Zoo Brew, Zoo Party, etc), and taking your kids, grandkids, etc out to see the tigers, hippos, monkeys, otters, giraffes, etc.

The location is what is. It is not moving. It is not financially possible unless someone wants to donate millions upon millions to make it happen. It is not the Memphis Zoo or New Orleans Zoo. Newsflash - Jackson is not the size, or have the population of Memphis or New Orleans!

It is truly a treasure that has been in the Jackson community for almost 100 years. Let's appreciate what we have, because like many things, most people would not appreciate it until it is gone.

Thanks Kingfish and J.T. Griggs. A good trip down memory lane. I always hated to see the tigers and other animals caged in jail cells, but this was the way it was. Good to see the elephants. Miss them.

Additionally, the Zoo is debt free ...

Yes, because Jackson taxpayers bailed it out.

It wouldn't be missed.

Nice trip down memory lane. My first trip there would have been in 1962 after we moved here, but it looked exactly the same then. Too bad they didn't complete the overall "image" by including the Whites Only water fountains and bathroom in the film.

Look at the beginning of the video.

Ok, well I guess that is a water fountain in the first few seconds with just white children at it, but you can't see the signs. At least I can't see the signs. I just so vividly remember seeing those words (not like I probably hadn't seen them elsewhere) and being perplexed. Had to ask my mother why they did that. We had just moved here from the Coast and, while still Mississippi, it was a very different atmosphere there. My introduction to racial problems began that year at age seven at the Jackson Zoo.

No fatties either!

We once had a membership to the zoo a few years ago. After two visits that was it. The Jackson Zoo was one of the most depressing places I have ever visited. It is truly sad that it has been left to rot. Like the rest of Jackson, you can tell it was once a nice, but years of neglect has left it in ruins. That video is a nice reminder of what was once a quaint zoo that was safe and welcoming.

In the past there has been talk of moving it. That would truly be in its best interest. Instead, people really think they can rehab it, but that's never going to happen. Who wants to visit a zoo with weeds growing through the pavement, empty animal exhibits, and a truly underwhelming variety of species on display? In addition, it is in one of the WORST parts of one of the WORST cities in the nation.

With NOLA and Memphis having world-class zoos within driving distance, the Jackson Zoo is a tough sell.

Jackson can't even pave their roads. What makes them think a zoo is a good idea?

It is the 'Jackson-is-the-Capital-City-and-MUST-HAVE-one-of-EVERYTHING' torment. A Fools' Parade.

I loved going there as a kid, but the water fountains bothered me, especially the day around 1963 or 1964 when several busloads of Choctaws came. The management apparently must have been afraid they would use the "wrong" water fountain, so they did the only logical thing - they shut down all the water fountains. They probably sold more Cokes that day, though

Yeah - I think what happened at a water fountain in 1963 is a good measure by which to judge the Jax zoo. Once in 1958 someone stepped on my foot in a crowd at Meadowbrook McRaes and I have never been interested in shopping since plus I try to avoid all meadows. And I also heard that in 1987 a seal splashed water on a patron & a bear crapped right in front of a traumatized toddler at this zoo. Let's get on board and talk about how awful it was.

Everyone's blaming segregation for all of these problems. It's almost as if crime rates were higher during segregation.

Crime rates were damn near non-existent during segregation. I was there. I remember. 76 and counting.