North Carolina Zoological Park The North Carolina Zoological
Park, located in Asheboro, was the first American zoo originally
designed to display its animals in situations as close to their
natural habitats as possible. Zoos were not designed as such
until relatively recently; instead, animals, alone or in limited
numbers, were displayed as curiosities or as educational objects
in what were called menageries. North Carolinians kept some
native animals (deer, squirrels, or rabbits) as family pets; a
large portrait of the children of John Hawks in New Bern
included their pet deer. Occasionally, some shop owners-such as
an early twentieth-century merchant in Hillsborough-kept a small
monkey on a leash before their shop to attract customers. Public
zoos did not become widely appreciated until the nineteenth
century, the first notable one in the United States opening in
1894 in Philadelphia. Beginning early in the twentieth century,
a few animals such as an occasional buffalo, bear, monkey,
tiger, lion, or even an