Naples Zoo

The Naples Zoo was opened in September 1969 in Naples, Florida, in what was once the gardens for botanist Dr. Henry Nehrling's collection of plants. The gardens were neglected after Nehrling's death, but reopened in 1954 by Julius Fleischmann. Animals were added by Larry and Jane Tetzlaff in 1969, and the gardens were reopened as a zoo.The zoo has about 70 species, though not all of these are on display at any given time. The main path is about a mile long, and winds past the main animal exhibits through a tropical garden first planted in 1919. Primates in the zoo are housed on islands in a man made lake, and can be viewed from catamarans when visitors take the Primate Expedition Cruise.The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and is an institutional member of the American Association of Zoo Keepers .HistoryThe Naples Zoo began as a personal project of botanist Dr. Henry Nehrling, who purchased the land in 1919 to protect his plant collection, which had taken heavy damage during a 1917 freeze at his original garden in central Florida. After his death in 1929, the gardens were neglected for over two decades. They were reopened in 1954, this time to the public and as "Caribbean Gardens," by Julius Fleischmann. At the time they were described as being "just north of Naples."The conversion to a zoo started in 1967, when Col. Lawrence and Nancy Jane Tetzlaff, known as Jungle Larry and Safari Jane, visited the Gardens while looking for somewhere to house their collection of rare animals during the winter. Although the property was not available at the time, shortly after Fleischmann's death the Tetzlaffs were contacted about displaying their animals within the garden, and it was opened with the animals in place on September 1, 1969.