The Belle Isle Zoo has been closed for awhile now. I never was able to go their but I would be interested to hear what they had their. Toward the final years I believe they had Sumatran Tiger African Lion Maned Wolf Spectacled Bear Large Spider Collection Guanaco Red Kangaroo Fallow Deer Those are the animals I am sure of. I drove by it a few years ago and saw a herd of fallow deer in an enclosure by the road. Do they still have other animals or is everything else gone? Is the land up for sale or privately owned? If you have any information on the Bell Isle Zoo or its residents please post!!!
Dug up a ton of pictures and some info here: belle isle zoo - Flickr: Search Where the wild things aren't | sweet juniper! WSU Virtual Motor City Collection (Detroit News): 4817 4817
Thanks for finding these. The blog about it was very interesting. I can't believe it was closed in 2002. With the Detroit Zoo doing so well, if the zoo were to open back up would it compete with Detroit Zoo or just benefit from economic times as Detroit has. I dream of opening it up myself. I wonder whether it is just vacant land of Detroit or someone actually owns it. I can't imagine the city council has just forgot about it. I also wonder what things would need rebuilding and what fences, boardwalks, etc. that could still be in use. Would Detroit sell the land? and how much? Is there additional land around the zoo available for purchase. It frustrates me how either a private owner or the city of Detroit could just let this place rot?