1904: William F. Vilas, a former Army officer, lawyer and U.S. senator, and Anna M. Vilas donate a 63-acre tract for a park, with the stipulation that no admission be charged. It was named in memory of the couple's son, Henry, who died at a young.
1911: The zoo officially opens as the first animal exhibits are installed in the park.Â
1913: The bear grottos are built.
1914: The Madison Zoological and Aquarium Society, the first community group to support the zoo and the forebear of today's Friends of the Zoo, is formed.
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1917: The zoo's first lion house is built.
1918: Annie, the zoo's first elephant, is donated by Alfred Ringling, one of the famous Ringling Brothers.Â
1919: The zoo becomes the first in the United States to build a "monkey island." It is replaced in 1934.
1929: The zoo's primate house is built.
1937: The city assumes ownership of the zoo.
1950: A female named Al Malaikah becomes the first dromedary camel born at the zoo.Â
1960: A group of 38 Rhesus monkeys escape from the zoo during a feeding in August, taking refuge in the Vilas neighborhood and UW Arboretum. Most were recaptured days later.
1966: Winkie, the zoo's 7,500-pound elephant, kills a 3-year-old girl after pulling her into its cage. The girl had gotten around an outer gate to feed the elephant popcorn. Winkie was later traded to a breeding farm for a smaller elephant.
1968: The zoo spends a record $10,000 to bring in a young pair of giraffes.
1972: The children's zoo opens.
1973: The zoo unveils a new home for its big cats, replacing the original 1917 lion house.
1977: Elephant Winkie Too charges and knocks over a zookeeper during a feeding, seriously injuring her before she could crawl to safety. She sued the city for $1 million and settled in 1983 for $25,000.
1983: Ownership of the zoo is transferred from the city of Madison to Dane County.
1988: The zoo's polar bear Chief is shot by police while mauling a mentally ill man who had entered the bear's habitat. The man survived. Two young polar bears are brought to the zoo from Alaska to replace Chief.
1993: The Discovery Center and Herpetarium, home to slithery reptiles and amphibians, opens.
1995: The primate house opens.
1998: The UW-Madison Primate Center discontinues its monkey exhibit at the zoo after the loss of federal funding and controversy over the use of some of the animals for invasive research.
2000: A new visitors center opens after a $1.25 million renovation of the former aviary.Â
2003: The zoo opens its new $4.2 million tropical rain forest aviary.
2006: The Conservation Carousel begins offering rides for $1.
2011: A $1.3 million barn exhibit opens that allows children to pet and feed goats.
2011: Jim Hubing retires after 11 years as zoo director.Â
2011: BB the Orangutan, one of the most popular animals at the zoo for 16 years, dies. She was 40 and died peacefully while taking a nap after lunch.
2012: Ronda Schwetz, the zoo’s former deputy director is named the zoo's new director.Â
2012: Vilas, an African lion and longtime queen of the zoo that she was named after, is euthanized after being diagnosed with cancer.
2013: The $2.4 million Animal Health Center opens.Â
2013: The zoo's male African lion, Henry, is euthanized.
2014: A California woman is fined $686 after she climbed over one fence and was almost over the second fence encircling the giraffe enclosure when Wally, a 2-year-old, 12-foot-tall giraffe, licked her before kicking her in the face.
2015: Arctic Passage, Arctic Passage, a $9.13 million exhibit for bears and harbor opens. The 1.7-acre complex, is the largest project in the zoo’s long history.
2016: George, a 44-year-old white rhinoceros, one of the zoo’s oldest residents, dies.
2016: Zoo Lights, which features 300 light displays, makes its debut.
2016: Berit, a female polar bear, from the Cincinnati Zoo, arrives.
2017: Two male lion cubs are born.
2019: Dane County terminates its relationship with the Henry Vilas Zoological Society, its longtime partner at the zoo.Â
2023: Dane County and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums are ordered to pay a combined $2.8 million to a former UW-Madison researcher who accused Vilas Zoo Director Ronda Schwetz of sexually assaulting him.
2025: Siku, a 15-year-old, 1,100-pound male polar bear arrives from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
2026: Nora, a 10-year-old, 600-pound female born at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio is moved to Madison from the Oregon Zoo.
2026: The zoo announces that Ronda Schwetz is retiring after 14 years of being the zoo’s director.
