Boston Zoological Society

The Boston Zoological Society, later renamed the Massachusetts Zoological Society, played a pivotal and transformative role in the development of wildlife conservation and public education in Massachusetts. It served as an important link between municipally managed zoological institutions and the modern, privately supported conservation organizations that followed.

Long before Boston established an official zoo, a group operating as the Boston Zoological Society undertook an ambitious and expensive venture in 1833 to import a giraffe from the Cape of Good Hope. Although the financial panic of 1837 ultimately disrupted the initiative and scattered its early supporters, the effort remains one of the earliest recorded attempts to bring exotic animals to the United States for public exhibition. During the 1880s, the closely associated Boston Society of Natural History championed the creation of zoological gardens and aquaria that could rival those of Europe’s leading cities. These advocacy efforts helped lay the groundwork for the eventual establishment of Franklin Park Zoo in 1912.

After a successful early period, Franklin Park Zoo experienced decades of decline during the Great Depression and World War II. Responsibility for the zoo was transferred from the City of Boston to the Metropolitan District Commission in 1958. As it became clear that a state agency alone could not provide the specialized expertise required to operate a modern zoological institution, the Boston Zoological Society was enlisted in 1970 to assist with management and operations.

The Society’s influence extended beyond Franklin Park Zoo. Between 1961 and 1974, the Massachusetts/Boston Zoological Society managed the Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton, expanding its role in environmental education and regional outreach before transferring operations to Mass Audubon.

Over time, the functions once carried out by the Massachusetts Zoological Society evolved and were assumed by new organizations. Today, the Commonwealth’s primary zoological system is overseen by Zoo New England, formally incorporated as the Commonwealth Zoological Corporation, which continues the mission of wildlife conservation, education, and public engagement in Massachusetts.