Zoo History - Creating Florida's First Cageless Zoo

Next his son, Jack, went to east Africa to gather all types of wildlife. A huge steamship eventually crossed the Atlantic Ocean with this precious cargo and the family set about providing a new home for these animals. The basis for this type of zoo was that the animals would roam freely in the park. There would be no cages; instead the animals would live in as natural an environment to their native homeland as possible. Visitors would explore the animals’ habitat by traveling in the completely open jungle train or tour boat. The general public had a rare opportunity to be among African and Asian wildlife, up close with no iron bars separating the two.

The grand opening was March 10, 1953, 55 years ago, with no admission fee, only a minimal charge of 95 cents per person for a train or boat ride. John Pedersen was always sensitive to the expenses of a family and kept the costs as reasonable as possible.

Some of the animals at Africa U.S.A. were North African sheep, Middle East donkeys, baboons, camels (the largest herd in the U.S.), cheetahs, chimpanzees, alligators, Eland antelope, Asian elephants, gazelle, giraffes, wildebeest, gray crowned cranes, gnus, manatees, monkeys, Nilgal bluebucks, Nyala, ostriches, peacocks, Sitatunga antelope, zebras and the popular Zee-horse (combination of a zebra and an English racehorse). The monkeys had their own island, called Monkey Island, surrounded by a moat which then connected to a lagoon. In the waterways were the gentle manatees (sea cows).

A Pedersen family favorite was a baby chimpanzee, named ‘Princess Margaret’, who lived in the family home. She loved to place a gentle kiss on humans and became quite famous. She was even featured regularly on the Jack Parr Show. Also, a pair of cheetahs, Mojah and Mbili, were as tame as house cats and rode with Jack Pedersen in his convertible through the streets of Boca Raton.

Africa U.S.A., at the height of its popularity, had some 300,000 visitors a year, averaging about 2.000 a day. They had a special theme song, titled “Skokiaan” which played all day in the park. The gatekeeper to the park was an African-American man, named Oscar Bradley, who dressed and played the part of ‘Machakas‘, the Masai Warrior.

One of the famous visitors to Africa U.S.A. was Walt Disney. He toured the park on many occasions. When Life Magazine did an article on family attractions in the United States, it was Africa U.S.A. that was featured on the August 1, 1960 cover.

Between 1960 and 1961, there were several problems afflicting the park; some having to do with zoning ordinances with the town of Boca Raton and others centered on an earlier African red tick outbreak causing the park to be closed briefly. Pedersen had not imported any African wildlife for years when this outbreak affected the park. The Department of Agriculture sprayed the animals which caused several of them to become ill and die. It became too much to deal with and Pedersen took an offer of $1.1 million and sold the property to a housing developer. The park was officially closed on September 4, 1961. He then saw that all the animals were placed in new homes at various zoos across the country. The site of Africa U.S.A. eventually became Camino Gardens, a residential community, still in existence today.

John “Pete” Pedersen was a visionary with imaginative ideas. He took the opportunity to develop his models and see that they became reality. The zoo without cages was a new concept and John gave it life. Many others in the future would follow his path.

SOURCES Special assistance, photos and permission provided by Ginger L. Pedersen of Florida (granddaughter of John P. Pedersen). For more details on the park, please see the website at www.africa-usa.com

Written By:

Alice L. Luckhardt

Stuart, FL

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