Elephant Garden
The Weed Park Zoo started in 1921 with a gift of two honey bears and in its prime featured hundreds of animals. At one time it was Iowa’s largest zoo. It housed Bengal tigers, African antelopes, peacocks, monkeys, deer, foxes, raccoons, reptiles, Sheba the lioness, Junior the chimp, and Dolly the elephant, remembered by many as the star of the zoo.
The first elephant was Kandy, an Indian elephant, followed by Dolly, an Asian elephant. Dolly was about 15 years old when the zoo closed in 1980. She was relocated to the Denver Zoo where she resided until the fall of 2016 when she passed away.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Weed Park and its zoo attracted thousands of visitors from many miles away. The park had child-sized amusement rides including a train, roller coaster, merry-go-round, and Ferris wheel.
Interested in volunteering? Contact: parksoffice@muscatineiowa.gov