The year-end attendance numbers are in for Dickerson Park Zoo, and total attendance for 2012 was 226,009*. 2012 ranks as the second highest annual attendance in the zoo's recorded history (dating back to April 1975). When comparing only daytime attendance figures, 2012 brought the highest daytime attendance to the zoo in its history.

The series of years with attendance surpassing 200,000 began in 2004 when Dickerson Park Zoo opened a major expansion funded by the voter-approved quarter-cent sales tax for Greene County Parks. The expansion included the popular elevated giraffe viewing/feeding deck; "Tropical Asia" with Asian elephants, tigers and primates; the addition of gray wolves and mountain lions to "Missouri Habitats"; and a primate exhibit in "Africa," currently home to black and white colobus monkeys.

*Annual zoo attendance is calculated by combining daytime guests and attendance at three evening events - the Simmons First Halloween SPOOKTACULAR, the annual Friends of the Zoo Members Night picnic and Dreamnight at the Zoo.

Dickerson Park Zoo is a division of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board and is accredited by the  Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA).With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats.