The Phoenix Zoo opened more than 60 years ago. See what it looked like

The Phoenix Zoo opened on Nov. 21, 1962. Nancy Maytag cuts the ribbon, assisted by Robert Mattlin, the first director of the Phoenix Zoo. In the background are local dignitaries, including Mayor Sam Mardian; Gov. Paul Fannin; Eugene Pulliam, publisher of the Arizona Republic and Arizona Gazette; and Walter Bimson, president of the Valley National Bank.

On opening day in 1962, Phoenix Zoo visitors flock across the Bunny Bridge that led to the Children's Zoo. The first-day attendance of 12,401 set a single-day record that stood for 20 years. There were only two sections completed when the zoo opened: the Arizona Exhibit and the Children's Zoo.

Two children feed an elephant at the Phoenix Zoo in 1963.

Robert Maytag, founder of The Phoenix Zoo and grandson of the founder of the Maytag Appliance Company, in his home in 1961 or 1962. The first animals acquired for the zoo included this parrot. It was temporarily housed at the Maytag residence in Scottsdale. Maytag died of pneumonia before the zoo opened, but his widow, Nancy Maytag, took over and completed the project.

Visitors to the Phoenix Zoo got to play with the elephants back in 1962.

Santa feeds a baby elephant at the Phoenix Zoo on Dec. 10, 1965.

An elephant cools off at the Phoenix Zoo.

An elephant poses for artists at the Phoeniz Zoo in 1965.

Orangutans at the Phoenix Zoo in 1965.

Children get a closeup view of residents at the Phoenix Zoo in 1965.

Children feed a Tapir at the Phoeniz Zoo in 1966.

Phoenix Zoo monkeys performing in 1968.

Orangutan's play in the 1975 orangutan exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo.

In 1989, Ruby the elephant makes acquaintances with a group of 4- and 5-year-olds from the Sunburst Children's Center at Phoenix Zoo.

Ruby, an elephant at the Phoenix Zoo, painting with a brush held in her trunk as keeper Jerry Brown holds the canvas in 1992. About 250 paintings drawn by the Asian elephant have sold and Phoenix Zoo photographer Dick George penned her biography entitled "Ruby: The Painting Pachyderm of the Phoenix Zoo."

A male orangutan sucks on an ice cube supplied by the Phoenix Zoo animal keepers to help them cope with the summer heat in 1998.

Hundreds of people lined up to take advantage of the free admission to The Phoenix Zoo in 1999.

Sarah Cuellar, a zoo keeper at the Phoenix Zoo, holds up an iguana in 2000.

A back to school survival guide cover shot taken at the Phoenix Zoo's speckled bear exhibit in 2000.

Two giraffes at the Phoenix Zoo in the 2000s.

Zoo keeper Brandi Cooper uses a piece of cactus to try and coax Alliedaber to the scale for his annual weigh-in and physical exam in May 2000. Alliedaber, an Aldabra tortoise who is over a 100 years old, weighed in at 650 pounds.

Jeri Carlton, from Tempe, paddles her kayak through the lagoon, during the late evening in June 2001.

Serena Barrack, 6, cools off in the new water sprayground called "Leapin' Lagoon" during June 2001.

Children frolick in the new water sprayground called the "Leapin' Lagoon" during June 2001.

Giraffes are drawn to the high branches of a tree at the Phoenix Zoo Savannah exhibit in 2002.

Bess the Orangutan uses a palm frawn for shade to keep out of the sun Satuday at the Phoenix Zoo in 2005.

A Grevy's zebra one week after its birth pictured on March 8, 2001, at the Phoenix Zoo.

Bighorn sheep stand on top of a butte at the Phoenix Zoo while a plane in the background descends toward Sky Harbor in 2001.

Orthopedic surgeon Dennis Armstrong, right, of the Mesa Valley Lutheran Hospital, prepares to perform arthroscopic knee surgery on Hobbes, a 9-year-old cheetah, at the Phoenix Zoo's Animal Care Center in 2001. Cheetahs are the worldest fastest land mammals, but Hobbes' osteomalacia (softened cartilidge) was slowing him down.

Indu, an Asian elephant, gets sprayed in her habitat by elephant keeper Steve Koyle in 2004.

Children react to the common boa constrictor that was revealed by Phoenix Zoo Outreach Coordinator Susan Gerros in 2004.

Phoenix zoo keeper Anna Young calls the aptor Altair to her hand, where she feeds the bird bits of mice meat in 2004.

Dr. Chris Visser works on an infected tooth in the mouth of Cookie, a 6-year-old African lion at the Phoenix Zoo in 2005.

A big horn sheep watches the sunset from a butte at the Phoenix Zoo with an almost full moon rising from behind on June 1, 2014.

Ellerie Lane, 2, and her mother Kate Lane get ready to feed a giraffe during the Phoenix Zoo's Prowl and Play event on Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Reba, an Asian elephant, is excited to get a shower courtesy of the Phoenix Fire Department during World Elephant Day at the Phoenix Zoo on Aug. 13, 2016.

LouLou, a southern white rhino, wallows in the mud of her inclosure at the Phoenix Zoo during a heat wave on June 19, 2017.

Miguu (left) the zoo’s only male giraffe and mother female giraffe Sunshine are fed by Courtney Wilson at the Phoenix Zoo in 2018.

You can't tell by its face, but this great horned owl is enjoying a cool shower from a zoo keeper on June 19, 2017, at the Phoenix Zoo.

A giraffe is fed at the Phoenix Zoo in 2018.

How do you cool down like a tiger? In a pool of cool water. Jai, a male tiger at the Phoenix Zoo, chills out during a heat wave on June 19, 2017.

Children play in the snow with their siblings and friends at the Phoenix Zoo on Dec. 31, 2018.

Lilly Drier, 2, dug herself a spot to sit in the snow on July 13, 2019, at the Phoenix Zoo.

A black-footed ferret kit from the Phoenix Zoo in 2022.

Aurora, a baby giraffe, in the African Savanna exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo in 2023.

Aurora (right), a new baby giraffe, stays close to her mother Sunshine and another female in the African Savanna exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo on Dec. 5, 2023.

A Galapagos tortoise at the Phoenix Zoo named Elvis receives a cooling shower on July 18, 2023, that offers relief from the extreme heat wave in central Arizona. Tuesday is the 19th day in a row of temperatures of 110 degrees or more which sets a new record.

Aurora, the new baby giraffe stays close to her mother Sunshine in the African Savanna exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo in 2023.

Displays illuminate the night at ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo in 2024.

Mandril eating at the Phoenix Zoo in 2024.