From Southern Living (May 2001), a section of the article entitled:

"Going Wild at the Zoo: In cities across the South, zoos are building amazing new habitats for animals. Here are some of the best ones to visit."

A Small Zoo Thinks Big

The exit sign on I-20 says Tyler, Texas, but when you look out over a rolling prairie at the Caldwell Zoo, you could swear you'd just landed in Africa. Beyond a windowed viewing area, a pair of lions stalks a grassy field. Protected by a hidden moat, African antelope keep a wary eye on their old enemies. Farther in the distance, elephants and zebras roam.

"One of the things we're known for is multispecies exhibits," says zoo president Hayes Caldwell. "It makes the animals more attentive on both sides of the moat. A lot of other zoos are doing that now."

A Tyler couple, Mr. and Mrs. D.K. Caldwell, founded the zoo in 1937 and endowed the foundation that supports its $4-million annual budget. The funding also enables it to operate as one of the few zoos in the nation with free admission.

"We completely redid the zoo starting in the late 1970s," Hayes says. "That's when we went to the open, naturalistic concept and started showing animals based on geographic regions." Attendance tripled. More than 600,000 visitors a year tour the 80-acre zoo to see its spacious open habitats for North American, South American, and East African animals.