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Bison got a giant cake made of fresh hay and sod with carrot candles, and sea lions had frozen-fish ice cakes.
The Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is marking its 10th anniversary and dozens of guests joined Borough President Helen Marshall to help the hogs, goats and spectacled bears celebrate.
The decade of the zoo reflects the evolution of American zoos from entertainment attractions to educational institutions teaching conservation.
"I think that we have been very well received by the public not only in Queens, but also other boroughs in New York City and Long Island," said Robin Dalton, director of the zoo, recalling its decade of interaction with the community.
The zoo was originally opened by the city in 1968 but closed in 1988 for a drastic renovation. Around that time, "many municipal zoos in the country were privatized and that's exactly what happened in New York City," said Jeffrey Hyson, an assistant professor of history at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, who published several essays on the history of American zoos.
"The city realized that they did not know how to run zoos...