04/01/2026
🗝️ HIDDEN MEMPHIS PART 42
In honor of the Memphis Zoo’s 120th Anniversary celebration this week…let’s take a look back at where it started 🐻
NATCH — THE BEAR THAT BUILT A ZOO
If you have ever walked into the Memphis Zoo, you have probably passed two small things without even noticing.
A monument.
And a time capsule.
They both sit inside the zoo, just steps from Primate Canyon.
And both trace back to one uncomfortable beginning.
In 1905, a young American black bear named Natch arrived in Memphis. He was not part of a conservation effort. He was not rescued.
He was captured in Mississippi and acquired through a private business deal, something that was not unusual at the time. His name likely came from Natchez, a reference to where he was believed to have been captured.
At first, Natch was reportedly kept in a private yard. Word spread quickly. Crowds gathered. Neighbors complained. It became disruptive.
So he was moved to Overton Park.
And tied to a tree.
Literally tethered inside a small fenced area so the public could view him.
It is hard to hear now. It feels cruel. And by modern standards, it was.
But in 1905, spectacle drew crowds.
Natch even became a mascot for a local baseball team. Live animal mascots were common at the time. It was promotion. Entertainment. A way to draw attention.
And Memphis showed up.
The fascination with one bear pushed civic leaders to consider something more structured. If people were this interested in one animal, what could a proper zoological garden become?
On April 4, 1906, the Memphis Zoological Garden was officially founded.
What began with a captured bear on a rope evolved into something far greater.
Today, the Memphis Zoo is nationally recognized and award winning. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It has been ranked among the top zoos in the country. It participates in global conservation programs and species survival plans. It educates generations of children about protecting wildlife instead of exploiting it.
That contrast matters.
In 1981, a monument was installed inside the zoo near the site where Natch was once displayed. It honors the beginning, even if the beginning was not pretty.
And nearby sits the zoo’s time capsule, sealed during a major anniversary celebration. Inside are photographs, documents, and artifacts. A snapshot of Memphis at that moment in time.
It is scheduled to be opened in 2056, during the zoo’s 150th anniversary.
One marker remembers where we started.
The capsule preserves who we became.
Now, more than a century later, both still sit quietly across from Primate Canyon. Thousands of visitors walk past them every day.
Most never look down.
But maybe they should.
Because the story of Natch is not just about where Memphis began.
It is about how Memphis changed.
From spectacle to stewardship.
From curiosity to conservation.
From a rope around a tree…
to one of the most respected zoos in the country.
And that evolution might be the most important part of the story.
