Developer docs
API playgroundTry for free, no card

Search company profiles

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Full company profile

uuid000hxck

Namestring
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Websiteurl
pdza.org
Company typeenum
Private
Founded yearint
1905
Descriptiontext

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a zoological park headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, United States, with operating roots dating to 1905. Per the company's own positioning, the institution focuses on three core functions: animal welfare, veterinary care, and education. It serves the general visiting public, regional schools, and the broader Pacific Northwest community, operating as a private nonprofit organization rather than a commercial enterprise.

The institution operates a physical park and aquarium facility in Tacoma, supported by a workforce of 51–100 employees. As a zoological park, its core "products" are live animal exhibits, aquarium displays, and educational programming rather than technology or software. The firmographic record contains no proprietary technology, software platform, API, or digital product surface; the source data explicitly notes that pricing, technology, distribution channels, and partnership information are not disclosed. This is consistent with the institution's character as a visitor-based attraction and educational nonprofit rather than a technology or product company.

Commercially, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium operates under a nonprofit economic model that typically blends gate admissions, memberships, concession and retail revenue, event rentals, donor contributions, grants, and — for many U.S. zoos of this scale — some form of municipal or public funding support. No pricing model, GTM motion, customer segmentation, or revenue mechanics are disclosed in the input data, so the precise revenue mix cannot be triangulated from the provided sources. The absence of subsidiaries, M&A activity, funding rounds, leadership changes, or product launches in the data further indicates a stable operating institution rather than an entity in active strategic transition.

Short descriptiontext

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a nonprofit zoological park founded in 1905 in Tacoma, Washington, delivering animal welfare, veterinary care, and education to visiting public, school, and regional audiences through its on-site zoo and aquarium facilities.

Operating statusenum
Operating
Ownership categoryenum
Headcount rangeband
51–100
akta.pro rankint
HeadquartersTacoma, United States
HQ citystring
Tacoma
HQ countrystring
United States
HQ regionstring
North America
Markets served

Serves global market

Keyword5 values
zoological park operations, public aquarium exhibits, wildlife conservation programs, animal welfare services, environmental education
Industry2 codes
1Zoos, Aquariums & Botanical Gardens (Educational Collections)
CodeTHAJADALPrimaryYes
2Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Parks & Reserves (Visitor Operations)
CodeTHAAAAAGPrimaryNo
NAICS code2 codes
  • Zoos and Botanical Gardens712130
  • Zoos and Botanical Gardens71213
SIC code1 code
  • Services-Amusement & Recreation Services7900
Product category
Zoo and Aquarium Services
Social media profiles3 records
Cost components4 values
Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
GTM typeB2C
B2C
Offering typeServices
Services
Core offering1 text field

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium operates a zoological park that maintains animal welfare standards, provides veterinary care for its animal collection, and delivers public education. The organization offers visitors access to animal exhibits, aquarium displays, and educational programming as a non-profit institution.

Differentiator
Functional benefit
Problem solved
Product and service3 records
1Zoo and Aquarium General Admission
CategoryVisitor admissions
Description

Public access to the zoological park and aquarium exhibits in Tacoma, Washington, available to individual visitors and families for recreational and educational visits.

2Animal Welfare and Veterinary Care
CategoryAnimal care services
Description

On-site animal welfare and veterinary care services supporting the zoo's animal collection and conservation mission.

3Education Programs
CategoryEducational services
Description

Educational programming delivered to visitors, schools, and community groups covering wildlife, conservation, and biology topics.

No data
Peers10 records
1Seattle Aquarium
TypeDirect peer
Description

Non-profit aquarium on Elliott Bay focused on marine life education and conservation, directly competing with PDZA's aquarium component in the same Puget Sound market.

2Oregon Zoo
TypeDirect peer
Description

Regional zoological park in Portland, OR offering animal exhibits, conservation programs, and education experiences that directly overlap with Point Defiance's value proposition.

3Denver Zoo
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Accredited non-profit zoological park combining animal care, education, and conservation with comparable scale and programming depth to PDZA.

4San Diego Zoo
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Iconic zoological park and conservation organization with a global brand; overlaps on animal welfare, veterinary care, and education while operating at a far larger scale.

5Aquarium of the Pacific
TypeRegional player
Description

Non-profit aquarium in Long Beach, CA with a similar education-and-conservation focus; comparable aquarium business but on the U.S. West Coast rather than the Pacific Northwest.

6Monterey Bay Aquarium
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Large, well-funded non-profit aquarium with a national brand in marine conservation and education; comparable aquarium and education mission at meaningfully larger scale.

7Woodland Park Zoo
TypeDirect peer
Description

Accredited zoological park in Seattle, WA serving the same Pacific Northwest market with a comparable mix of animal exhibits, education programming, and non-profit governance.

8Vancouver Aquarium
TypeRegional player
Description

Non-profit marine science center adjacent to the Pacific Northwest market with overlapping aquarium, education, and conservation programming across the border.

9National Aquarium
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Large non-profit aquarium in Baltimore with strong education and conservation programming; directly comparable on the aquarium side of PDZA's offering.

10Bronx Zoo
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Major metropolitan zoological park operated by WCS with extensive animal collections, education programs, and conservation work; shares non-profit zoo model and mission.

Market position
Strengths4 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Weaknesses4 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Competitive moat3 records

Each record includes

Type, Details

Key risks5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Key highlights5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Customer concentration

Classification, Details

Ideal customer profile2 records

Each record includes

Profile, Firmographic size, Sales motion, Sales cycle length, Buying structure, Purchase trigger, Buyer persona, Geography, Industry vertical, Primary use case, Description, Pain points, Evidence proof points, Target buyer

Technology focused
No
API detail
Has APIbool
No

Docs URL, Description

AI maturity
App detail

Has app

Core technology
Revenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Number of profiles
No data
No data
Funding overview

Funding stage, Last funding date, Total funding USD

Funding rounds

Each record includes

Round, Amount USD, Date, Pre money valuation, Total investors, Investors, News

Investors

Each record includes

Name, Type, Date of entry, Rounds participated, Website

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Each record includes

Name, Acquisition type, Announced date, Completed date, Status, Website, News

Investment

Each record includes

Name, Round, Announced date, Lead investor, Website, News

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Zoo and Aquarium Servicespdza.org

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a nonprofit zoological park founded in 1905 in Tacoma, Washington, delivering animal welfare, veterinary care, and education to visiting public, school, and regional audiences through its on-site zoo and aquarium facilities.

What Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium does

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a zoological park headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, United States, with operating roots dating to 1905. Per the company's own positioning, the institution focuses on three core functions: animal welfare, veterinary care, and education. It serves the general visiting public, regional schools, and the broader Pacific Northwest community, operating as a private nonprofit organization rather than a commercial enterprise.

The institution operates a physical park and aquarium facility in Tacoma, supported by a workforce of 51–100 employees. As a zoological park, its core "products" are live animal exhibits, aquarium displays, and educational programming rather than technology or software. The firmographic record contains no proprietary technology, software platform, API, or digital product surface; the source data explicitly notes that pricing, technology, distribution channels, and partnership information are not disclosed. This is consistent with the institution's character as a visitor-based attraction and educational nonprofit rather than a technology or product company.

Commercially, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium operates under a nonprofit economic model that typically blends gate admissions, memberships, concession and retail revenue, event rentals, donor contributions, grants, and — for many U.S. zoos of this scale — some form of municipal or public funding support. No pricing model, GTM motion, customer segmentation, or revenue mechanics are disclosed in the input data, so the precise revenue mix cannot be triangulated from the provided sources. The absence of subsidiaries, M&A activity, funding rounds, leadership changes, or product launches in the data further indicates a stable operating institution rather than an entity in active strategic transition.

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium firmographics

Firmographics
Name
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Website
https://pdza.org
Company type
Private
Founded year
1905
Operating status
Operating
Headcount range
51–100 employees
Short description
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a nonprofit zoological park founded in 1905 in Tacoma, Washington, delivering animal welfare, veterinary care, and education to visiting public, school, and regional audiences through its on-site zoo and aquarium facilities.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium industry classification

Industry
Product category
Zoo and Aquarium Services
NAICS
Zoos and Botanical Gardens (712130), Zoos and Botanical Gardens (71213)
SIC
Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
akta.pro primary industry
Zoos, Aquariums & Botanical Gardens (Educational Collections) (THAJADAL)
akta.pro secondary industry
Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Parks & Reserves (Visitor Operations) (THAAAAAG)

Keywords

  • Zoological park operations
  • Public aquarium exhibits
  • Wildlife conservation programs
  • Animal welfare services
  • Environmental education

Where Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city
Tacoma
HQ country
United States
HQ region
North America

Markets served

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium business model

Business model
GTM type
B2C
Offering type
Services
Cost components
Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium operates a zoological park that maintains animal welfare standards, provides veterinary care for its animal collection, and delivers public education. The organization offers visitors access to animal exhibits, aquarium displays, and educational programming as a non-profit institution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

  • Zoo and Aquarium General Admission Public access to the zoological park and aquarium exhibits in Tacoma, Washington, available to individual visitors and families for recreational and educational visits.
  • Animal Welfare and Veterinary Care On-site animal welfare and veterinary care services supporting the zoo's animal collection and conservation mission.
  • Education Programs Educational programming delivered to visitors, schools, and community groups covering wildlife, conservation, and biology topics.

Companies that use Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Customer profile

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API
No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

  • Seattle Aquarium: Non-profit aquarium on Elliott Bay focused on marine life education and conservation, directly competing with PDZA's aquarium component in the same Puget Sound market.
  • Oregon Zoo: Regional zoological park in Portland, OR offering animal exhibits, conservation programs, and education experiences that directly overlap with Point Defiance's value proposition.
  • Woodland Park Zoo: Accredited zoological park in Seattle, WA serving the same Pacific Northwest market with a comparable mix of animal exhibits, education programming, and non-profit governance.

Broad incumbents

  • Denver Zoo: Accredited non-profit zoological park combining animal care, education, and conservation with comparable scale and programming depth to PDZA.
  • San Diego Zoo: Iconic zoological park and conservation organization with a global brand; overlaps on animal welfare, veterinary care, and education while operating at a far larger scale.
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium: Large, well-funded non-profit aquarium with a national brand in marine conservation and education; comparable aquarium and education mission at meaningfully larger scale.
  • National Aquarium: Large non-profit aquarium in Baltimore with strong education and conservation programming; directly comparable on the aquarium side of PDZA's offering.
  • Bronx Zoo: Major metropolitan zoological park operated by WCS with extensive animal collections, education programs, and conservation work; shares non-profit zoo model and mission.

Regional players

  • Aquarium of the Pacific: Non-profit aquarium in Long Beach, CA with a similar education-and-conservation focus; comparable aquarium business but on the U.S. West Coast rather than the Pacific Northwest.
  • Vancouver Aquarium: Non-profit marine science center adjacent to the Pacific Northwest market with overlapping aquarium, education, and conservation programming across the border.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium social profiles

Digital presence

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

What does Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium do?

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium operates a zoological park that maintains animal welfare standards, provides veterinary care for its animal collection, and delivers public education. The organization offers visitors access to animal exhibits, aquarium displays, and educational programming as a non-profit institution.

Is Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium a public or private company?

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium founded?

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was founded in 1905. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium based?

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is headquartered in Tacoma, United States, in the North America region.

Who are Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Seattle Aquarium, Oregon Zoo and Woodland Park Zoo. Broad incumbents are Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Monterey Bay Aquarium, National Aquarium and Bronx Zoo. Regional players are Aquarium of the Pacific and Vancouver Aquarium.

Does Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium have an API?

No public API is recorded for Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

What industry is Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in?

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's product category is Zoo and Aquarium Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAL, Zoos, Aquariums & Botanical Gardens (Educational Collections), with a secondary code of THAAAAAG, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Parks & Reserves (Visitor Operations). Its NAICS code is 712130 and its SIC code is 7900.

Unlock the full company data

50 free credits on sign-up, no credit card required.

Contact sales
Live signals
YahooThe trolls are coming! New Dambo trolls arrive next week at two WA zoosAn outdoor art exhibit titled 'Trolls: A Field Study' by Thomas Dambo opens Oct. 15 at Point Defiance Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, featuring 12 troll sculptures. Point Defiance Zoo displays four, including Larke the Mask Troll, while Northwest Trek shows eight. The exhibit runs through Jan. 24.American City Business JournalsLargest museums in the Seattle area, 2026Four Seattle-area museums ranked by 2025 visitors: Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle Aquarium each drew 1.3 million, Point Defiance Zoo 700,000, and MOPOP 458,672. The three animal-focused attractions accounted for over half of all reported visits, with Woodland Park Zoo generating $64 million in revenue.YahooIndo-Pacific leopard sharks with ties to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium released into the wildTwo endangered Indo-Pacific leopard shark pups, Jelly and Bestie, were released into the waters of Raja Ampat, Indonesia, in late August. They trace their origins to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, where their parents produced seven genetically valuable eggs. The releases mark the conclusion of the 2026 release season in Indonesia.FOX 13 SeattleOwen makes his debut: New sea lion dives into Tacoma, WA Point Defiance Zoo, AquariumOwen the sea lion has made his debut at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, swimming alongside his mother, Eloise. This event marks the first time in 121 years that the zoo has welcomed a second sea lion pup, born to two rescue sea lions. Owen was named after nearby Owen Beach, highlighting the local connection to the zoo.The Seattle TimesPoint Defiance Zoo & Aquarium puffin habitat closes after deathsThree tufted puffins died recently at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, prompting the zoo to close its outdoor puffin aviary while investigating a suspected avian disease outbreak. The zoo suspects avian psittacosis caused by the bacterium Chlamydia psittaci and has administered antibiotics to all remaining puffins, though test results are still pending. Guests who visited the habitat in recent weeks are being encouraged to monitor for symptoms, though no active human cases have been identified and the risk to the public is believed to be low.KOMOClouded leopard safely returns after climbing tree near Point Defiance Zoo perimeter fenceA clouded leopard named Orchid climbed a tree near the perimeter fence at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on Friday, prompting temporary pathway closures and the activation of safety protocols. Staff successfully returned the animal to its habitat by 2:23 p.m., with no harm reported to guests, staff, or animals.AxiosTacoma zoo's otter pup captures heartsBao, a male Asian small-clawed otter pup at Tacoma's Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, was born weighing half a pound in November and grew to 2.3 pounds by last week. He is now opening his eyes, mouthing solid foods, and swimming with his parents. He remains behind the scenes, not yet on public display, as he continues to grow and wait for better weather.KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness NewsComo Park Zoo welcomes its newest arrival: Astra the polar bearA 4-year-old polar bear named Astra arrived at Como Park Zoo on Wednesday evening from Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. She will be paired with Kulu, a 5-year-old bear, under the Polar Bear Population Alliance, with zookeepers hoping for new cubs. Astra will be separated from other bears to adjust before introduction.AxiosTiny tapir arrivesA rare Malayan tapir calf was born Sunday at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the second tapir birth in the zoo's 120-year history. The endangered species' populations are declining due to habitat loss. Visitors can expect to see the young tapir this spring.AxiosPublic picks a PepperZoo visitors named the nearly two-month-old sea lion pup Pepper, who won 31% of the vote over other options. Pepper is the first sea lion born at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in its 119-year history. She is nursing and learning from her mother, Eloise.