Sarasota Jungle Gardens is a longstanding Sarasota, Florida, attraction that blends tropical botanical gardens with a zoo-like experience across more than 10 acres. The property began in the 1920s as a swampy banana grove before David Breed Lindsay acquired it in the early 1930s to create botanical gardens. Admission was charged by 1936, and by 1940 it had opened in essentially its present form. Known especially for its free-roaming flamingos, it also features reptiles, parrots, butterflies, other mammals, and daily programs. Its grounds combine native Florida plants with exotic species, and since the early 1970s the Allyn family has owned and managed the site.