Photo by Jim Jenkins, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

After an act was passed by Congress in response to the declining American bison population, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo officially opened to the public in its current Rock Creek Park location 125 years ago.

To celebrate their 125th anniversary, the National Zoo is bringing back its first-ever exhibit—American bison—beginning August 30. According to a release, The American Bison exhibit will open to the public on Saturday, with two new bison recently acquired by the Zoo.

The two new bison—named Zora and Wilma—were acquired by the National Zoo from the American Prairie Reserve in Montana, which is home to hundreds of different species of animals. The bison, who are both female, were named through a collaboration with Howard and Gallaudet University, and were named after famed poet, author, civil rights activist, and Howard alumnus Zora Neal Hurston, and former Republic of South Africa parliament member and Gallaudet alumnus Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen.

When the Zoo first opened, American bison were in decline, with just 375 left, but today— thanks to conservation efforts—that number has risen to 30,000 in conservation herds, with another 500,000 managed as livestock. As the Zoo says, “the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists American bison as a species that is near threatened by extinction; IUCN does not consider commercial herds in designating population status.”

In a statement, Zoo director Dennis Kelly said that “our founder William Temple Hornaday envisioned a national zoo where bison and other vanishing species would thrive. By bringing bison back to the Zoo, we hope Americans will reconnect with this iconic species. Bison played a key role in the history of our country and the history of our great Zoo. Let these animal ambassadors remind us all that we can save wildlife and their habitats.”