ZooTampa at Lowry Park

About ZooTampa at Lowry Park

ZooTampa at Lowry Park sits at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue in Tampa, Florida. It began in the 1930s as a municipal department and has grown into a nonprofit zoo run by the Lowry Park Zoological Society of Tampa, Inc. The Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and cares for more than 1,000 animals; the Zoo's own facts list puts the total closer to 1,300, spread across 63 acres.

The Zoo's stated mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and care for animals while connecting people with wildlife. Its collection emphasizes endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species drawn from climates similar to the Tampa Bay region, and the grounds are organized into park areas devoted to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Florida itself.

History

ZooTampa originated in the 1930s as a municipal department holding a small number of Florida native species. It grew slowly over the following four decades but struggled to keep pace with the professional standards emerging at modern zoos. In 1982, community leaders formed the Lowry Park Zoo Association to take over the Zoo's management from the City of Tampa, with the goal of building a zoo through a public-private partnership. That organization later became the Lowry Park Zoological Society of Tampa, Inc., which still runs the Zoo today.

Working with a national zoo designer, the Society built a modern 24-acre facility that opened to the public in 1988 and earned AZA accreditation shortly afterward. The Zoo has since grown; one page describes it as encompassing 56 acres of naturalistic exhibits in a tropical garden setting, while the Zoo's published facts list the property at 63 acres. Since 1988, ZooTampa's education programs have reached more than 1.8 million school-aged children in the Tampa Bay area.

Exhibits and habitats

The Zoo's animal habitats are grouped into park areas representing Asia, Africa, Australia, and Florida, reflecting its focus on species from climates similar to Tampa Bay's. Its Animal Care Campus includes the Tiedemann-Cotton Animal Care Annex and the Catherine Lowry Straz Veterinary Hospital, which holds accreditation from the American Association of Animal Hospitals, a distinction the Zoo notes as held by only one other zoo in the country. As of the check date for this page, construction was underway on the front gate arrival plaza, with a temporary entrance and exit in place in the meantime.

Animal highlights

ZooTampa cares for more than 1,000 animals, with the Zoo's own facts putting the figure at roughly 1,300; a specific species count is not published. Among the animals the Zoo highlights are rescued manatees requiring round-the-clock critical care and an endangered white rhino born at the Zoo, both featured in its Nat Geo WILD series. The Zoo also partners with the fStop Foundation on efforts to monitor and protect the endangered Florida panther in central Florida.

Conservation and programs

Education runs through the Zoo's Florida Environmental Education Center, known as "Zoo School," a year-round, full-time licensed childcare center enrolling children ages one through five. It was the first full-time licensed childcare center operated by a U.S. zoo, and since 1988 ZooTampa's broader education programming has reached more than 1.8 million school-aged children.

ZooTampa also produces a Nat Geo WILD television series filmed entirely on its grounds, made by Emmy-winning Remedy Television + Branded and available on Disney+ and Amazon, which follows staff caring for animals including rescued manatees and an endangered white rhino. The Zoo publishes its financial statements for fiscal years 2023 through 2025 as part of what it describes as a commitment to financial transparency, and it has been voted Tampa's Best Family Attraction and won the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award 13 times.

Planning your visit

As listed on the Zoo's website, ZooTampa is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., though hours can shift for special events; the Zoo's site notes an upcoming early closing, at 2:00 p.m., to host an Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference event, with last entry an hour before close. Dining options on-site include pizza, sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, mac and cheese, and frozen custard, with gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options available on request; Zoo members receive a 10 percent discount on dining.

School and group field trips can be booked in advance, with group rates requiring a minimum of 15 people and payment options including pay-on-arrival. Because hours, admission prices, and construction affecting the entrance can change, confirm current details on ZooTampa's official website before visiting.