Scovill Zoo

About Scovill Zoo

Scovill Zoo is a zoo at 71 South Country Club Road in Decatur, Illinois, operated by the Decatur Park District. According to the zoo's history page, it sits in the 62-acre Scovill Park overlooking Lake Decatur, with 15 acres of exhibits. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; its website says re-accreditation was granted on August 27, 2022, for a period of five years, and Wikipedia gives September 25, 2006, as the date of its first accreditation.

The zoo's home page describes 400 animals spanning six continents, and Wikipedia gives 96 species. The history page describes visitor contact with exotic and domestic animals, horticultural displays and gardens, wooded grounds and family picnicking. Wikipedia names cheetahs, gray wolves, zebras and alligators among the animals, along with the original farm animals, and a 2025 WCIA report named wolves, cheetahs, reptiles and a petting zoo with goats and cows among the zoo's long-standing draws.

Scovill Park also holds Scovill Gardens, with a gazebo and an Oriental Garden, and the Scovill Sculpture Park, which lies between the zoo and the Children's Museum of Illinois, according to the zoo's guest services page.

History

Wikipedia records that Guy Norman and Rose Scovill donated the property for Scovill Gardens, which now include the zoo, to the Decatur Park District in 1947.

The zoo opened to the public in 1967 under the name Scovill Farm. According to Wikipedia, a Kiwanis Club donation started construction, additional donations covered the rest of the building costs, and the first animals were pigs, chickens, goats and other farm animals.

The Z.O. and O. Express Train was added in 1984, and the zoo's history page says it was upgraded in 2019. In spring 2007 the zoo formed a local chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, according to the zoo's conservation page.

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation funded the Scovill Sculpture Park beside the zoo, and in 2017 a gallery of photographs taken by Howard Buffett during his travels was unveiled in the zoo's Environmental Education Center, according to the history page. The foundation also partnered with the Decatur Parks Foundation on an extended train ride.

In 2025, WCIA reported, the zoo held a ribbon cutting on April 28 for a new mountain lion exhibit and a camel holding building.

Exhibits and habitats

The zoo's animal pages group the collection into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, with bird categories including pelicans, flamingos, penguins, owls and emus, and mammal categories including armadillos, marsupials, primates, sloths, cats and zebras.

The mountain lion exhibit holds two siblings, Russet and Yukon. Zoo Director Heather Purdeu told WCIA in 2025 that they were found as orphaned cubs in Idaho in 2017 and had lived at Elmwood Park Zoo near Philadelphia and the St. Louis Zoo before coming to Decatur. The same report said the zoo had welcomed a baby howler monkey and a wallaby joey that season.

The Endangered Species Carousel has 30 hand-carved wooden animals representing protected and endangered species, according to the zoo's amenities page. It is ADA accessible, with two chariots that accommodate wheelchairs, and a stationary giraffe figure was added in 2024 for children who are hesitant to ride animals that move up and down.

The Z.O. and O. Express Train is a scaled replica of an 1863 C.P. Huntington steam train. The zoo says the ride includes views of additional zoo animals, a crossing of a 30-foot-high bridge with views of Lake Decatur, glimpses of the Sculpture Park and access to the Children's Museum of Illinois. Wheelchair users can board by ramp.

Project Playground, a community-built, ADA-accessible playground with a rock wall, music station and slides, is free and open year-round, weather permitting. Visitors can feed the goats at the petting area.

Conservation and programs

Five cents of each paid admission goes to the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Conservation Centre in South Africa, which the zoo describes as the native land of its cheetahs, to support a census of free-roaming cheetahs.

The zoo's keeper association chapter has raised funds on several occasions, most recently in 2023, to adopt an Anatolian shepherd, a livestock guard dog used in cheetah conservation in Namibia. The chapter also takes part in the Adopt a Street program in Decatur and hosts an annual Bowling for Rhinos event. The zoo has partnered with the Macon County Conservation District on barn owl nesting boxes, putting up two in December 2021 and three more in December 2023. The conservation page also carries a palm oil awareness mission statement.

Education programs listed on the zoo's website include Zoo Buddies, a monthly class for ages 3 to 5; Critter Tales, a summer book club for ages 5 and 6; and Zoo Kids, a week-long camp for ages 7 and 8. The Mobile Zoo brings ambassador animals to schools, nonprofits and community events, with presentations on topics such as animal senses and classification. In May, Mobile Zoo visits can only be scheduled for nursing homes. Volunteers complete 10 weeks of continuing education classes, according to the zoo.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, 2026 fall hours, from August 10 to October 12, are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Admission is free on Thursdays from June 4 to October 8. Wikipedia says the zoo is typically open from the start of April to the end of October and closes to the public in winter.

Ticket categories on the zoo's website are adults, children 2 to 12, seniors 65 and older, and children 1 and under, who are free. The train and carousel are ticketed separately, and members can buy a season rides pass. Current prices are on the zoo's website.

The guest services page lists stroller and wagon rentals, free wheelchairs, wheelchair-accessible facilities and restrooms, the Zootique gift shop, a Zoopermarket for snacks, and picnic areas in the park and zoo. Rules require children under 12 to be with an adult and prohibit smoking, pets other than service dogs, bicycles and feeding animals outside the petting zoo. The phone number is 217-421-7435.