Louisville Zoo

About Louisville Zoo

The Louisville Zoological Gardens, known as the Louisville Zoo, is at 1100 Trevilian Way in Louisville, Kentucky. The zoo's website describes it as a nonprofit organization and the state zoo of Kentucky, and says it is also an agency of Louisville Metro Government. Its stated mission is to "Better the Bond Between People and Our Planet" by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in conservation education. The zoo's collections, which include botanical gardens, are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The zoo's about page says it opened in 1969 and currently exhibits more than 1,100 animals on 130 acres, organized into zoogeographic areas and habitat types. The areas it names are Glacier Run, Africa, Islands, the New World exhibits of North, Central, and South America, the Australian Outback, the HerpAquarium, and the Metazoo Education Center. The zoo's visitor FAQ gives the collection as over 1,200 animals, and Wikipedia gives the size as 134 acres in the Poplar Level neighborhood.

The about page also says the Islands, Gorilla Forest, and Glacier Run exhibits have been recognized by AZA for excellence and innovation, and Wikipedia records that Gorilla Forest received the 2003 AZA Exhibit Award.

History

Wikipedia reports that the zoo opened on May 1, 1969, with 250 animals on exhibit. It was built on land the City of Louisville acquired in the 1960s from the estate of Ben Collins, and much of the initial funding came from the local philanthropist James Graham Brown. Opening-day exhibits were mostly four-legged animals such as elephants and giraffes. The zoo also ran a train past several exhibits until 2019, and the trains were sold in 2021.

Later additions recorded by Wikipedia include a restored Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel in 1997, the Glacier Run Splash Park in May 2007 as the first phase of the Glacier Run area, and the Wallaroo Walkabout, also opened in 2007. Glacier Run was finished in early 2011 and is described by Wikipedia as a 4.3-acre area themed on an old gold-mining town bordered by a glacier.

Wikipedia adds that the zoo was one of the last to exhibit African and Asian elephants together. Its two elephants, the Asian elephant Punch and the African elephant Mikki, left for The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which records Punch's arrival there with Mikki on June 3, 2025. Wikipedia also describes a planned Kentucky Trails area for native animals from the Appalachian and Cumberland Gap regions, being developed in partnership with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Louisville Tourism reported in July 2026 that groundbreaking was planned for early 2027, with construction expected to take three years and finish in summer 2029.

Exhibits and habitats

The zoo's exhibit zones page introduces each area. In Africa, it names giraffes, the addax, which it calls one of the world's rarest antelopes, Hartmann's zebras, Gorilla Forest, and colobus monkeys at Colobus Crossing. Wikipedia lists African lions, dromedary camels, southern white rhinoceroses, common warthogs, addaxes, meerkats, naked mole-rats, Hartmann's mountain zebras, Masai giraffes, wattled cranes, eastern bongos, Nigerian dwarf goats in a boma petting yard, ring-tailed lemurs, and colobus monkeys. The zoo's plan page separately mentions camels near the lions and zebras in the Africa zone.

Gorilla Forest, which Wikipedia describes as a 4-acre exhibit, houses western lowland gorillas and pygmy hippopotamuses, and the zoo says its gorillas rotate between the sanctuary and outdoor habitat spaces. The zoo's new-arrivals page reports that two western lowland gorillas, Obi and Andi, joined a silverback named Kicho.

The Islands zone is described by the zoo as home to a multi-species exhibit that simulates how the animals live in the wild. Wikipedia lists Sumatran tigers, orangutans, siamangs, North Sulawesi babirusas, Malayan tapirs, Aldabra giant tortoises, and little penguins, with animals rotating through the space. The Islands Pavilion holds birds, plus Komodo dragons and Cuban crocodiles, according to Wikipedia. The zoo reports that the orangutans Sumagu and her daughter Kera, its first new orangutans in 28 years, are beginning rotation in the Islands.

Glacier Run is themed on an imaginary gold-mining town at the edge of the arctic, according to the zoo, with polar and grizzly bears, seals, and sea lions. Wikipedia lists the seals as harbor and grey seals, the sea lions as California sea lions, and adds Steller's sea eagles. The zoo's Snow Leopard Pass is home to three snow leopards.

The HerpAquarium features King Louie, a male albino American alligator, according to both the zoo and Wikipedia. The Americas zone includes Canada lynx, a flock of Chilean flamingos, and three sloths, according to the zoo, and Wikipedia adds maned wolves, red pandas, toco toucans, and a Cats of the Americas area with lynxes, bald eagles, and cougars. The zoo's new-arrivals page reports a female maned wolf, Ayla, joining the male Chrys. In the Australia zone, the zoo describes walking among wallabies and wallaroos and feeding nectar to lorikeets; Wikipedia names these areas the Wallaroo Walkabout and Lorikeet Landing.

Conservation and programs

The zoo's about page says it works with AZA Species Survival Plan programs and is one of a handful of institutions in the world to house a captive breeding population of black-footed ferrets. The zoo's conservation pages note the 25th anniversary of its Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center, and that a black-footed ferret named Rigatoni is back on exhibit.

Other conservation items posted on the zoo's site include the hatching of two critically endangered Baer's pochard ducklings, participation in an AZA SAFE monarch butterfly habitat project with community partners, staff contributions to a published conservation action plan for the timber rattlesnake, and a recycling program. The plan page states that part of every general admission ticket and every membership is contributed to the zoo's conservation partners. The zoo's new-arrivals page reports births that include three endangered Amur tiger cubs, the first tiger birth at the zoo in 22 years, a Masai giraffe calf, a colobus monkey, and a Steller's sea eagle chick.

The about page lists more than 50 special event days a year, including Earth Month activities in April, weekend movie nights, character appearances, holiday events, the Throo the Zoo 5K, and Boo at the Zoo. The zoo's plan page also describes field trips, group discounts, and camp visits. Attractions listed include the splash park, Conservation Carousel, tram, ropes courses, camel rides, and the BOMA African Petting Zoo.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, the zoo is open daily year round, rain or shine, and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Hours through March 19, 2027, are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with exit by 5 p.m., and from March 20, 2027, the listed hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with exit by 6 p.m. On Wednesdays through Sundays in October, last entry moves to 3 p.m. so staff can prepare for Boo at the Zoo. A winter discount period called Kroger Wild Winter Days is listed for the start of November through the end of February.

General admission pricing is based on demand, capacity, and other factors, according to the zoo, so current prices are on its ticket page. A per-vehicle parking fee applies in the zoo lot, and the FAQ says a processing fee applies to online orders. Active duty military personnel receive free general admission with a valid military ID at the ticket windows, and dependents receive a discount.

The FAQ says food and coolers are welcome and picnic areas are first come, first served, while alcoholic beverages, glass containers, and straws are prohibited. Anyone under 11 must be supervised. Service dogs are permitted, and other animals are not. Strollers, wagons, wheelchairs, and electric wheelchairs can be rented, and a free tram shuttle is available. The zoo says its animal viewing schedule is updated before opening each morning and that animals may be off exhibit for maintenance, health care, weather, or breeding.