Alexandria Zoological Park

About Alexandria Zoological Park

Alexandria Zoological Park is a zoo in Alexandria, Louisiana, covering about 33 acres and housing roughly 500 animals. It opened in 1926 and is not currently accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, though it participates in AZA-affiliated conservation and training programs. The zoo describes itself as a longtime center for the Alexandria community, and it has been the site of school field trips and family visits across generations.

The zoo organizes its collection around four themed regional areas: Louisiana Habitat, Land of the Jaguar, African Experience, and Australian Walkabout, moving visitors from native Louisiana wildlife through Latin America, Africa, and Australia over the course of a visit. Its stated priorities are animal welfare, naturalistic habitat design, and conservation partnerships, alongside a broader mission of connecting the local community to the wider natural world.

A dedicated animal care team is responsible for nutrition, medical care, and enrichment for the collection, and the zoo says its habitats are designed to encourage species-appropriate behaviors such as foraging, climbing, and playing.

History

Alexandria Zoological Park opened in 1926 and has operated in the same central Louisiana community for a century since. Over that time it has become part of the fabric of Alexandria, hosting school field trips, family outings, and community gatherings on its grounds.

The zoo's Louisiana Habitat exhibit has earned outside recognition for its design: it received an award from Louisiana Contractors magazine for best public facility in 1998 and won an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Significant Achievement Award in 2002. The zoo's African Experience exhibit opened its first phase in 2003, adding African lions and a rock-formation habitat with a 17-foot waterfall to the collection.

Exhibits and habitats

Louisiana Habitat covers about 3.5 acres and recreates the marshes, swamps, and uplands of the state through natural habitats for native species including alligator, eagle, otter, cougar, black bear, bobcat, raccoon, red wolf, and white-tailed deer, with underwater viewing available for turtles, fish, otters, and alligators.

Land of the Jaguar spans about 2.5 acres and is entered past Mayan-style ruins, leading visitors through habitats for monkeys and colorful birds and into an Amazonian-village setting with jaguars, giant anteaters, caimans, and ocelots, before reaching a mountain-edge area with Andean bears and Andean condors.

The African Experience opened its Phase I section in 2003 and centers on African lions living amid rock formations and a 17-foot waterfall, alongside greater flamingos, crested porcupines, and dwarf crocodiles; the exhibit is also home to Big Al, the zoo's resident Aldabra tortoise. The Australian Walkabout features animals native to Australia, including wallaby, emu, snake-necked turtle, cassowary, and kookaburra.

Festival Plaza serves as the zoo's stage and event space, with shade sails, a brick-lined memorial courtyard, and a performing stage used for special events. A playground area designed for ages 5 to 12 offers slides and monkey bars near shaded picnic tables, with a vending room and restrooms close by.

Animal highlights

Alexandria Zoological Park is home to roughly 500 animals, spanning the native Louisiana species in its Louisiana Habitat area and the Latin American, African, and Australian species across its other three regions. Named residents include alligators, red wolves, black bears, and bobcats in the Louisiana section; jaguars, giant anteaters, caimans, ocelots, and Andean bears and condors in Land of the Jaguar; African lions, greater flamingos, crested porcupines, dwarf crocodiles, and Big Al the Aldabra tortoise in the African Experience; and wallabies, emus, cassowaries, and kookaburras in the Australian Walkabout.

Conservation and programs

Alexandria Zoo is a supporter of the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG), a coalition of zoos, aquariums, and partners working on wildlife and habitat conservation across the Americas. Through the nonprofit Friends of the Alexandria Zoo (FOTAZ), the zoo helps fund ZCOG field conservation projects in Latin America and the Caribbean Basin focused on species including the jaguar, maned wolf, flamingo, and Andean condor, along with training and scholarships for Latin American zoo and aquarium professionals.

The zoo also supports the Les Whitt Memorial Scholarship, named for Robert Leslie "Les" Whitt, director of Alexandria Zoological Park from 1974 to 2008 and a founding board member of ZCOG. The scholarship funds participation in Association of Zoos & Aquariums training courses on animal training applications and best practices in animal keeping. Separately, the zoo participates in the AZA's Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) initiative and in Species Survival Plans, which manage individual species to maintain healthy, self-sustaining populations through research, education, and field projects.

Planning your visit

Hours are listed as 9am to 5pm as listed on the zoo's website; specific ticket prices were not available in the materials reviewed here. The zoo offers a Friends of the Alexandria Zoo membership that includes free year-round admission and discounts on select programs and gift shop and cafe purchases.

Families with very young children can join Stroller Safari, a monthly 45-minute program for children from birth to age five and their caregivers that includes story time, a craft, nature play, and a guided habitat visit; it costs $10 for two caregivers and one child, plus $2 per additional child, with pre-registration required and zoo admission charged separately at arrival.

The zoo also hosts seasonal events such as a Halloween-themed evening event with a treat trail and family activities. As with any attraction, confirm current hours, admission pricing, and event schedules on the official Alexandria Zoo website before visiting.