ABQ BioPark Zoo

About ABQ BioPark Zoo

ABQ BioPark Zoo sits on 64 acres along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has welcomed visitors since it opened in 1927 as the Rio Grande Zoo. It's one of four facilities that make up the Albuquerque Biological Park, alongside the BioPark Aquarium, Botanic Garden, and Tingley Beach, and the whole BioPark is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. A narrow-gauge railroad connects the zoo to the rest of the BioPark's facilities, and walking the zoo's own paths covers about 2.27 miles.

The zoo is organized around continental sections — Africa, Asia, and Australia — along with a "Catwalk" area for big cats and a dedicated herpetology building. The Africa section alone covers six acres, split into 17 separate exhibits holding 23 species of mammals and birds. The BioPark as a whole is City of Albuquerque property, operated as a living environmental park, and it describes itself as the top tourist destination in New Mexico, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors annually across its four sites combined.

History

ABQ BioPark Zoo opened in 1927 under the name Rio Grande Zoo, on the 64-acre site it still occupies. Since then, most of its major changes have come exhibit by exhibit rather than through a single master expansion. The Reptile House was remodeled in 2012, replacing part of the old Gator Swamp with a new amphibian building, and received further renovations in 2017 to add digital interpretive signage and interactive displays. An endangered species carousel was added in 2016.

Several exhibits have changed hands or been rebuilt more recently. The Catwalk, home to the zoo's big cats, underwent renovation that led to African lion siblings Kenya and Dixie being permanently transferred to the Abilene Zoo in March 2023. The Asia section was expanded in 2023 to add flex exhibits for the zoo's orangutans, siamangs, tigers, and snow leopards. The Australia area, known as Koala Creek, began a major expansion in September 2018 that closed the old seal pool and added dingoes, little penguins, wallabies, and the return of koalas, along with a new home for the zoo's saltwater crocodile. The multi-million-dollar Penguin Chill exhibit, funded through a city tax bond, opened in July 2019 as the first exhibit of its kind in the Southwest, and Birds of the Islands opened the following year on the site of a former parrot habitat.

Exhibits and habitats

Flamingo Crossing, near the zoo's entrance, is a bamboo-lined moated island holding the flock of Caribbean flamingos. The Reptile House holds snakes, tortoises, and lizards, plus two large areas for the zoo's Komodo dragons; a nearby building serves as temporary quarters for an adult saltwater crocodile and slender-snouted crocodiles, and the outdoor Gator Swamp Exhibit is a heated pool for adult American alligators. Amphibians: Life on a Limb, opened with the 2012 renovation, houses several frog species and is home to the zoo's captive population of critically endangered locust coquis from Puerto Rico.

Raptor Roost's large aviaries hold Andean condors, golden eagles, great horned owls, and Steller's sea eagles. The Mexican Wolf Exhibit holds the zoo's pack of Mexican wolves, the most endangered wolf species in the United States; in June 2020 the pair Kawi and Ryder produced a litter of seven pups. Inukshuk Bay gives visitors underwater viewing windows and an elevated vantage point to watch the zoo's polar bears feed and slide down a waterfall.

The Asia exhibit originally centered on yards and barns for a herd of two male and four female Asian elephants; its 2023 expansion added space for orangutans, siamangs, tigers, and snow leopards. Ape Walk houses the zoo's siamangs and western lowland gorillas. Birds of the Americas mixes five North and South American species in one aviary — burrowing owls, Gambel's quails, greater roadrunners, hyacinth macaws, and sun conures. Penguin Chill's 14,550-square-foot building includes a 75,589-gallon main pool with depths from 5 to 12 feet, above- and below-water viewing areas, a glass floor beneath the walkway, and an outdoor deck with a snack bar; it holds gentoo, macaroni, and king penguins. Birds of the Islands, part of the zoo's Americas Trail, sits next to an exhibit of Aldabra giant tortoises.

Animal highlights

The zoo's public animal directory lists at least 62 species by name, spanning big cats, primates, reptiles, and birds. Big cats and predators on the list include jaguars, Malayan tigers, snow leopards, and spotted hyenas; primates include western lowland gorillas, Sumatran orangutans, chimpanzees, and lar and siamang gibbons. Large mammals include Southern white rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, Asian elephants, and reticulated giraffes. Reptile highlights include Komodo dragons, king cobras, Chinese alligators, and Grand Cayman blue iguanas, while the bird collection ranges from Andean condors and Steller's sea eagles to hyacinth macaws and wattled cranes. Penguins on exhibit include gentoo, macaroni, and king penguins.

Conservation and programs

The zoo has been actively involved in captive breeding and species recovery work. It participates in the Mexican Gray Wolf Species Survival Plan as a breeding and holding facility, and in 2020 helped raise a litter of seven wolf pups later prepared for eventual release to the wild. Zoo staff have also worked on Texas horned lizard conservation since 2017, breeding the species in the reptile building and releasing roughly 70 young lizards into the wild in Socorro County, New Mexico, to help a species that has disappeared from about half its historic range. The zoo has recorded rare hatchings as well, including critically endangered Bali myna chicks — the first hatched at the BioPark in 40 years — and an ocelot kitten born on-site.

Planning your visit

As listed on the BioPark's website, the Zoo is generally open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with winter hours that close on Mondays between Veterans Day and Presidents Day; the park is closed Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. Last entry is typically half an hour before closing. Prices vary by New Mexico residency and by age/ID category: Zoo-only tickets range from $5 to $10 for residents and $11 to $19.50 for non-residents, and a combo ticket covering the Zoo, Aquarium, and Botanic Garden costs more. Children two and under and BioPark Society members are free.

Allow about 4 to 5 hours to see the whole zoo, since the total walking distance is roughly 2.25 miles. Parking is free at all BioPark facilities. Wheelchairs rent for $10 for the day at the Zoo's Jungle Wheels shop, and electronic scooters cost $35 plus a refundable $100 deposit; single strollers are $12 and double strollers $14, all available first-come, first-served. The Cottonwood Café, near the band shell, serves sandwiches and snacks from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. No pets are allowed, though ADA-recognized service animals are welcome in public areas. Because prices, hours, and construction closures change, confirm the current details on the BioPark's official website before visiting.