Roosevelt Park Zoo

About Roosevelt Park Zoo

Roosevelt Park Zoo is a zoo at 1219 Burdick Expressway East in Minot, North Dakota. Wikipedia describes it as North Dakota's oldest zoo and says the Minot Park District oversees operations, with the Greater Minot Zoological Society operating as a charitable organization alongside it. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Wikipedia gives the zoo's area as 19 acres and reports 135 animals representing 68 species as of 2024, and 115,805 guests in 2021. The zoo's own animals page says it houses over 160 animals and over 50 species, so totals vary between sources and dates. The zoo's home page uses the tagline "Let the world surround you."

The zoo also runs education programs for preschoolers, school-age children and teen volunteers.

History

The zoo's own history timeline begins on April 9, 1914, when the Minot Park District declared Riverside Park Zoo at a park board meeting. The zoo then had 24 animals, 12 fox squirrels and 12 gray squirrels. The timeline records the zoo's first large mammal, a male American bison from Montana, in 1920, and the Zoological building, its first permanent structure, in 1921; that building now serves as the aviary. In 1922, following the death of Theodore Roosevelt, the park board adopted a resolution renaming Riverside Park as Roosevelt Park. According to Wikipedia, the zoo bought two lions from Longfellow Zoological Gardens in Minneapolis in 1927. Wikipedia also records a 1932 incident in which a lioness and two cubs briefly escaped their cage, a surplus of lions the same year, and a newborn buffalo calf in 1940 that drew thousands of visitors.

Flooding of the Souris River has shaped the zoo repeatedly. In 1969 a flood forced every animal to be moved; the zoo's timeline says the animals were kept at local stockyards. In the 1970s the zoo became a separate unit from the park and the Greater Minot Zoological Society was created. The zoo's timeline records its first AZA accreditation in 1989. The 2011 Mouse River flood put the zoo under 8 to 12 feet of water for almost three weeks, according to the timeline; Wikipedia says more than 200 animals were sent to 15 zoos. The zoo did not open in 2012 and reopened on May 4, 2013.

Flood protection remains part of the zoo's current projects. A Minot Daily News year-end report from December 2025 said the Discovery Barn was moved from the north side of the Souris River to a permanent location near the Visitor Center as part of flood protection work, and that plans for 2026 included rebuilding a storage facility and the North American and wolf exhibits in flood-protected areas. The zoo's own pages refer to MI-7 flood mitigation construction, and the plan-your-visit page says summer 2025 admission was discounted because of that construction. The zoo's timeline says the North Trail, also known as the Children's Zoo, closed in 2025 as part of the project.

The African Plains project is the zoo's newest construction. The indoor giraffe habitat opened in June 2025. The zoo announced the groundbreaking of a second phase, the African Plains Pavilion, in July 2026. The zoo describes it as a covered pavilion of about 800 square feet for giraffe feedings, animal encounters, education and private celebrations, funded by John and Leslie Coughlin, and said it was expected to open in fall 2026.

Exhibits and habitats

The African Plains Building has 7,300 square feet of indoor giraffe habitat connected to an outdoor yard, according to a Minot Daily News report. KFYR-TV reported that the interior is kept at 70 degrees with heating and fans, that giraffes can move between indoor and outdoor spaces, and that construction began the previous summer with funding from an anonymous donor. Three giraffes, Kianga, Kioni and Amani, were named in that report, and visitors can feed them daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., as reported. Minot Daily News later reported a male giraffe calf named Khari, born to Kianga and Kioni on November 2, 2025. In September 2026 the zoo announced that Khari had left for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to join a herd of females as part of reticulated giraffe conservation efforts.

The zoo's animals page lists lions, Amur tigers, brown bears, red pandas, an okapi, reticulated giraffes, Bactrian camels, black-footed ferrets, white-handed gibbons, ring-tailed lemurs and black and white ruffed lemurs, Linne's two-toed sloths, opossums and hedgehogs. Birds on the list include African penguins, burrowing owls, laughing kookaburras, southern ground hornbills, green aracaris, trumpeter hornbills, blue-bellied rollers and several doves and finches. Reptiles and amphibians include African spurred tortoises, ball pythons, eastern indigo snakes, Kenyan sand boas, tomato frogs, White's tree frogs and Asian giant toads. Invertebrates named include Chilean rose tarantulas and giant cave cockroaches.

Four Amur tiger cubs were born on May 19, 2025, to parents Zoya and Finn, and were named Buffy, Afkai, Brogan and Koshmar, according to the December 2025 Minot Daily News report. Zoo Director Dr. Logan Wood described the litter as a positive step for efforts to support the global Amur tiger population.

Conservation and programs

The zoo funds giraffe conservation in Kenya in partnership with SAVE Giraffes Now. KFYR-TV reported that the project installed a large well and water access for people and giraffes, along with solar-powered pump stations and additional water holes, and that revenue from giraffe feedings supports that work.

A 2018 Minot Daily News article described a Conservation Day with activity stations on topics such as palm oil sustainability, composting at home and recycling. Proceeds went to the zoo's Change for Change Conservation Fund; the article named the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds and the Red Panda Network among the organizations the zoo supports, along with regional conservation work.

The zoo's home page lists Zoo Tots, Zoo To You, School's Out Day Camp, summer camp and ZooTeen Volunteers. It also advertises keeper talks, behind-the-scenes encounters and a 2026 trading card program in which cards are collected through keeper talks and visits.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, the zoo is open daily; a July 2026 zoo announcement put it at 363 days a year. Hours run 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from June through August, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in May and September, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from October through April. The zoo's plan-your-visit page lists giraffe feeding daily at 2 p.m., the Critter Caboose train, which typically runs June through September, and a ride with animal figures for children up to 80 pounds.

Ticket categories are seniors (60 and older), adults (13 and older), children (3 to 12) and toddlers (2 and under), with military and student discounts. Current prices are on the zoo's website.

The zoo describes wheelchair-accessible doors, ramps and restrooms with wheelchair rentals, a nursing station, sensory-inclusive bags through KultureCity, and sensory explorer kits for blind or visually impaired guests. Food and drinks are sold on site, and the website lists a gift shop and picnic areas. Service animals are allowed, but other pets are not. The rules list bans outside food, coolers, balloons, balls, selfie sticks, bikes, skateboards, scooters and hoverboards, and children under 12 need a guardian over 18. The phone number is 701-857-4166.