Louisville Zoological Garden

Louisville Zoological Garden and its collection

Louisville Zoo, opened in 1969, is a zoo in Louisville, United States.

Styled the State Zoo of Kentucky, it shows over 1,200 animals grouped by region and habitat. Attendance through the 2010s ranged from 760,000 to 945,000 a year.

History

It opened on 1 May 1969 showing 250 animals, on land the city had bought in the 1960s from the Ben Collins estate. Much of the start-up money came from the philanthropist James Graham Brown.

Animals and collection

An African elephant, Scotty, born on 18 March 2007, was the first elephant born in Kentucky; he died on 12 May 2010, aged three, of gastric and intestinal disease. Three siamangs, Sungai, Zoli and Zain, were hand-reared, drawn from San Francisco, from Albuquerque and from the zoo's own births.

Exhibits

The 4-acre Gorilla Forest took the AZA exhibit award in 2003, and the HerpAquarium shows over 100 species of reptile, amphibian and fish, including Gila monsters and black piranhas. The Islands display rotates different animals through one space so that each meets varied habitats from day to day. Wallaroo Walkabout, opened in 2007, is a walk-through with wallaroos, red-necked wallabies and Australian birds, and Glacier Run, completed early in 2011, covers 4.3 acres on a gold-rush town theme with polar bears, seals, sea lions, grizzlies and Steller's sea eagles.

Things to do

Things to do include Backstage Pass Experience, Breakfast with the Beasts and carousel.

What the venue says

• African Outpost
• $7 per vehicle
• All electric wheelchair (scooter, ECV) rentals must be made in advance.
• Kulture City Sensory Bag Rental Reserve a sensory bag online to use when you visit the Zoo for guests with a sensory issue.