Audubon Zoo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Audubon Zoo

Main Entrance
Date opened	1914
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Land area	58 acres (23 ha)
Coordinates	29°55′23″N 90°07′56″W / 29.9231°N 90.1322°W / 29.9231; -90.1322
No. of animals	2,000
Memberships	AZA, WAZA
Major exhibits	African Savanna, Asian Domain, Audubon Aviary, Jaguar Jungle, Louisiana Swamp, Reptile Encounter, Sea Lion Theater, South American Pampas, World of Primates

The Audubon Zoo is a super cool place in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA! It's part of the Audubon Nature Institute, which also runs other fun spots like the Audubon Aquarium. This amazing zoo covers 58 acres and is home to over 2,000 animals. You can find it inside Audubon Park, right by the Mississippi River. The zoo and park are named after John James Audubon, a famous artist and nature lover who lived in New Orleans a long time ago.

History of the Zoo

Odenheimer Sea Lion Pool, 1924

The zoo's story began way back in 1884. That's when a big fair called the World Cotton Centennial had animal exhibits on this very spot. The zoo we know today started to be built in the early 1900s. In 1916, a special cage for birds was added. Then, in the 1920s, many more cool things were built, like a sea lion pool in 1928. You can still see this pool and some other old buildings today!

Building Monkey Hill in 1936

During the Great Depression (a tough economic time in the 1930s), the zoo got a big upgrade. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped build many new animal homes. They also created a special artificial hill called "Monkey Hill." This hill was made for kids to play on, since New Orleans is very flat. Some people even say it's the highest point in the city!

By the early 1970s, the zoo needed a lot of help. The old cages built by the WPA were not good for the animals anymore. A study suggested the zoo might have to close. But the city, local businesses, and people worked together to save it! In 1975, voters agreed to pay for a big rebuild. The zoo grew from 14 to 50 acres. By the end of the 1970s, the Audubon Zoo was becoming one of the best zoos in the United States.

Entrance to zoo parking on Magazine Street

The zoo kept getting better and bigger into the 2000s. This made it very popular with both local people and tourists from all over the world.

In 1987, something amazing happened! An alligator nest was found with 18 baby alligators that had white skin. This rare natural change is called leucism. These white alligators became very famous and are now a symbol of the zoo.

Learning about alligators at the Wetlands Express

In 1990, the Audubon Nature Institute opened the Audubon Aquarium downtown. Some of the white alligators moved there. A riverboat even started taking visitors between the zoo and the aquarium.

Monkey Hill, a favorite spot for generations of kids, got a big makeover in the early 2000s. It now has a waterfall for kids to play in and a rope web to climb to the top. There's also a "safari outpost" at the bottom. Part of the hill was kept as grass for kids to just run and play.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The zoo staff stayed safe in the reptile house, which was built to handle big storms. It was on high ground and did not flood. Most of the animals survived, and only a few trees were damaged. The zoo had planned for years for a big storm, which helped them get through it.

The zoo reopened for Thanksgiving weekend in November 2005. It slowly went back to its normal schedule. For a short time around 2011, a school called Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans used some rooms at the zoo as classrooms.

On July 14, 2018, a jaguar named Valerio got out of its home before the zoo opened. Zoo staff quickly worked to safely recapture the jaguar. The zoo was able to secure the animal and ensure public safety.

Notable Attractions

Near the entrance, you can see beautiful American flamingos and whooping cranes.

Asian Domain

Asian elephants with a zookeeper

This area is home to animals from Asia. You can see Sumatran orangutans and Asian elephants in large yards with pools. Other animals here include Amur leopards, sun bears, Asian small-clawed otters, North Sulawesi babirusa, Malayan tigers, and barasingha.

World of Primates

The World of Primates has many different kinds of monkeys and apes. You can see western lowland gorillas, mandrills, black-and-white colobus monkeys, Wolf's guenons, black howler monkeys, golden lion tamarins, black-and-white ruffed lemurs, and siamangs. It's also home to the only Angolan talapoins in North America!

African Savanna

Giraffes at the African Savanna

Before you enter the Savanna, there's the Watoto Walk, a petting zoo with donkeys, miniature zebu, goats, and sheep. In the Savanna, you'll see giraffes, black crowned cranes, and marabou storks. Nearby are homes for African wild dogs and lions. You can also spot great white pelicans, pink-backed pelicans, Thomson's gazelles, nyala, and Abyssinian ground hornbills. Another area has white rhinos, Burchell's zebras, and blue wildebeest. Finally, you can see red river hogs.

South American Pampas

Caribbean flamingos

At the start of this area, you'll find the maned wolfs. Walk across a boardwalk over a big pond with beautiful Caribbean flamingos, American white pelicans, and brown pelicans. Along the boardwalk, there's a large yard for capybaras, greater rheas, king vultures, and Patagonian maras. Another yard has Baird's tapirs, guanacos, and coscoroba swans.

Jaguar Jungle

This area looks like a ruined Mayan temple! It's home to jaguars, giant anteaters, St. Vincent agoutis, ocelots, Geoffroy's spider monkeys, alpacas, maguari storks, scarlet macaws, blue-and-yellow macaws, and common boas.

In 2019, a new nocturnal house called "Criaturas de la Noche" opened. Here, you can see animals that are active at night, like Seba's short-tailed bats, Nancy Ma's night monkeys, ringtails, common vampire bats, Anthony's poison arrow frogs, red-eyed tree frogs, Central American giant cave cockroaches, and Costa Rican zebra tarantulas.

Audubon Aviary

This is a special free-flight aviary where more than 30 kinds of birds fly around you! You might see blue-crowned laughingthrushes, Indian peafowl, Nicobar pigeons, scarlet ibises, and Taveta golden weavers. Outside the aviary, there's a yard for emus.

Louisiana Swamp

This rare white alligator is unlikely to survive in the wild.

This outdoor exhibit shows many animals that live in southern Louisiana. You can see American black bears, cougars, bobcats, red foxes, North American river otters, nutria, raccoons, different fish and snakes, blue crabs, alligator snapping turtles, and American alligators. This includes the rare leucistic (white) alligators!

After Hurricane Katrina, this area was decorated to look like scenes from around the city. It showed how people dealt with the storm, but in a fun and respectful way.

Reptile Encounter

One of the most famous animals here is the Komodo dragon. Many other amazing reptiles and amphibians live here too. You can see the panther chameleon, Gila monster, false gharial, green anaconda, and gaboon viper.

Sea Lion Theater

California sea lions live in a big lagoon here. Two female sea lions, Ayah and Jolee, came to the zoo in 2017. They were rescued after being found stranded. Ayah had an injury that caused her to lose an eye, and Jolee had eye problems and flipper injuries. The zoo helps take care of them.

Gallery

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  Rhinoceros exhibit

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  White tiger

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  Primates exhibit

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  Orangutans

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  Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna)

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  Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

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  Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)

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  Yellow and black frog

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  Crane in an exhibit

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  Carousel at the zoo