Metro Richmond Zoo facts for kids
| Date opened | April 22, 1995 |
|---|---|
| Location | Chesterfield County, Virginia |
| Land area | 70 acres (28 ha) |
| Coordinates | 37°22′54″N 77°46′03″W / 37.3818°N 77.7674°W |
| No. of animals | 2000 |
| No. of species | 180+ |
| Memberships | ZAA |
The Metro Richmond Zoo is a fun place to visit in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It's a privately owned zoo that opened in 1995. The zoo covers about 70 acres and is home to around 2,000 animals. You can see over 180 different kinds of animals here! Some of the cool animals include reticulated giraffes, white rhinoceros, snow leopards, cheetahs, and Grant's zebras.
The Metro Richmond Zoo is officially recognized by the Zoological Association of America (ZAA). It also has one of the biggest collections of primates in the whole United States!
Contents
Zoo History
The Metro Richmond Zoo first opened its doors to visitors on April 22, 1995. Back then, it had 167 animals from 15 different species. It has grown a lot since then!
Fun Attractions at the Zoo
The zoo has many exciting things to do besides seeing animals. Here are some popular attractions:
- Safari Sky Ride
- Jungle Carousel
- Safari Train Ride
- Kids' Playground Area
- Treetop Zoofari Zipline and Adventure Park
Animals and Their Homes
One of the most popular activities at the Metro Richmond Zoo is feeding the giraffes! You can buy special treats at the zoo to give to these tall, gentle animals. The zoo has a group of nine reticulated giraffes and one Masai giraffe. Other animals that live near the giraffes include eastern bongos, klipspringers, ostriches, and different types of cranes and swans.
You can also buy treats to feed animals in the children's farm. These animals include deer, goats, sheep, donkeys, and young antelope. For some of the bigger animals, you can feed them treats through special tubes. These animals include dromedaries, Bactrian camels, elk, American bison, and warthogs.
Amazing Primates
The Metro Richmond Zoo is famous for its large collection of primates. It has over 200 individual primates from 30 different species! You can see animals like Sulawesi macaques, Diana monkeys, orangutans, cottontop tamarins, and many kinds of lemurs. The zoo even has a special program to help Diana monkeys have babies.
Safari Adventures
In 2003, the zoo opened its Safari Sky Ride. This ride lasts about fifteen minutes and gives you an amazing view of a large part of the zoo from above. That same year, the North American animal area opened. Here, you can see animals like elk, bison, white-tailed deer, pronghorns, alligators, and bighorn sheep.
Another exciting safari experience is the Safari Train Ride. This ride takes you through an 8-acre area where animals roam freely. You might spot gemsbok, waterbuck, greater kudu, eland, lowland nyala, Thomson's gazelle, yellow-backed duiker, and even large birds like marabou storks and Rüppell's griffon vultures.
Next to the safari area is a special wooded valley. You can see it from the safari train or a small viewing deck. This area is home to animals from India and China, such as blackbucks, mouflons, Himalayan tahrs, and takins. The Metro Richmond Zoo is one of the few zoos in the United States that has takin on display. Takin are considered a national treasure in China, just like the giant panda!
Penguins and More
Near the zoo train station, you'll find the African penguin exhibit. You can watch an educational program about penguins and their feeding twice a day. Around the penguin area, there are homes for red river hogs, African clawless otters, and camels.
The zoo also has a South American exhibit. Here, you can see animals like Brazilian tapirs, greater rheas, llamas, alpacas, and king vultures. There's even a bat house nearby with cool bats like the Indian flying fox and straw-colored fruit bat, plus two-toed sloths and prehensile-tailed porcupines.
Bird Aviaries
In 2007, a large aviary opened near the zoo entrance. It's filled with beautiful birds like roseate spoonbills, sacred ibis, and many types of waterfowl such as yellow-billed ducks and Mandarin ducks. You can also see colorful golden pheasants and Lady Amherst's pheasants. Right next to this aviary is a group of Chilean flamingos.
Another fun bird experience is the walk-through aviary for about 400 budgerigars. You can buy special seed-coated sticks to hold, and the friendly budgerigars might land on your stick to eat!
New Arrivals and Special Exhibits
The zoo is always growing and adding new animals! In 2012, two young orangutans named Farley and Zoe arrived. You can get up close and see them through glass windows. Next to them are white-handed gibbons.
In 2013, a new home for meerkats opened. The zoo also added a capybara to the South America yard. In 2015, the first part of the Reptile Building opened, where you can see many different reptiles and amphibians, including the amazing Komodo dragon. Later, the reptile house expanded with even more exhibits for new species like rhino iguanas and emerald tree boas.
In 2013, five adorable cheetah cubs were born at the zoo! Their names are Richie, Rico, Chester, Amelia, and Hanna. The zoo even set up special webcams so people all over the world could watch the cubs grow. In 2018, the zoo welcomed a pair of Pygmy hippopotamuses, and in 2019, two young Steller's sea eagles joined the animal family. In 2020, a new home called "Otter Cove" opened for the Cape clawless otters.
Free-Roaming Birds
Some birds at the Metro Richmond Zoo are allowed to roam freely among the visitors. You might see colorful Indian peafowl (peacocks!), bar-headed geese, barnacle geese, Egyptian geese, and West Indian whistling ducks walking around. The zoo is also a resting spot for wild birds native to Virginia, like wood ducks and mallards.
Miracle of Christmas Live at the Zoo
Every year in December, the Metro Richmond Zoo hosts a special Christmas event called "Miracle of Christmas." The zoo is decorated with thousands of twinkling Christmas lights, wreaths, and trees. This fifteen-minute outdoor show celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and features live animals from the zoo!
Helping Animals: Conservation Efforts
The Metro Richmond Zoo is involved in important scientific research and efforts to protect wildlife. The zoo plays a big part in helping to save animals like the addax and the eastern bongo, which are both endangered. Many addax born at the zoo have even been released back into the wild! Other threatened and endangered animals living at the zoo include the Asian black bear, Galapagos giant tortoises, and black-and-white ruffed lemurs.
