Zoo Knoxville facts for kids
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| Location | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
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| Land area | 53 acres (21 ha) |
| Coordinates | 36°00′00″N 83°53′17″W / 35.9999°N 83.8880°W |
| No. of animals | 800 |
| Annual visitors | 400,000+ |
| Memberships | AZA |
Zoo Knoxville is an exciting zoo located in Knoxville, Tennessee. It covers about 53 acres and is home to around 800 incredible animals. Each year, over 400,000 people visit this fun and educational place!
Zoo Knoxville is famous for some amazing achievements. In 1978, it was the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to have African elephants born there! The zoo has also helped breed more endangered red pandas than any other zoo on Earth. Plus, they are leaders in helping to breed endangered tortoises.
This zoo is officially recognized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). This means it meets very high standards for animal care and conservation.
Contents
Explore the Zoo's Habitats
Zoo Knoxville has many cool outdoor areas where animals live in spaces that look like their natural homes. You can visit these exciting exhibits:
- Animal Encounter Village
- ARC- Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus (opened in Spring 2021)
- Black Bear Falls
- Boyd Family Asian Trek
- The Boyd Family Red Panda Village
- Chimp Ridge
- The Clayton Family Kids Cove
- Grasslands Africa
- Stokely African Elephant Preserve
- The Williams Family Giraffe Encounter
The zoo also has indoor exhibits like the Night Club, the Barn Loft, and a large collection of reptiles. For younger visitors, the Clayton Family Kids Cove opened in 2005. There's also the Wee Play Zoo, which is a new indoor play area.
Meet the Amazing Animals
Zoo Knoxville is home to a wide variety of animals from all over the world. Let's meet some of them!
Mammals at the Zoo
You can see many different mammals, from huge elephants to playful otters.
- African elephant
- African lion
- African wild dog
- American black bear
- Beaver
- Blue monkey
- Chacoan Peccary
- Chimpanzee
- Geoffrey's marmoset
- Giant Anteater
- Guinea hog
- Hamadryas baboon
- Hartmann's mountain zebra
- Malayan tiger
- North American river otter
- Red panda
- Red wolf
- Reticulated giraffe
- Silvered leaf langur
- Southern white rhinoceros
- Waterbuck
- Western lowland gorilla
- White-handed gibbon
- Yellow-backed duiker
- Goat
- Sheep
Birds of All Feathers
Discover beautiful and interesting birds, from colorful macaws to majestic eagles.
- African penguin
- American eagle
- Blue-crowned Laughingthrush
- Budgie
- Edwards's pheasant
- Eurasian Eagle Owl
- Grey crowned crane
- Grey parrot
- Harris Hawk
- Red-legged seriema
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Scarlet macaw
- Southern ground hornbill
- Turkey vulture
- White-faced Whistling Duck
- White-naped crane
Reptiles and Amphibians
Explore the fascinating world of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, turtles, and frogs.
- Aldabra giant tortoise
- Aruba Island Rattlesnake
- Bog turtle
- Chinese alligator
- Desert massasauga rattlesnake
- Eastern Box Turtle
- Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
- Emerald Tree Boa
- Four-eyed turtle
- Gila monster
- Komodo dragon
- Home's Hinge-back Tortoise
- Mountain Tortoise
- Ploughshare Tortoise
- Poison Dart Frogs
- Puerto Rican Crested Toad
- Radiated Tortoise
- Red Spitting Cobra
- Reticulated Python
- Santa Catalina rattlesnake
Fun Events at the Zoo
Zoo Knoxville hosts many special events throughout the year. These events are a great way to have extra fun and learn more about animals!
- Covenant Kids Run
- Fathers Day
- Zoofari
- Senior Sunrise
- BOO! at the Zoo
Helping Endangered Animals: Conservation Efforts
Zoo Knoxville is very active in helping to protect endangered species. They have had great success in breeding several animals that are at risk in the wild.
The zoo is especially known for its work with red pandas and white rhinos. They have helped many of these animals be born and grow up safely. A big moment for the zoo was in 1978 when "Lil' Diamond," the first African elephant born in captivity in the Western Hemisphere, arrived!
The Knoxville Zoo has had the most red panda births in captivity in the entire Western Hemisphere. As of August 2011, 101 red panda cubs had been born there! This amazing work helps make sure these beautiful animals continue to exist for future generations.
Zoo Knoxville and Mozilla Firefox Partnership
Did you know that Zoo Knoxville even teamed up with Mozilla Foundation, the company that makes the Firefox web browser? In 2010, they worked together to help people learn more about endangered red pandas.
Two red panda cubs born at Zoo Knoxville were even named Spark and Ember by people voting online! Mozilla also showed a 24-hour live video stream of the cubs, letting people all over the world watch them grow. This partnership helped raise awareness about how important it is to protect these special animals.
