Houston Zoo

Called the most ambitious project in the zoo's then 88-year history, the African Forest officially opened on December 10, 2010.[3] The exhibit is home to many African species, including Grant's zebra, white rhinoceros, Red River hogs, Masai giraffe, ostrich, chimpanzee, and the western lowland gorilla.[4] In 2011, the Houston Press gave the Houston Zoo the Best of Houston® Award for Best New Ecosystem.[5] In October 2020, a new Pygmy hippopotamus named Silas was transferred to the Houston Zoo from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha.

The McNair Asian Elephant Habitat is home to the Houston Zoo's herd of Asian elephants. It features a 7,000-square-foot barn custom-built to house the bull elephants, a brand-new expanded habitat with a boardwalk with an unobstructed view of the elephants in their new yard, and a 160,000-gallon pool.

Including habitats from the coral reefs of the Pacific to the Amazon Basin and the Rift Valley lakes of Africa, this exhibit contains over 200 species of fresh and saltwater fish, including marine invertebrates. It is also home to a rescued sea turtle, a large school of piranhas, a green moray eel, the giant pacific octopus and the delicate moon jellyfish.[6]

Featuring three main exhibits, the Fischer Bird Garden, the Tropical Bird House , and Birds of the World, the Houston Zoo boasts one of the largest collections in any US zoo, with more than 800 birds from over 200 species. It includes a range of diverse birds, including the Mariana fruit dove, cassowary, Micronesian kingfisher, Congo peafowl and green-winged macaw.[7]

Hosting the University of Houston's mascot Shasta the cougar, the carnivore exhibit is also home to the lion, Malayan tiger, clouded Leopard, American black bear, African wild dog, jaguar, persian leopard and maned wolf.[8]

The Sea Lion Pool is located by the zoo entrance & is home to California sea lions Jonah, Cali, Kamia, TJ and her pup Max.

The Allen H. and Ethel G. Carruth Natural Encounters is a special building at the zoo where it simulates an adventure through an entire continent, learning about animals from the river’s edge, rainforest canopy, desert, and coral reef. Animals housed there include the Asian small-clawed otter, Damaraland mole-rat, golden lion tamarin, golden-headed lion tamarin, meerkat, naked mole-rat, Pygmy marmoset, southern three-banded armadillo, straw-coloured fruit bat, white-faced saki, two-toed sloth, Eastern collared lizard, & aracari.

A winding boardwalk through a natural setting, this exhibit displays a variety of rare and endangered primates, including lemurs, monkeys, gibbons and orangutans.

Opened in March 2019, this new exhibit displays three native species: American alligators, whooping cranes, and bald eagles.

This building displays several venomous snakes and exotic amphibians, including a blue iguana, a crocodile monitor, and a reticulated python.

Opened in 2014, this exhibit displays several insects and arachnids from a variety of forests, jungles, and deserts.

This area comes complete with a petting zoo and a realistic bat cave.

This exhibit displays macaws, jaguars, giant river otters, tapirs, rheas, capybaras and toucans