The Little Rock Zoo was founded in 1926 and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is home to more than 725 animals representing over 200 species, and covers an area of . The Arkansas Zoological Foundation is a private 501 c (3) organization that raises funds for zoo development. The Little Rock Zoo is a department of the city of Little Rock. It is the largest zoo in Arkansas, and the only Arkansas zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
History
The Little Rock Zoo was started in 1926 with only two animals: an abandoned timber wolf and a circus-trained bear. Over the years it has grown to include 725 animals representing more than 200 species. The first buildings at the zoo were made of local stone and built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). These buildings were built in the 1930s and were home to primates, reptiles, birds, and big cats. They are still in use, and the cat house was renovated into a restaurant with the feel of an African style lodge. The big cat exhibit was built in the 1980s along with other exhibits for great apes, crocodiles, alligators, sloth bears, and river otters.
Lemur island opened in the 1990s, and an African Lion Exhibit was also added at this time, as well as the Civitan Pavilion for special events and the Civitan Amphitheater for educational programming. The zoo acquired a children’s farm with an interactive contact yard and train station. In 2001 the board of directors approved a new Zoo Master Plan, which included a new African Veldt Exhibit. The newly restored Over the Jumps carousel, a fully restored antique carousel, made its home at the Little Rock Zoo in the October 2007. An African penguin exhibit, Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe, opened on March 5, 2011. The Laura P. Nichols Cheetah Outpost opened on July 7, 2012. The Arkansas Heritage Farm opened on April 2, 2016.
Exhibits
The Little Rock Zoo is divided into themed areas where the animals can be viewed. Some exhibits are based on the animal's natural environment, while others group similar animals together.
ZOO ENTRANCE
The entrance to the zoo includes the "Over-The-Jumps" Carousel, the Animal Shows Amphitheater, and Lorikeet Landing, where visitors can see and feed rainbow lorikeets.
GREAT APES
The Great Apes exhibit includes a walkway that allows the visitors to have an eagle's eye view of the ape's enclosures. A western lowland gorilla family group can be seen on one side of the walkway and the chimpanzee and the Bornean orangutan can be seen on the other, both in their own separate enclosures. Outside of this exhibit, various primate islands can be found that are home to the ring-tailed lemur, black-and-white ruffed lemur, blue-eyed black lemur, Madagascar teal and black-handed spider monkey.
LAURA P. NICHOLS PENGUIN POINTE
Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe houses the African penguin and mimics an African shoreline, specifically Boulders Beach, with viewing of the penguins both above and below the water.
Primates, Reptiles, Birds, & More
The Primates, Reptiles, Birds & More building was built in 1936 and features many exotic animals from around the world, including ones from the primate, reptile, and bird families.
Reptile House
Snakes - red spitting cobra, garden tree boa, puff adder, pine snake, eastern copperhead, pygmy rattlesnake, rock rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, cottonmouth, black rat snake, corn snake, mole snake, Asiatic rock python, green tree python, reticulated python, Burmese python, Mexican burrowing python, eastern indigo snake, milk snake, white-lipped tree viper, Gaboon viper, eyelash viper, Philippine pit viper, eastern kingsnake and Taylor's cantil.
Other Reptiles
American alligator, blue-tongued skink, Madagascar giant day gecko, leopard gecko, tokay gecko, Gila monster, scheltopusik, frilled-neck lizard, Sudan plated lizard, Kuhl's flying gecko, Solomon Islands skink, green iguana, red tegu, plumed basilisk, common snakeneck turtle, spiny softshell turtle, African spurred tortoise, alligator snapping turtle, and three-toed box turtle.
Amphibians
African bullfrog, Chuxiong fire-bellied newt, dyeing poison dart frog, green and black poison dart frog, Oriental fire-bellied toad, tiger salamander, White's tree frog and yellow-banded poison dart frog.
Invertebrates
Asian forest scorpion, Brazilian cockroach and Chilean rose tarantula.
Primate House
Geoffrey's marmoset, Goeldi's monkey, lesser spot-nosed guenon, Mohol bushbaby, pygmy slow loris, southern three-banded armadillo, tufted capuchin and white-faced saki.