 Penguins
After six years, the Zoo has responded to popular demand with a new penguin exhibit along the main path, located at the former outdoor komodo dragon exhibit. (The komodo dragons are currently off exhibit and will make their new home in MOLA.)
This indoor exhibit will serve as home to more than 15 African black-footed penguins, and will include a beach area for the penguins and underwater viewing where guests can step right up to the tank and watch these waddlers flip their fins through the water. In the future, rockhopper penguins will join the colony.
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 World
of Primates
This 2.5-acre exhibit features both indoor and outdoor exhibits
melded into one breathtaking facility. As guests enter the World
of Primates, they are immersed in the sights and sounds of the
rainforest, including cascading waterfalls and lush tropical foliage.
A canopy of trees and vines grow throughout the atrium where guests
can visit a group of chimpanzees or black-and-white colobus monkeys.
It is also in the atrium where one of Fort Worth's gorilla groups,
made up of two females and a silverback male, can be observed.
As visitors exit the atrium, they are led to a winding boardwalk
from which they can view many other fascinating primates.
Among them are another gorilla group and a group of orangutans. As guests round the corner they
encounter brightly-colored mandrills with blue-and-red faces. A
group of white-cheeked gibbons also reside here and amaze visitors
with their agility as they swing throughout their exhibit using
their long arms.
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 Asian
Falls
Carved out of an existing hillside, Asian Falls creates
a dramatic setting that features some of the Zoo's most popular
exhibits. The Asian elephant complex is home to six elephants, including
a bull, four adult females and a juvenile female. The youngest,
born in December 1998, is Bluebonnet. She was the first elephant
born in the Zoo's 90-year history and is always a visitor favorite.
The large exhibit is made up of three expansive areas and includes
a large pool for bathing and swimming.
When visitors leave the elephant yard, they enter Asian Falls
via a winding boardwalk. The first animals that they encounter are
the Zoo's two Asian one-horned rhinos. Access to a lower level sidewalk
allows for near face-to-face encounters with these rare, large animals.
Meanwhile, the boardwalk gives guests a bird's-eye view of these
impressive creatures which spend a good part of their day immersed
in pools that are fed by flowing waterfalls to keep cool. As guests
continue farther into Asian falls they have the opportunity to see
hoofstock native to Asia including tufted deer and anoa as well
as a variety of birds.
Asian Falls is home to a breeding pair of rare Malayan
tigers and their cubs. The Zoo's pair of white tigers also call Asian Falls home. A majestic 40-foot waterfall that flows into a ravine separates
the two species. Just past the tigers, guests can pay a visit to
a group of sun bears. This smallest species of bear is fun to observe,
as they move about on their climbing structure in search of hidden
treats, such as mealworms or berries.
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 Raptor
Canyon
Raptor Canyon is home to four species of raptors, some of
which are endangered. The most interesting feature of this beautiful
exhibit is the way the area is designed to allow the birds to fly
over guests' heads as they explore the enclosure.
At the entrance, guests find themselves in an aviary where they
can view pairs of crowned eagles and Andean condors. These large
raptors are separated from the public by a mesh barrier, making
for a magnificent view of these birds of prey. As visitors continue
on they will see a milky eagle owl, a pair of harpy eagles and a pair of bateleur eagles.
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 Cheetahs
This exhibit is divided into three areas, housing three African
species. One yard is designed to resemble a forest clearing—grassy
space dotted with mature trees and a drinking pool. This makes for
an ideal habitat for the Fort Worth Zoo's bongos. Bongos are large,
chestnut-colored African antelope with stripes and large, spiraled
horns.
The cheetah yard is grassy as well, with umbrellas of tall trees
and small hills throughout. This exhibit is home to a group of cheetahs,
which are often relaxing in the shadows. The Zoo's warthogs also
reside in this area and have a yard that is full of cool mud for
wallowing.
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 Australian Outback/Great Barrier Reef
Zoo visitors can now go to the depths of the Coral Sea at the Fort Worth Zoo's, Great Barrier Reef. An aquatic exhibit with three saltwater tanks containing more than 10,000 gallons of water, Great Barrier Reef is full of 500 vibrant fish, coral and even sharks.
Great Barrier Reef is located in the Zoo's renovated Australian Outback, which also houses red kangaroos and wallabies. (Formerly named Koala Outback, the exhibit was renamed Australian Outback after the Zoo's one koala was returned to San Diego Zoo in January 2005, after being on loan to the Zoo since 2000.)
Visitors will see a diverse collection of Australian aquatic wildlife spanning 86 species (45 fish species, three small- to medium-size shark species, 30 coral species and eight invertebrate species.) Among them are clownfish, black-tip reef sharks, angelfish, brain corals, moray eels and sea apples. Full of interpretive graphics and the Coral Reef Play Area, Great Barrier Reef is fun and educational.
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 African
Savannah
The Fort Worth Zoo's African Savannah exhibit is home to
some of Africa's most distinctive animals. Guests can get a bird's
eye view of these animals from a raised boardwalk. Regardless of
where they are viewed from, the rhinos and giraffes that can be
seen here are fascinating to watch.
The black rhinos that make Fort Worth home can often be seen resting together in the shade or wallowing in the mud.
A group of reticulated giraffes and ostriches also share the Savannah,
helping to complete the African experience for visitors.
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 Komodo
Dragon
The Komodo dragon has been a favorite of Fort Worth Zoo guests for several years. As of November 2007, these large lizards are temporarily off exhibit, but look for them to reappear in the Zoo's Museum of Living Art (MOLA) in 2009. For more information about other animals that will live in the Zoo's new state-of-the-art herpetarium, Click Here.
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 Meerkat
Mounds
Most people didn't even know what a meerkat was prior to the release
of Disney's animated film The Lion King. Thanks to the movie, however,
a star has been born! The Fort Worth Zoos Meerkat Mounds
exhibit, features an entire meerkat colony.
Extremely social animals, meerkats live in complex groups and carry
out clearly defined duties within their communities. Visitors to
Meerkat Mounds are able to observe the different roles each
meerkat performs as it goes about its daily routine. Jobs include
baby-sitter, sentry, hunter and teacher.
Native to the plains of Africa, meerkats are accustomed to dry
heat and desert-like conditions. The Meerkat Mounds exhibit
simulates Africa's dry, rocky environment ensuring the meerkats
feel right at home. Several vantage points are available for guests
wanting to observe these very social animals, including a Plexiglas
wall encompassing the exhibit that allows maximum viewing for visitors;
a bubble window carved into one of the outer walls to provide an
even closer look at the meerkats; and a boardwalk perch that gives
guests
a "birds-eye-view."
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 Parrot Paradise
Parrot Paradise is a free-flight, interactive aviary
featuring cockatiels and parakeets.
The exhibit is located on the Zoo’s upper path (between
the lions and Raptor Canyon) and opened June 15, 2004.
In Parrot Paradise, Zoo visitors see hundreds of colorful
birds up-close-and-personal, as the birds can fly down and perch
on their arms, head and shoulders.
In addition to being fun and educational, Parrot Paradise is
also historical. The exhibit site was originally built in 1937
with funds from the city and Works Progress Administration, a federal
program which created jobs during the Great Depression. “An
$18,000 monkey apartment home,” Monkey Island housed
30 rhesus monkeys. In 1949, Monkey Island became a sea
lion pool, and in 1970, the exhibit contained small South American
mammals. In the 1980s, storks and cranes inhabited the area, and
in the early 1990s, the exhibit was converted to an alligator exhibit,
where American alligators lived until 2001. Since 2001, the area
has been vacant. Parrot Paradise is open February through November.
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 Herpetarium
The Fort Worth Zoo herpetarium is home to one of the largest reptile
collections in the nation. John Mertens, a well-known herpetologist
and former curator designed the building. Built in 1960, the design
was very much ahead of its time and is still a model by which many
herpetaria are designed today. Many of the species found here are
rare in zoological collections. These include gharials, which are
one of the largest species of crocodilian; Philippine crocodiles,
which are one of the rarest species of crocodilian; and Jamaican
iguanas, which are one of the rarest species of lizard (once believed
extinct). Other species rare to zoos include the Central American
coral cat snake,
Caiman lizard, Central American alligator lizard
and Moluccan yellow monitor.
When visitors enter the herpetarium, they encounter a large Burmese
python in the lobby that is always a guest favorite. Guests then
move into a room featuring Eurasian reptiles, which is followed
by an African room, an Austral-Asian room and a tropical American
room that leads into an area featuring North American species. A
variety of species from all around the world fill the next large
room, which leads visitors into an area featuring amphibians.
The herpetarium at the Fort Worth Zoo has also achieved many significant
breedings. We are one of only a few zoos that have bred bushmasters,
McGregor's pit vipers, Malaysian painted terrapins and Vietnamese
leaf-nosed snakes. Some rarely bred pythons that have produced offspring
at Fort Worth include the diamond python, Angolan python and Timor
python. We have also had much breeding success with several species
of monitor lizards including the black tree monitor, green tree
monitor, crocodile monitor and Moluccan yellow monitor. The sustained
breeding projects for these monitor species are part of conservation
efforts to maintain healthy captive breeding populations of Asian
forest monitors.
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 Texas Wild!
Texas Wild! tells the tale of a state equal to its boasting!
Texas provides home to more species of animals than any other state
in the nation, and some small countries! The state’s bio-diversity exists in the midst of a human population that numbers more than 20 million.
Texas Wild! paints a thorough picture of our state’s
size and scope.
In doing so, Texas Wild! addresses issues not typically
addressed in zoos. As a result, the overall experience
empowers visitors with information on how to become
great stewards of the land. More
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