Overall Rating
The Alexandria Zoo was founded in 1926. The 33 acre zoo is home to approx. 500+ animals. The Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They also participate in an AZA program called the Species Survival Plan. This zoo features native species and habitats from Louisiana.
Alexandria Zoo Website: www.thealexandriazoo.com
Hours:
9:00am-5:00pm Daily
Closed:
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
New Year’s Day
Ticket Pricing:
Adults (13-64)-$7.50
Seniors (65+)-$4.50
Kids (4-12)-$5.50
Kids 3 & under-Free
Parking: Free
Pet Daycare:
Not available. Service dogs are welcome.
With any extra service provided I would always call ahead for any information.
Restaurants:
The Palm Café is open seasonally-spring, summer, and fall.
Animal Habitats
Education
Cultural Immersion
Navigation
Food Variety
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Our Zoo Experience
We stopped at the Alexandria Zoo on our way back home from New Orleans. The zoo is 33 acres so it was a great get out of the car and stretch your legs kind of stop.
The zoo for the most part was easy to navigate. We did have to look at our map a couple times and backtracked a bit. We started our trek in The Land of the Jaguar.
They had a little pond with an island and on that island were Spider Monkeys. Most people don’t know this but most primates don’t or can’t swim.A really unique animal the zoo has is a Tyra. Tyra’s habitat range is from Southern Mexico to Argentina. They are a Central and South American weasel.
A few other species you can find in South America are an Andean Bear, Patagonian Cavy, and Maned Wolf.
We were visiting the zoo during a weekday so we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves. The zoo for the most part had distinct regions. Starting in South America moving to Asia.
A few unique Asian animals at the zoo are the Reeve’s Muntjac and the Lowland Anoa. The Lowland Anoa (Asian water buffalo) is the only wild cattle species that lives a solitary life. Some mother and daughter pairs live together, but the majority of the adult Anoas live alone and are territorial of their home range.
When you entered the African area they have a Nile Crocodile along with beautiful African Lions. When you take the Australian loop you will come across animals such as Red and Gray Kangaroos and the cutest Wallabies.
Ok let’s head back to Africa, they have these really cool walk through buildings, think hallway but both ends are covered. The door ways are covered with straps made of vinyl hanging from the top of the door. It’s like what some walk in coolers have hanging on the door way to the cooler. These straps (or whatever you want to call them) are not translucent so it made the walk through hall dark.
In the hallways are exhibits of snakes and other nocturnal species. This is how the zoo showcases the majority of their reptiles and amphibians instead of having a herpetarium.
The zoo has two Tigers on exhibit, one of which is a White Tiger. Funny story, we almost got sprayed (peed on) by the White Tiger. FYI, if you ever encounter a tiger and they turn their rear end at you and raise their tail, I would immediately and quickly walk away. They can spray a good ten feet.
A common theme we have taken notice of at the zoos we visit is they have an area where they exhibit species and ecosystems native to the state in which the zoo is located.
The Alexandria zoo has a Louisiana exhibit. In the Louisiana exhibit of the zoo is where we had to look at our map and backtracked a bit.
They have great habitats for their North American River Otters, American Alligator, and American Black Bears. There are two Black Bear cubs that really interacted with us, they would follow you along the boardwalk (above their habitat). They are too darn cute.
On the other side of the boardwalk the zoo had White-tailed Deer. On up the boardwalk on the corner of the American Black Bear habitat are a couple of Great Horned Owls.
After we left the Louisiana exhibits of the zoo we worked our way back to Central and South America. Here we found another unique species called a Bushdog. Imagine a barrel on toothpicks, this is what their body shape looks like.
We also saw two beautiful Jaguars. The Jaguar has one of the strongest bites (psi) in the animal kingdom. The zoo also has in the South American exhibit a Brazilian Tapir.
Towards the middle of the zoo around the Louisiana and African exhibits the zoo does have a vending machine for drinks and a seasonal concession stand. Unfortunately it was not open during our visit.
Near the end of the trek still in South America we encountered a couple of Mountain Lions (Cougars), a few Golden Lion Tamarins, and a couple of Squirrel Monkeys. The Golden Lion Tamarins were extremely friendly and very vocal.
There are public restrooms right outside of the zoos main entrance. The staff we did interact with during our visit were really nice and super helpful with any questions we had. The gift shop has a wide selection of items to purchase.
All in all the visit to the Alexandria Zoo was great. The zoo has wonderful exhibits and animals and would be a great family outing!