Zoo Atlanta

Take a walk on the wild side at Zoo Atlanta, where you can see more than 1,000 animals living in naturalistic habitats.

One of the oldest zoos in the country, Zoo Atlanta displays more than 200 species of animals on its 40-acre location in Atlanta’s historic Grant Park, next door to the Cyclorama.

Zoo Atlanta has won international plaudits for housing animals in habitats designed to mimic their native homes. For example, the 22 western lowland gorillas romp among greenery at the Ford African Rain Forest, which houses the second-largest gorilla population in North America. Nearby, kids will enjoy climbing on a metal statue of a gorilla and posing for pictures.  

The giant pandas are the biggest celebrities at the zoo, one of only four in the nation housing this Chinese native. Two baby pandas were born here: Xi Lan, born on Aug. 30, 2008, and his older sister, Mei Lan, born on Sept. 6, 2006. You can watch them romp with their mother Lun Lun on the Panda Cam, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The newest zoo stars are a flock of 500 parakeets, part of Boundless Budgies: A Parakeet Adventure. Buy a stick with bird seed and then step into the huge netted cage to feed one of the chattering flock of colorful budgies winging overhead in a flutter of yellow, green, blue, white and black. 

The Living Treehouse is open-air aviary with African birds and primates such as guenons, lemurs and drills. The 5-acre African Plains habitat houses such creatures as lions, giraffe, black rhino, zebras, meerkats and warthogs, and features a simulated termite mound. Two African elephants, Tara and Kelly, wallow in a deep pond at Mzima Springs. The Orangutans of Ketambe and Tiger Forest show endangered Sumatran tigers.

Bright pink flamingos are the first animals you'll see in the zoo plaza entrance. More than 400 reptiles and amphibians are houses at The World of Reptiles, including the world’s rarest lizard species, the Guatemalan beaded lizard.  

Children will love the Orkin Children’s Zoo, which includes red kangaroos, kookaburras and a double-wattled cassowary, one of the world’s largest bird species. A petting zoo lets young guests interact with sheep, goats and Kunekune pigs.  

Animal lovers can keep abreast of their furry, feathered and scaly friends by consulting the zoos animal news.   The zoo offers many educational programs for families, including summer camps and the NightCrawler program for a nocturnal behind-the-scenes tour.

- by Diane Loupe, Atlanta Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Diane Loupe

A resident of Decatur, Ga., and a native of New Orleans, Diane has a M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Associated Press, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Yale Medical School. A freelance writer and editor, her work has appeared in The Sunday Paper, Women's eNews, the Agnes Scott College alumni magazine, eSchool News, and PTO Today.