Greetings!
Welcome Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) and International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (IAATE) members to the Louisville Zoo
Since 1969, Louisville Zoo has inspired guest with innovative habitats, a world-class community of animals and programming shaped to celebrate their natural history and encourage conservation action. During your walk around the 140-acre campus, please be sure to enjoy three AZA award winning habitats: Islands, Gorilla Forest, and Glacier Run. All designed with dynamic space rotation capacity supporting the instinctive desire to roam, explore and encounter varied experiences. As you will see during your walk, work has begun on a new 25-acre habitat, “Kentucky Trails”, that will continue the rotational habitat tradition while celebrating local wildlife, culture, and conservation. Kentucky Trails will deliver immersive wildlife theater including random animal encounters featuring whooping cranes, wild turkeys, free flight birds, black bear, beaver, North American river otter, bison, elk, and a host of ambassador critters! Projected opening in 2027/28.
We hope you enjoy the animal event options planned for you today. Please stop by the welcome table to reserve a spot for any of the limited number animal experiences before you start your trek through Kentucky’s only AZA accredited zoo! Have fun!
Things to know
- Must wear AMBA/IAATE conference badges for entry to the zoo, food and merch discounts, and other activities.
- 50% off food concessions.
- 40% off of merchandise.
- Free animal carousel ride with badge.
- Please no unauthorized animal or human prompting, targeting, shaping, bridging, associating, capturing, chaining, modeling, cueing, imprinting, extinguishing, conditioning, or any of those other old Jedi mind tricks we know you people are capable of. Unless we ask for some tips that is.
ABMA/IAATE Exclusive Animal Encounters
- Sign up for limited access animal encounters at welcome tables.
- See map for corresponding meeting locations for events schedule.
- Please look for “ABMA/IAATE Meet Here” signs at some locations
- All activities subject to last minute change.
- Also see separate list of daily guest animal encounters.
Map
Click here to download the Map
Conference Schedule
Items with an asterisk (*) require prior sign-ups for these tours.
| Time | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. | Welcome Table, Animal Experience Signups, Bird Ambassadors | 1 |
| 10:15 a.m. | Rhino Meet N’ Greet | 2 |
| 10:15 a.m. | Sumatran Tiger Training | 3 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Orangutan Enrichment | 4 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Islands Behind-the-Scenes Tour | 4 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Pinniped Meet N’ Greet* | 5 |
| 10:50 a.m. | Glacier Run Behind-the-Scenes Tour | 6 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Warthog Enrichment | 7 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Little Penguin Meet N’ Greet* | 8 |
| 10:45 a.m. | Bongo & Addax Enrichment | 9 |
| 11:00 a.m. | Lion Carcass Feeding | 10 |
| 11:00 – 3:00 | Lorikeet Feeding | 11 |
| 11:15 a.m. | Red Panda Meet N’ Greet* | 12 |
| 11:30 a.m. – Noon | Giraffe Feeding | 13 |
| 11:30 a.m. | Cassowary Feeding* | 14 |
| 11:30 a.m. | Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center Behind-the-Scenes* | 15 |
| 11:45 a.m. | Zebra Enrichment | 16 |
| Noon | Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center Behind-the-Scenes* | 15 |
| Noon | Little Penguin Meet N’ Greet* | 8 |
| 12:15 p.m. | Gorilla Enrichment | 17 |
| 12:45 p.m. | Snow Leopard Carcass Feeding | 18 |
| 1:00 p.m. | Red Panda Meet N’ Greet* | 12 |
| 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. | MetaZoo Ambassador Animal Building Tour & Meet N’ Greets | 19 |
| 1:30 p.m. | Cassowary Feeding* | 14 |
| 1:45 p.m. | Archer Fish Demo | 20 |
| 1:50 p.m. | Islands Behind-the-Scenes Tour | 4 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Pinniped Meet N’ Greet* | 5 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Little Penguin Meet N’ Greet* | 8 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Pygmy Hippo Meet N’ Greet* | 21 |
| 2:00 p.m. | Sloth Meet N’ Greet* | 22 |
| 2:10 p.m. | Islands Behind-the-Scenes Tour | 4 |
| 2:15 p.m. | Pygmy Hippo Meet N’ Greet* | 21 |
| 2:20 p.m. | Glacier Run Behind-the-Scenes Tour | 6 |
| 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Giraffe Feeding | 13 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Pygmy Hippo Meet N’ Greet* | 21 |
Regular Animal Presentations
All Animal presentations are free.
Please see the Rides & Attractions listings for free and paid exhibits including the Ropes Course and animal feedings.
| 10:05 a.m. | March of the Little Penguins (Islands) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 10:20 a.m. | Islands Mammal Keeper Chat (Islands, locations vary) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 10:30 a.m. | Seal & Sea Lion Training Demonstration (Glacier Run) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 10:45 a.m. | Colobus Monkey Keeper Chat (Africa) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 11:15 a.m. | Bear Training Demonstration (Glacier Run) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 11:30 a.m. | Giraffe Feeding (Africa) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 11:45 a.m. | Amur Tiger Keeper Chat (Tiger Taiga) | ON SCHEDULE |
| Noon | Feathered Friends Keeper Chat (Islands Plaza) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 1:30 p.m. | Ring-tailed Lemur Keeper Chat (Islands) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 2:00 p.m. | Seal & Sea Lion Training Demonstration (Glacier Run) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 2:15 p.m. | Gorilla Keeper Chat (Gorilla Forest) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 2:30 p.m. | Giraffe Feeding (Africa) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 2:45 p.m. | Koala Keeper Chat (Australia) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 3:00 p.m. | Red Panda Keeper Chat | TBA |
| 3:15 p.m. | Maned Wolf Keeper Chat (Americas) | TBA |
| 3:45 p.m. | Seal & Sea Lion Training Demonstration (Glacier Run) | ON SCHEDULE |
| 4:15 p.m. | Rhino Keeper Chat (Africa) | TBA |
| 4:30 p.m. | HerpAquarium Keeper Talk (Sunday – Tuesday, Listen for Species Announcement!) | TBA |
| 4:30 p.m. | Komodo Dragon Keeper Chat (Wednesday – Saturday, Indoor Islands Habitat) | TBA |
| 4:30 p.m. | Komodo Dragon Feeding (Friday. Indoor Islands Habitat) | TBA |
| 4:45 p.m. | Islands Mammal Keeper Chat (Islands, locations vary) | TBA |
These schedules are updated before the Zoo opens at 10 a.m. each morning and are subject to change without notice. Animal viewing is subject to regular Zoo maintenance and the cooperation of weather and animals.