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Africa

Experience the Power of Africa! 

The Louisville Zoo is continually finding new and inventive ways to amaze and engage our guests. Enjoy our Africa area, updated in 2016 with exciting enhancements and expansions including new animal encounters and guest comforts. Take a virtual walking tour with us!

DSC_0718Immerse yourself in the natural scenes of Africa while getting up-close with rhinos, giraffes, elephants, hippos, warthogs, bongos and more. Enjoy enhanced views of the galloping zebras. Get mellow with our ringtailed lemurs, the “ghosts of Madagascar.” Practice your roaring abilities with our African lions or keep on the lookout with the vigilant meerkats. Take a rest stop on a shaded bench in the lion sculpture garden or get into the scene and play some African percussion instruments. Look overhead to see playful colobus monkeys in their elavated passageways. Travel deep into the forests of Africa to see pygmy hippos and enter the world of Western lowland gorillas in award-winning Gorilla Forest.

Whether you’re gazing across the expanded views of the new Henry Frazier Family Elephant Encounter, sitting in a Safari vehicle having a staring contest with a zebra, having a relaxing lunch at the Outpost, feeding a giraffe, or setting sail on “the ship of the desert” with a camel ride, you will be captivated by sounds, scents and vistas of an Africa savanna.

Featured Areas

Colobus Crossing

Sit on the outdoor dining patio, munch on delicious goodies served from the African Outpost and observe beautiful colobus monkeys as they leap and swing from place to place within their new habitat or even cross directly overhead and you walk through the Zoo.

Show your love for all elephants, especially Louisville Zoo elephants Mikki and Punch with exclusive elephant gear! Purchase a shirt, tote, or cooler with designs featuring a trunk kiss from Mikki and a line drawing of Mikki and Punch. Proceeds from the sale of items will support the care of Mikki and Punch as we prepare for their journey to The Elephant Sanctuary later this spring, as well as our elephant conservation partners (International Elephant Foundation and the Smithsonian Zoo) who are conducting critical research on illnesses impacting elephants.

Support Louisville Zoo elephants Mikki and Punch with exclusive gear! Choose from shirts, totes, or coolers featuring charming designs. Proceeds aid Mikki and Punch’s care, their move to The Elephant Sanctuary this spring, and vital elephant conservation efforts.

LEARN MORE

The Crossroads of Tradition and Reality

For every resident animal, we create a care plan for all stages of their life. Punch, at 55, is considered geriatric and Mikki, at 39, is gracefully entering her senior years. With the passing of Mikki’s calf Fitz in 2023, the Zoo fell below the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) standard of three elephants for an exhibit. Ultimately, the ongoing welfare of Punch and Mikki is our highest priority. We have reached the point where it is imperative that we secure an optimal location where Mikki and Punch may retire together, and guarantee companionship when one inevitably passes before the other.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, just south of Nashville, is the nation’s largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically for elephants. Mikki and Punch will still live together, but will have over 3,000 acres to roam, a continued high standard of care, and an opportunity to form new social connections with other elephants.

We’re planning to move Punch and Mikki to The Elephant Sanctuary in late spring of 2025, however there will be opportunities to celebrate their impact on our Zoo before then. You will still be able to visit the elephants into late spring, but we suggest seeing them before mid-May. This timeframe provides us time to condition the elephants so we can transport them safely and comfortably.

Learn more about how to celebrate

Learn more about African and Asian elephants.

Award-Winning Gorilla Forest

Whether you are searching along the Discovery Trail, stopping at Hippo Falls or discovering the western lowland gorillas in one of their three habitats, or in their sanctuary-in-the-round, you are in the gorilla’s realm.

Africa Attractions:

 Food & Gifts:

Conservation Corner

As part of our mission to “better the bond between people and our planet,” the Louisville Zoo supports many conservation efforts locally and globally. Learn about our conservation partners working in Africa including Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, International Elephant Foundation and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Learn more about the Zoo’s work with Eco-Cell, to help recycle coltan and prevent it from being mined in gorilla habitats.