Fort Worth Zoo

08/17/2024

Yesterday, Asha turned 12! 🎉🎈Twelve years ago, the Zoo welcomed Asha, the first greater one-horned rhino calf born in the entire state of Texas (and Fort Worth Zoo history)! Her keepers celebrated by giving her one of her favorite treats - watermelon! 🍉🦏

The Zoo is proudly committed to rhino conservation as a founding partner of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and a participant in cooperative breeding programs among zoos both of which work to ensure the survival of rhino species here at home and in the wild for generations to come.

📹: keeper Gabby

08/15/2024

A huge roar of appreciation for our incredible employees! 🥳 It may not technically be employee appreciation day but every day is employee appreciation around here!

From our food service, attractions and clean teams to our engineering, operations and development teams, we are grateful for how you all pitch in to make the Zoo the best it can be. 😊

08/14/2024

A special conservation update from the field from one of our very own conservation biologists, Dr. Stesha Pasachnik.

Dr. Pasachnik, representing the Fort Worth Zoo, gathered in Jamaica on Aug. 13 with representatives from the Hope Zoo in Kingston, Jamaica, the Zoo-founded International Iguana Foundation, and the National Environment and Planning Agency of Jamaica to reintroduce 22 critically endangered Jamaican Rock Iguanas back into their native habitat of the Hellshire Hills in southern Jamaica. This animal was thought to be extinct in the wild until the early 1990s when an individual was discovered in Hellshire Hills, thus spurring our conservation work with this species.

As a conservation strategy, hatchling iguanas are brought into the Headstart Facility at the Hope Zoo in Kingston, Jamaica each year and raised for 3-5 years until they can better defend themselves against predators like the invasive feral cats and mongoose. The team conducts annual pre-release health screenings, led by the Fort Worth Zoo staff, at the Hope Zoo facility. Once they reach an appropriate size, they begin the guided journey back to their home range within the Hellshire Hills where they are released into the wild. This journey consists of an hour-long drive, an hour-long boat ride to the remote field site, and finally an hour-long hike into the mountains. This is the only access to the site, so all the iguanas must be brought in on foot.

We have released 71 iguanas this year, with 760 total successful releases since the project began in the 1990s. We are proud of the continued work on this project with our incredible partners! 👏💚

08/13/2024

It’s only the first day of school but we’re already daydreaming of our summer of Zoo Camp 😌💭 2,834 kids participated in Zoo Camp this summer and here is just a glimpse of the fun we had!

A big shoutout to our crew of counselors and education staff for making it a great summer! 👏

If you’re planning ahead like us, here are the 2025 Zoo Camp registration dates to jot down ✍️– Member Presale will open on Dec. 2 and General Sale will open on Jan. 6! We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

08/13/2024

Us when the alarm went off this morning & we remembered it was the first day of school ⏰😴

08/12/2024

Have you herd? Today is ! 🐘

25 years ago, the Zoo’s executive director saw a gap in funding and expertise for elephant conservation and research efforts, so he convened several individuals representing different zoos, private elephant facilities, and other institutions – and thus the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) was born right here in Fort Worth in 1999!

In the last quarter-decade, the IEF has worked diligently and successfully towards the conservation of Asian and African elephants worldwide. They do this by supporting and operating elephant conservation projects and education programs in managed facilities and the wild, focusing on management, protection and scientific research. Our executive director remains involved, now serving as the IEF Board of Directors President.

We are proud to be a leader in conservation, both here at the Zoo and through our conservation partners, like IEF, worldwide! As IEF says, “By protecting elephants, we protect all species that share their habitat.” 🌍🐘

08/11/2024

The Olympics may be ending today, but there are lots of podium-worthy things to see over here! 🏆

08/10/2024

Mighty Moja! 🦁

In celebration of , let’s check in on how our littlest lion has grown over the last almost 10 months. Spoiler alert: he’s not so little anymore, weighing 120 pounds at his last weigh-in! 🥹

World Lion Day is a day to celebrate and appreciate these magnificent animals and learn why conservation efforts surrounding them are so important. The lion is one of the most social big cats, living in a group called a “pride”, but unfortunately, lion populations are steadily decreasing in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching and illegal wildlife trading.

We are proud of the conservation efforts here at the Zoo that can be seen in the expanded, redesigned African lion habitat that opened with Predators of Africa & Asia in 2023 and our participation in a cooperative breeding program that is diversifying the African bloodline in the United States, which led to the birth of Moja! 👏

08/09/2024

It’s one of our favorite times of the year, Texas horned lizard-hatching season!

We’ve already had 135 hatchlings this year and are hopeful there will be even more. We were the first zoo to breed Texas horned lizards successfully and are proud of how our conservation efforts to breed and reintroduce the species into the wild have only grown over the past 13 years! 💜

08/08/2024

In case you missed it … there’s a new kid on the block!🦒 Here are a few more looks at our little Delilah!

Come visit her at the Zoo for even more cuteness! P.S. She’s easy to spot … she’s the tiny one!😉

08/07/2024

Are you looking for a one-day-a-week afternoon preschool program for your energetic, animal-loving 3 to 5-year-old? Look no further than Zoo Preschool! 🏫🐒✏️

Zoo Preschool is an activity-packed, three-hour class, that includes unique and interactive animal encounters (like the one pictured here with our spectacled owl)! These classes have an animal-based curriculum consisting of weekly animal lessons and presentations as well as outdoor Zoo hikes. Zoo Preschool is available each day of the week, running from September through May!

Spots are filling fast, with only afternoon preschool (1-4 p.m.) spots remaining, so now is the time to enroll your kid for the 2024-2025 Zoo Preschool program! ⏳

Preschool children can experience an activity-packed, three-hour class that includes unique and interactive animal activities at the Fort Worth Zoo.

08/07/2024

It’s too hot out to do anything but sit! ☀️🌊

Hot days like today are why our habitats have water features, shaded areas or access to their indoor spaces for the animals when they want to take advantage of a cooler spot to hang out! 😎

08/02/2024

Meerely thrilled that it is finally Friday! 🎉

07/31/2024

Do you have a 4-to-5-year-old who is curious, active and loves the outdoors? Then we have the perfect program for you! 🦒🍎🌻

Meet Nature’s Navigators, our nature-based education program. These 5-hour classes, held twice a week, feature lots of outdoor time for the preschoolers including activities like nature excursions, Zoo hikes, art, lunch and rest time. They’ll learn lots of new things and discover more about the world around them! ☀️

Spots are limited so enroll your kiddo now for the 2024-2025 Nature’s Navigators program, available Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday from September through May! Learn more here: https://www.fortworthzoo.org/preschool.

Preschool children can experience an activity-packed, three-hour class that includes unique and interactive animal activities at the Fort Worth Zoo.

07/27/2024

To wrap up National Zookeeper Week, we want to showcase our zookeepers doing what they do best - provide top-of-the-line care for our animals.

Our keepers go the extra mile to make sure our animals have their needs met each day which includes their dietary needs, behavioral needs, social needs, habitat-related needs, and so much more! They inspire us as they provide exemplary care for our animals and remain dedicated to our conservation work.

This week we wanted to take some time to honor our keepers for their passion and excellence. Send some love to our incredible Fort Worth Zookeepers down below. THANK YOU, keepers! 🫶

07/27/2024

Behind every great habitat is a dedicated team of zookeepers making sure everything is clean, safe and enriching for our animals. From scrubbing and cleaning to habitat maintenance, it’s all part of their daily routine. It may not always be glamorous, but it is crucial for the safety and health of our animals.

Thank you, keepers, for doing the dirty work to take care of our Zoo!

07/24/2024

BACK-TO-BACK! 👏

We are thrilled to announce that we have gharial crocodile hatchlings for the second consecutive year! Gharials are a critically endangered species, which makes this a massive conservation success.

The Fort Worth Zoo is the only institution in North America to have successfully repeated the gharial breeding process, plus, our new gharials hatched from different females within the group, which is key for diversifying the gene pool. We are so proud of the care and dedication of our ectotherms team and look forward to how this success will contribute to the improvement of gharial care and conservation!

For now, the hatchlings will remain behind the scenes at the Zoo for close monitoring of their growth and development. However, we are proud to host the first-ever viewing of the 2023 hatchlings on Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28, inside the Museum of Living Art (MOLA) at the Discovery Hub from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come see this incredible species up close!

07/22/2024

Our zookeepers may not be know-it-alls, but they sure know it all! And even better, they do an incredible job sharing that knowledge with all of us!

Our keepers are experts on all things animal-related including animal care, enrichment, training, conservation and so much more! The keepers and interpretive specialists host 18 "Keeper Chats" daily where they share their knowledge through fun facts, stats and stories!

Stop by one next time you're in the park to learn from one of our incredible keepers... and while you're there, thank them for their hard work! 😊👏

07/21/2024

Happy National Zookeeper Week from the Fort Worth Zoo to all of our incredible keepers!

Stay tuned throughout the week as we celebrate our zookeepers & show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication towards the care and conservation of our animals!

07/19/2024

Walkin' into the weekend like...

07/18/2024

🎶 ‘Cause I’ve got friends in looow places 🎶

You might notice our tallest residents checking in with some of our smaller ones from time to time out in the Savanna yard just like we see here with Apollo and Cosmo. 🥹🫶

07/17/2024

Meet one ssspecial speciesss ( … we had to), the Louisiana pine snake, in celebration of World Snake Day yesterday! 🐍

The Louisiana pine snake is endangered and one of the rarest snakes in North America. The Fort Worth Zoo is one of only four institutions in the United States dedicated to the care and conservation of this species.

In fact, since its inception in 2015, our program has successfully bred and released 229 Louisiana pine snakes back to their historic range in Louisiana.

07/15/2024

Up, up & away! Just like ’s home runs tonight during the MLB Home Run Derby!

07/13/2024

Ruby, our 6-month-old baby mandrill, is growing quickly! She is about 4 pounds and active as can be, moving quickly all around the habitat. She still follows her mother Scarlett around but is beginning to explore independently more each day under the watchful eye of Mom!

Her exploration has made her a hungry girl but luckily, she has a nice set of pearly whites and chomps down on all the veggies and greens she can find! 🥬🥕

07/12/2024

🎶 Birds of a feather, we should stick together 🎶

And they do! Did you know that saddle-billed storks forage and nest in pairs and form long-term bonds? 🥰

Our pair’s offspring are just over 1 year old and are starting to sport their adult plumage. Swipe to see their juvenile coloring compared to mom and dad.

07/10/2024

No naps allowed! 😴

07/09/2024

“Brothers don’t shake hands … brothers gotta hug!”

We caught Bruno and Gus sharing some brotherly love 🥰

07/08/2024

Summer hours are here! Beginning today, July 8, the Zoo will open one hour earlier, at 9 a.m. Get a jumpstart on your Zoo day now through Aug. 30.

While you're here, take advantage of misters and fans throughout the park and remember our indoor, air-conditioned habitats like the Museum of Living Art, Bait Shack and the all-new Mountains & Desert in Texas Wild! You can also bring in your own drinks and water bottles.

(The Zoo will close one hour earlier, at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.)

07/04/2024

Happy Fourth of July! Come spend the day with us - we’re open during normal operating hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

06/28/2024

This little guy is not so little anymore! As many of you may have noticed, Moja is growing bigger by the day. At his last weight check, he weighed in at nearly 93 pounds and is eating about 2.5 pounds of ground meat per day.

He turned 8 months old on June 20 and can often be found snacking on watermelon or playing with dad Jabulani and mom, Saba.