Amur tiger roaring
Roaring into 2025 🥳🎉✨
Bali the cockatoo
Waving goodbye to 2024 like... 👋
Sleepy sloth
That magical time between Christmas and New Year's where I channel my inner sloth—slow, steady, and surrounded by snacks 🦥💤
📸: Zookeeper Jackson
Capybara crunching on some greens
Capy Crunchmas 🎄
Otters playing in the snow
W̶a̶l̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ Sliding in a winter wonderland ❄️
Red Panda vs. Branch
That branch didn't even see Wyatt comin' 🥊
A few of our generous supporters share why they choose to give to John Ball Zoo. Their stories are a testament to the life-changing role your generosity plays in our mission.
The Eileen DeVries Family Foundation and Sharron Reynolds have both pledged to match every donation made today up to $10,000 each. That means your gift will go three times as far in supporting the animals you love.
Every Meal Matters and represents a step toward conservation🌱, care🧡, and community🏫.
jbzoo.org/donate/
Thank you for helping us keep bellies full at John Ball Zoo this Giving Tuesday!
#GivingTuesday #GratefulForYou #JohnBallZoo See less
Chacoan Peccary ASMR
Meet Dill, Fennel, Aiden Oak, and Captain Crunch—our adorable but picky Chacoan Peccaries who have called John Ball Zoo home for just over a year.
Dill: Loves Apples 🍎 & Pears 🍐, Dislikes Melon 🍈
Fennel: Loves Peanut Butter 🥜, Dislikes Collard Greens 🌱
Aiden Oak: Loves Tomatoes 🍅, Dislikes Eating in Front of People 👀
Captain Crunch: Loves Insects 🦗, Dislikes Being Called a Pig 🐷
Show some love to our growing peccary squad by making a donation today. Every meal matters, and every gift keeps these sweet snouts sniffing for more!
jbzoo.org/donate/ 🧡
Giant Anteater and a Pile of Leaves
Who needs a rake when you have Rio? 🍂
📸: Zookeeper Sarah
#WorldAnteaterDay
Tigers and Pumpkins
If you give a tiger a pumpkin,
⚽ they'll probably kick it around like a soccer ball.
🪜 After they've kicked it around like a soccer ball, they'll probably knock it off a platform.
🪨 Once they've knocked it off the platform, they'll probably get it stuck between a rock and a hard place (literally).
📸: Zookeeper Valerie
Kiume the lion roaring
Dear Kiume,
For over a decade, your powerful roars have echoed through the Zoo and into the West Side Community. You have captivated all of our hearts while serving as an ambassador for wildlife conservation. Whether you are napping in the sun, keeping an eye on the neighborhood bongos, or rolling in smelly straw (one of your favorite activities), your presence sparks joy and enthusiasm in our guests and opens the door for engagement in conservation of our natural world.
The mark you have left on us is permanent. We will remember you as a fierce protector. We will remember your extraordinarily picky eating habits (the list of foods you don't like is many times longer than the list of foods you do enjoy). We will chuckle when we remember how much time we spent (unsuccessfully) trying to convince you to go outside for some fresh air if there was even a hint of rain in the sky. We will remember you as the most gentle eater of meatballs there ever was with the most perfect double paw tuck.
This is a bittersweet goodbye, but we look forward to seeing you thrive with a new lady lion friend while engaging another community in our mission of saving wildlife and wild places. Go get'em, Special K!
All our love,
Zookeeper, Jackie
*Kiume, an African lion who has called John Ball Zoo home for more than a decade, will be moving to another AZA facility in the near future.*
