The holiday season is approaching but it’s never too early to start shopping!
Holiday Zootique is happening until 8 p.m. Stop by Treetop Shop in the Living World building at North Entrance for unique gifts for all the loved ones in your life, including the Zoo 2025 calendar, American Red Wolf plush, eco-friendly toys, the 2024 Zoo ornament and more! Sip and savor free coffee and treats as you browse throughout the store.
Today only, get a free reusable bag when you spend $25 or more (one per transaction) and a free two-piece package of fudge from the Zoo’s Candy Crossing shop when you spend $100 or more (one per transaction).
All guests get 10% off (20% for members) of their purchase. Take advantage of the free gift wrapping too! Don’t miss out!
See yourself in the magic of Wild Lights presented by Commerce Bank!
The season is set to sparkle at the Saint Louis Zoo, with twinkling lights, festive menus and photo op-filled fun on select nights Nov. 29-Dec. 29.
Delight in brilliant, colorful light displays throughout the Zoo. Enjoy themed displays featuring snowflakes, candy canes, gumdrops, penguins, polar bears, tigers, giraffes and much more. Wish a happy holiday to the animals in Penguin & Puffin Coast and the Holekamp Aqua Tunnel. Tickets to the 4D Theater presentation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 4D” are included with Wild Lights admission. Festive food (including s’mores kits!) and holiday beverages (like hot chocolate) are available for purchase.
Monday, Dec. 9, is Sensory-Friendly Night for neurodivergent guests with sensory sensitivities. This special night will mirror the traditional Wild Lights experience, but also includes sensory maps, quiet areas and trained Zoo staff.
Get your tickets today! Link in the comments.
Get started on your holiday shopping at Holiday Zootique!
Starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 8, guests can browse unique, conservation-oriented gifts. Stop by for coffee and sweet treats offered throughout the day. The Zoo also offers free gift wrapping for the gifts you buy that day!
Guests also receive a 10% discount on their whole purchase (20% for Zoo members), a free reusable bag with a purchase of $25 or more (one per transaction) and a free two-piece package of fudge from the Zoo’s Candy Crossing shop with a purchase of $100 or more (one per transaction).
The Treetop Shop in The Living World will have a variety of animal-themed accessories and gifts, including the Zoo’s 2024 ornament featuring a tiger, an American red wolf plush toy and delicious, sweet treats!
Holiday Zootique is FREE! Learn more at stlzoo.org/events/holiday-zootique.
Winnie the red panda loved this Halloween pumpkin filled with one of her favorite treats: Biscuits!
#redpanda #halloween
Primate POV: Jack-o'lantern edition 🎃
Primates like the black and white ruffed lemurs, mongoose lemurs, Geoffroy’s marmosets and Francois’ langurs got into the spooky season spirit with some jack-o-lantern-inspired enrichment!
Visit them at Primate Canopy Trails or the Primate House the next time you visit the Zoo!
We got a craving for pumpkin spice 😋
Our young Rhinoceros hornbills at the Zoo recently enjoyed a pumpkin filled with food. Visit the Rhinoceros hornbill and other bird species in the Bird House the next time you visit the Zoo!
Pumpkin-palooza!
Reticulated giraffes Honey, Gomer, Luna and Ella, recently were treated to a delicious pumpkin. Honey and Gomer dove right in while Luna was curious, but still figuring it out.
Visit the giraffes the next time you visit the Zoo!
Baby on board!
Jade, 17-year-old Asian Elephant, is expecting her first baby. She is due at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025. The Elephant Care team and the Animal Health team have worked closely with Jade to prepare for this exciting addition to our elephant family.
Jade is doing well and is waiting for baby to arrive! The Elephant Care Team has worked with her the last several months on prenatal exercises and ensuring she gets all the nutrients she needs during pregnancy. An elephant’s pregnancy lasts around 22 months and a newborn weighs about 250-350 pounds. The sex of the baby is unknown. See this video taken by our elephant keepers to spot the baby kick!
It’s a fa-BOO-lous time!
It is a St. Louis tradition on Halloween for trick-or-treaters to tell a joke before they get their sweet treats! We asked guests at last year’s Boo at the Zoo for some of their best jokes. Watch out, they will leave you CACKLING with laughter.
There is only one week left of Boo at the Zoo presented by SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital! Don’t miss this not-so-scary event full of great food, amazing decorations and lots of fun for the whole family! Get your tickets at stlzoo.org/boo.
We're excited to share this sneak peek of Henry A. Jubel Foundation Destination Discovery, the new experience for children and families targeted to open in 2026 at Saint Louis Zoo!
This animated, fly-through rendering showcases the planned experiences, attractions and animal habitats in store for guests.
Construction is now underway on the site of the former Emerson Dinoroarus and Emerson Children’s Zoo.
Animal habitats include:
Prairie dogs — Guests can make their way through human-sized tunnels and "pop up" into the habitat for nose-to-nose views.
Patagonian mara — This rabbit-like rodent native to Argentina is closely related to the guinea pig and capybara.
North American river otters — Guests can spot otters on land from an overlook above or see them below water zooming by windows or swimming through two acrylic water flumes above a walking path.
Chilean flamingo lagoon — These beautiful South American birds will be viewable up close, both above and below the lagoon’s surface.
Coati — A treehouse-style habitat will offer a great view of the active, tree-dwelling coati (pronounced koh-waa-tee) native to Central and South America, Mexico and southernmost portions of the U.S.
Tasmanian devils — The immersive Tasmanian devil exhibit, one of only four devil exhibits in the U.S., will feature a climb-through “hobbit” house with up-close views of the animals in their habitat.
Babydoll sheep — A walk-through barn and spacious barnyards will be home to a flock of adorable sheep. Guests can meet keepers as they provide care for the animals.
Other highlights include:
🎒 An education building that will be home to, Saint Louis Zoo Preschool, the Discovery Center indoor play space and other educational programming. The new building will allow the Zoo to offer two full-day preschool classes for the first time.
💧Waterplay area
🐛An invertebrate-themed climbing structure
🖼️Wildlife Overlook Boardwalk
Tiger triplets' first pumpkins! 🎃🐅
Eleven-month-old Amur tiger triplets Darya, Ussuri and Sungari recently had a gourd time with their first pumpkins courtesy of their keepers and a donation from Eckert's Country Store & Farms!
The end of Fat Bear Week is near!
Huck and Finley, like other wild brown bears, have changing diets depending on the season and their needs. Berries and nuts are plentiful in the late summer and early autumn and are a staple diet item of any bear looking to pack on the pounds in preparation for leaner months ahead. Huck and Finley are fed a variety of foods including berries, insects, nuts, fish, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, lettuce and more!
The Carnivore care team and the Animal Nutrition team do an excellent job collaborating to adjust the siblings' diet amounts and varieties according to the season. Later in the summer, when the bears are preparing their bodies for the colder months, they go into a food overdrive called hyperphagia. During this time they are eating constantly and craving those calories. At the height of their food intake keepers are preparing over 30 pounds of food daily!
During the colder months, they eat a lot less food, as low as 2 pounds a day. Keepers at the Zoo will offer food to the bears year-round, but due to their natural seasonal behavior, they have much less of an appetite during the winter.
For Huck and Finley, keepers also mix up how they prepare their food. Whether they chop the food up into small pieces, leave the fruit whole for them to dig into, or freeze it into a popsicle, this gives an enriching experience for the bears and requires them to forage for food in the habitat and break down the food into smaller pieces.
See Huck and Finley at Grizzly Ridge, the next time you visit the Zoo!
