Zoo & Gardens, Jacksonville

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In the midst of a long term growth plan, the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens is a must see for animal lovers. Covering acres of riverfront land in Jacksonville's Northside, some of the zoo's attractions include the "Tuxedo Coast" Magellianic penguin exhibit, a stingray lagoon, Asian komodo dragons and bamboo gardens, "Great Apes of the World," a renovated bird aviary, "Wild Florida" (a wetlands attraction), the 11-acre "Plains of East Africa," and a giraffe overlook that literally puts you nose to nose with these gentle giants. The zoo's premier attraction, however,"Range of the Jaguar," is an excellent complex of its own. Designed as a recreated Latin American village and temple, the attraction includes a restaurant with large picture windows allowing you to watch these mighty cats while you eat. The lion, elephant and aardvark exhibits are also exceptional!

In addition to the animals, the zoo also features the largest thatched-roof structure in North America, Main Camp Safari Lodge, which serves as the park's entrance in addition to housing a gift shop, meeting space and party areas. When the Main Camp was built, the zoo brought in authentic Zulu craftsmen from Africa to weave the thatching by hand.

Other attractions include a narrated train tour, medical and educational facilities, boat docks and a variety of other large and small animal exhibits. Special holiday events like Spooktacular and Christmas lighting draw large crowds to the zoo after dark.

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Think penguins are just for the Antarctic? Some live at the Jacksonville Zoo. The park's newest animal exhibit, "Tuxedo Coast" houses a collection of warm-weather Magellianic penguins that can be viewed both above and below water. The underwater viewing area is more designed for children to get up close and personal with these very sleek swimming birds, but ambitious adults like myself can get some really cool photos if willing to get down on hands and knees. If visiting the zoo (which by the way is a very nice one), be sure to visit the penguins.

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The Sting Ray Exhibit is awesome, especially if you have kids. My kids loved it. They got to not only see the stingrays, but pet them as well. One note - you have to pay an additional fee to see this exhibit.

We live in the area and go to this zoo often. On this particular trip, the rhinos were fighting and the jaguar was out and active. It seems like every time we go, you get to see something new. You can see all of these animals and more in our "Our Day at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens" at http://www.armadillopepper.com. Click on the "Fun Stuff" link.

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The Sting Ray Exhibit is awesome, especially if you have kids. My kids loved it. They got to not only see the stingrays, but pet them as well. One note - you have to pay an additional fee to see this exhibit.

We live in the area and go to this zoo often. On this particular trip, the rhinos were fighting and the jaguar was out and active. It seems like every time we go, you get to see something new. You can see all of these animals and more in our "Our Day at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens" at http://www.armadillopepper.com. Click on the "Fun Stuff" link.

This is a nice Zoo, they have a lot of animals. I liked feeding the birds. You can buy (for like a dollar) a cup of nectar, and you walk into this area full of birds, and they come up to you and eat the nectar from your hand.

The Jacksonville Zoo is a real Gem for the city. I had visited the city many times but had never gotten to the Zoo. I wish I had seen it earlier.

The Zoo has the full Spectrum of Animals and they were building a rather large Jaguar exhibit that looked promising.

Some of the pathways are elevated boardwalks which helps with spotting the animals. They have a great exhibit on local wildlife as well.

For the kids, they have a pretty good petting zoo and the walk in bird exhibit is a riot.