Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens covers 73 acres on the north bank of the Trout River and is one of the better zoos in the southeastern United States. The animal collection is genuinely strong — African elephants, white rhinos, gorillas, orangutans, jaguars, and a large bird collection, among many others. The Range of the Jaguar exhibit, which recreates a Central American rainforest environment, is particularly well done.

The gardens component is worth taking seriously. The zoo maintains formal display gardens throughout the grounds, and the Okefenokee Swamp Loop gives a good approximation of the Georgia-Florida wetland ecosystem. Budget a full morning or afternoon — it is a large site and trying to rush through it defeats the purpose.

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A story
The Jacksonville Zoo opened in 1914 with a single alligator. For most of its first century it was a modest municipal zoo of the kind that every mid-sized American city maintained without much enthusiasm. The transformation began in the 1990s, when the zoo began investing seriously in naturalistic habitats and acquired a reputation for its African elephant program. It now holds one of the largest collections of African wildlife in the southeastern United States.

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