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7 reviews for Louisville Zoo
The parents and I had a day to kill while we were in Louisville, and after we went to the Louisville Slugger museum, we decided to go to the zoo.
Overall it was a pretty fun time, and I'm glad we went. The only thing I would do next time is realize what time of the day school children would be less likely to be there. They were everywhere. And I'm not talking cute, well behaved kids either.
I really like the zoo, except for the crappy food that cost too much.
But we like to pack a lunch and go, great price for an annual pass. We LOVE the splash park, but it does tend to get crowded so we go early. Great animals, great playgrounds.
The Louisville Zoo ranks among the worst of the many zoos I've been to. Seems like there aren't as many animals as I'm used to and the zoo is rather rundown and dirty. Also - watch out for the train and ride at your own risk. The park made national news recently when a young train operator managed to derail the train and send a number of people to the hospital. Ouch.
We go to about every zoo in the towns we visit and the Louisville zoo was very nice. It was a beautiful day and we just strolled around checking out the animals they had. There was a recently newborn elephant named Scotty that just made my wife's day. Sometimes it's just those little things that make her smile and that's all I need.
This zoo is very fun, good for kids and educational. They have a few really good habitats for some species, like the hippo's and giraffes. Other animals are not so lucky. There were three elephants in one tiny penned off enclosure surrounded by what looked like electrical fencing. There was nothing else in there, no toys or visual stimuli. The elephants seemed depressed. That brings me to the Gorillas. The gorillas had a huge habitat, and a 'safari' path leading the way around it had lookout points to see them from different views. the problem was they were not outside that day. We walked around the entire thing to get to the gorilla building and it was very very disturbing inside. Three huge gorillas in a a gorilla sized glass tank. They were all rocking back and forth, looking very depressed and full of sadness and boredom. There were dozedn of ADHD summer camp children banging on the glass and several times the large male gorilla smashed his body on the glass to try to escape(?) or get people to stop teasing him. Another gorilla vomited and then licked it back up. Come on keepers!! Give these highly intelligent creatures something to do! Let them be outside in their huge habitat!
Other then that it was nice.There was an exhibit where you could walk around with wallaby's and wallaroo's, and a lorikeet landing exhibit where birds land all over you. A large spash park kids will love, reasonably priced food and souviners. Also, be sure to see the albino alligator!
Each October, the Louisville Zoo sponsors an awesome trick or treating event for the wee ones.
It gets too crowded and some of the kids should likely be banned from all public venues for life.
But nothing says Halloween in Louisville like candy corn and lemurs.
When I was in grade school in the late 19xxs, we had nickel drives to raise money for the Louisville Zoo. Those nickels were well-used.
