Related: Santa Barara Zoological Gardens / Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens / Brevard Zoo
Palm Beach Zoo is a zoo set in 23 acres of tropical, lush habitat located in Dreher Park, West Palm Beach, Florida.
The zoo is home to over 1700 animals, many of which are endangered species, and include panthers, black bears, tigers, jaguars, eagles, river otters and alligators. The zoo’s most recent addition is its wallaby family.
In addition to its many mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and invertebrates, the zoo also has a number of other attractions. These include the daily performance of its ‘Wings over Water’ bird show, an interactive water play fountain and a carousel ride.
One of the newer exhibits is the ‘Tropics of the Americas’ which showcases both the wildlife and native culture of both Central and South America and you will see several native species living here, such as jaguars, capybaras and cavies, in this 3-acre replica of a typical Central or South American rain forest. As well as the animals, this exhibit at the zoo will enchant you with its sculptures, Mayan pyramids and beautiful music. In fact, Animal Planet voted the exhibit at the zoo as one of the ‘Ultimate Zoo’ exhibits in 2006.
The zoo also has several educational and family oriented programmes starting from the age of 2 with its Stroller Safari and Wild Zoo Toddler’s Workshop where youngsters get to appreciate wildlife from a very early age with close up animal encounters, animal stories, songs and craft making. The zoo also has its own outreach program where animal lovers and experts will even bring their own programmes and knowledge out to the community.
In addition to the zoo’s educational objectives, it also plays an active role in conservation with its involvement in both the Species Survival Plan and the Population Management Plan which focus on helping to maintain healthy populations of various endangered species in captivity with the aim of reintroducing some of them back to the wild in the future wherever possible.
