What’s NEW at the ZOO? With an impressive variety of animals from around the globe, including rare giant pandas—one of only three zoos in America that have them—a visit to the Memphis Zoo is the perfect day trip for young and old alike. WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY MEMPHIS PHOTOJOURNALIST KAREN PULFER FOCHT
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Mother orangutan, Jahe with baby Rowan, who is a crowd favorite at the zoo.
ome residents that live here have wrinkly skin with chubby bottoms, big ears, and long tongues. Some are tiny and hairy and creepy and crawly. Some slide, some hop, some slither, and some waddle.
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Many are rare; some are common. But you can be sure if you haven’t been to the Memphis Zoo recently, you will see something new. “I have discovered that the Memphis Zoo has one of the most extensive collections of animals that I know of and the proximity that our guests can get to our animals is closer than most any other facility. That makes Memphis Zoo unique,” said Jim Dean, president and CEO of the Memphis Zoo. “We have a one-of-a-kind animal collection.” Dean, who joined the Memphis Zoo in 2019, has Delta roots. His father is from Cleveland, and his mother is from Tupelo. Before returning home to what he calls a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Memphis, Dean was president of two of the most successful theme parks in the country: Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens. “We are striving to be the ‘must-see’ Memphis destination and the best zoo in the world!” The award-winning zoo, which opened in Overton Park in 56 | JULY/AUGUST 2021
1906, has thirty-five hundred animals representing over five hundred different species. It is one of three zoos in America with giant pandas. The pandas, Le Le and Ya Ya, are on loan from China with a lease through 2023. The zoo has a working relationship with Chinese researchers, and they have made strides in panda reproduction studies. The zoo has been hoping for a panda cub from the pair since the female, Ya Ya, arrived in 2003. Pandas are endangered and losing their natural habitat in western China. You can follow the pandas and watch them eat up to forty pounds of bamboo a day at memphiszoo.org/panda-cam. If you live within fifty miles of the zoo, they may be interested in harvesting your bamboo plants for the pandas. When visiting the zoo, be sure to download their app and plan your visit around certain keeper chats and animal feedings, which can both be great fun. This year they have a “mob” of new visitors jumping around from down under. After a twenty-seven-year hiatus, the zoo once again will have red kangaroos, native to Australia, on exhibit. A kangaroo can travel up to thirty-five miles per hour, and they can jump twenty-five feet high. They are left-handed. Guests stroll around a path as the kangaroos roam free. Not too far from the “roos” is one of the zoo’s most popular activities, the Giraffe Feeding Adventure. Guests can come face-toDELTA MAGAZINE 2021
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The Giraffe Feeding Adventure is one of the zoo’s most popular activities.
The Zambezi River Hippo Camp is a favorite attraction.
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face with these gentle giants as they grasp a piece of lettuce from your hand. Standing on the deck, you will be eye-to-eye with a mother, father, or an adorable baby giraffe. Wait for them to saunter over as they come to you for their daily greens. It is estimated there are only about fifteen thousand reticulated giraffes left in the world. Their population is declining drastically. The Memphis Zoo has had many baby giraffes in the past several years, and the odds of seeing a baby are pretty good. Inspired by Yellowstone National Park, Teton Trek is a beautiful four-acre exhibit with a twenty-foot-high waterfall. This exhibit is home to the grizzly bears, timberwolves, elk, and some smaller waterfowl. The beautiful lodge, which is also a wonderful venue, will make you feel transported. Be sure to time your visit to this exhibit to watch the bears feed. The well-trained sea lions love to show off for guests during their show in their amphitheater. One of them, Andre, washed up after Hurricane Katrina and needed a home. He has been at the Memphis Zoo ever since. You can see elephants, rhinos, zebras, and ostriches as you wind your way back to see the hippos in the Zambezi River Hippo Camp. Memphis was once known as the hippo capital of the world when it had a male hippo that sired approximately twenty-five offspring in his lifetime. The zoo’s most recent mother, Binti, gave birth a few years ago to Winnie, the baby hippo. The two are still together on exhibit and often can be seen cuddling under water. Winnie is growing fast. Female hippos can weigh up to 3,300 pounds. This exhibit also has a fun venue space for special parties and events. Another crowd favorite is Rowan, the baby orangutan who is also still with his mother. He does not get too far from Jahe; the two enjoy swinging in the hammock and prancing around in their play yard.
Mighty lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars, and meerkats live in beautiful Cat Country. The famous lion roar heard at the beginning of the classic MGM movies was recorded at the Memphis Zoo in the 1940s. Behind the scenes, while you are meeting and learning about these animal ambassadors, the zoo is working on conservation projects and research. Their goal is to improve and stabilize the animal populations, both in captivity and in the wild, worldwide. We all have our favorite animal friends at the zoo, but, occasionally, at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Program, animals are moved around to ensure genetically healthy, diverse populations of certain threatened and endangered species. From Cat Country, as you wind around toward the Once Upon a Farm exhibit, watch for birds soaring overhead from the Flock Together Bird Teton Trek, inspired by Yellowstone National Park, is a 4-acre exhibit and is home to grizzly bears, timberwolves, and elk. Show, a new seasonal exhibit this year. The Memphis Zoo draws visitors and employees If you can’t make it this summer, hit the zoo during from all over the Mid-South. Twenty-two Mississippians currently the holidays for their annual Zoo Lights! work at the zoo. Over $115 million in renovations and expansions have been made since the early 1990s, which has made this zoo one of Memphis’s top attractions. “We are currently working on the future of the zoo as we develop a new master plan that will transform one of the oldest and most celebrated zoos into one of the best and most progressive zoos with regard to conservation, education, and research in the world,” Dean said. An adventure awaits young and old visitors to the Memphis Zoo. There is something for everyone. DM DELTA MAGAZINE 2021
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