San Antonio Zoo



The San Antonio Zoo is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoo in Midtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is located in the city's Brackenridge Park. San Antonio Zoo is a 50+ acre zoo home to over 750 species, some of which are endangered or extinct in the wild, and an annual attendance of more than 1 million. It also runs non-animal attractions, such as the narrow gauge San Antonio Zoo Eagle train ride, which first opened in 1956.

The Richard Friedrich Aquarium was opened in 1948. It was the only aquarium in the city until SeaWorld San Antonio was opened in 1988.

History
What is now known as the San Antonio Zoo began in 1914 when Colonel George Washington Brackenridge, one of the city's leading citizens, placed bison, deer, monkeys, African lions, and bears on land he had deeded to the city. The land became Brackenridge Park and Golf Course.

The San Antonio Zoo opened two of the first cageless exhibits in the United States in November 1929 that offered visitors views of the animals not available in caged exhibits. The Richard Friedrich Aquarium was dedicated in 1948, and the Hixon Bird House, funded through the efforts of Colonel Frederick C. Hixon, opened in 1966.

The San Antonio Zoo housed the first herd of addra gazelle in captivity in 1969 and continues to be active in the breeding program for this critically endangered species. Due to the former hoofstock quarantine point in San Antonio, the San Antonio Zoo has historically had a wide variety of hoofstock species.

The zoo is involved in breeding a number of endangered species including black rhino, leopard, golden lion tamarin, dama gazelle, Attwater's prairie chicken (housed and bred off-exhibit), black mangabey, African lion, black-footed ferret, Komodo dragon, Andean condor, and Caribbean flamingos.

The zoo opened Phase II of Africa Live in 2010. Phase I, which opened in 2007, brought a new exhibit for hippos with underwater viewing area and one for new Nile crocodiles as well as many other smaller animals. Phase II contains Angolan colobus monkeys, okapi, African hunting dogs, rock hyrax, and various species of birds contained in the second largest aviary in the world. On June 18, 2013, a two-headed turtle, along with three one-headed turtles hatched. The two-headed turtle was later named Thelma and Louise after the 1991 film. Thelma and Louise later died on July 29, 2014, from unknown causes.

Josh the African lion was permanently transferred to the Birmingham Zoo in April 2022 as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan.

Mammals
• Addax

• Addra gazelle

• African elephant (Coming Soon)

• African lion

• African pygmy goat

• African wild dog

• American black bear

• Angola colobus

• Asian elephant

• Bat-eared fox

• Black howler monkey

• Black-and-white ruffed lemur

• Black-footed cat

• Black-tailed prairie dog

• Blue duiker

• Bush dog

• Capybara

• Colombian white-faced capuchin

• Common squirrel monkey

• Common warthog

• Crested porcupine

• Fishing cat

• Fossa

• Francois' langur

• Geoffroy's marmoset

• Giant anteater

• Giraffe

• Golden lion tamarin

• Golden-headed lion tamarin

• Hippopotamus

• Jaguar

• Kinkajou

• Kirk's dik-dik

• Large flying fox

• Linnaeus's two-toed sloth

• Malayan tapir

• Matschie's tree-kangaroo

• Meerkat

• Naked mole-rat

• Nine-banded armadillo

• North American porcupine

• Northern tree shrew

• Ocelot

• Okapi

• Oriental small-clawed otter

• Philippine porcupine

• Plains zebra

• Prevost's squirrel

• Red kangaroo

• Red river hog

• Red ruffed lemur

• Ringtail

• Rock hyrax

• Seba's short-tailed bat

• Sitatunga

• Southern tamandua

• Southern white rhinoceros

• Spectacled bear

• Spotted hyena

• Striped skunk

• Sumatran tiger

• Virginia opossum

• Vietnamese pot-bellied pig

• Western lowland gorilla (Coming Soon)

• Western grey kangaroo

• White-cheeked gibbon

• Waterbuck

• White-faced saki

• Wolf's guenon

• Yellow-backed duiker

• Yellow-footed rock-wallaby

Birds
• Abdim's stork

• American flamingo

• American white pelican

• Andean tinamou

• Australian wood duck

• Bali myna

• Bar-headed goose

• Black-and-white mannikin

• Black swan

• Black-necked aracari

• Black-necked swan

• Blue-billed teal

• Blue-bellied roller

• Blue-grey tanager

• Boat-billed heron

• Bruce's green pigeon

• Buff-crested bustard

• Chilean flamingo

• Chiloe wigeon

• Common goldeneye

• Congo peafowl

• Crested pigeon

• Crested screamer

• Crested wood partridge

• Crowned hornbill

• Curl-crested aracari

• Demoiselle crane

• Diamond dove

• Double-wattled cassowary

• Eastern screech owl

• Emerald starling

• Emu

• Fulvous whistling duck

• Germain's peacock-pheasant

• Golden-breasted starling

• Great blue turaco

• Greater flamingo

• Greater vasa parrot

• Green aracari

• Green oropendola

• Green-winged macaw

• Green-winged dove

• Grey-winged trumpeter

• Grey crowned crane

• Guam kingfisher

• Guianan toucanet

• Guira cuckoo

• Hadada ibis

• Hammerkop

• Hooded crane

• Hooded merganser

• Inca tern

• Lady Ross's turaco

• Laughing gull

• Laysan teal

• Madagascar teal

• Magpie goose

• Magpie shrike

• Malayan peacock pheasant

• Marabou stork

• Marbled teal

• Masked lapwing

• Metallic starling

• Mindanao bleeding-heart

• Military macaw

• Namaqua dove

• Nicobar pigeon

• Northern pintail

• Ostrich

• Palm cockatoo

• Peruvian thick-knee

• Pied crow

• Pied imperial pigeon

• Purplish jay

• Radjah shelduck

• Raggiana bird-of-paradise

• Rainbow lorikeet

• Red-and-yellow barbet

• Red-capped cardinal

• Red-crested finch

• Redhead duck

• Red-legged honeycreeper

• Red-legged seriema

• Ringed teal

• Rose-ringed parakeet

• Ruddy duck

• Sandhill crane

• Scarlet ibis

• Secretarybird

• Snowy-crowned robin-chat

• Speckled mousebird

• Speckled pigeon

• Straw-necked ibis

• Sulawesi ground dove

• Sunbittern

• Sun conure

• Superb starling

• Swan goose

• Taveta golden weaver

• Tawny frogmouth

• Victoria crowned pigeon

• Violet-backed starling

• Wattled crane

• West African crowned crane

• Western crowned pigeon

• White stork

• White-headed buffalo weaver

• Whooping crane

• Wreathed hornbill

• Yellow-breasted ground dove

• Zebra dove

Reptiles
• African mud turtle

• African rock python

• Aldabra giant tortoise

• Amazon tree boa

• American alligator

• Armstrong’s dusky rattlesnake

• Aruba island rattlesnake

• Ball python

• Banded alligator lizard

• Banded rock rattlesnake

• Black milk snake

• Black wood turtle

• Bull snake

• Caatinga lancehead

• Cagle's map turtle

• California kingsnake

• Chinese crocodile lizard

• Coahuilan box turtle

• Corn snake

• Cross-banded rattlesnake

• Cuban false chameleon

• Cuvier's dwarf caiman

• Dunn's hognose viper

• Durango mountain kingsnake

• Dwarf crocodile

• East African green mamba

• Eastern box turtle

• Emerald alligator lizard

• Eyelash palm-pitviper

• Fly River turtle

• Gharial

• Green tree python

• Grey-banded kingsnake

• Guatemalan palm viper

• Hamilton’s pond turtle

• Humantlan rattlesnake

• Indian flapshell turtle

• Jamaican boa

• King cobra

• Komodo dragon

• Mang Mountain viper

• Mexican alligator lizard

• Mexican beaded lizard

• Mexican lance-headed rattlesnake

• Mexican milksnake

• Mexican mud turtle

• Mexican pygmy rattlesnake

• New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake

• Nile crocodile

• Okinawa habu

• Red spitting cobra

• Red-eared slider

• Reticulated python

• Rhinoceros ratsnake

• Rhinoceros viper

• Rowley's palm-pitviper

• San Luis Potosi kingsnake

• Sheltopusik

• Spider tortoise

• Southern lined pine snake

• Southern alligator lizard

• Speckled palm pitviper

• Spiny-tailed monitor

• Standing's day gecko

• Tamaulipan flat rock lizard

• Tamaulipan rock rattlesnake

• Taylor’s cantil

• Texas river cooter

• Tomistoma

• Trans-Pecos ratsnake

• Veiled chameleon

• West African green mamba

• Western cottonmouth

• Western diamondback rattlesnake

• Western hognose snake

• Western painted turtle

• Yellow sided twist-necked turtle

• Yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle

Amphibians
• African bullfrog

• American bullfrog

• Axolotl

• Black-spotted newt

• Dyeing dart frog

• Emperor newt

• European fire salamander

• Giant marine toad

• Golden frog

• Golden mantella

• Green toad

• Australian green tree frog

• Green-and-black poison arrow frog

• Gulf Coast toad

• Japanese giant salamander

• Mexican burrowing frog

• Mexican dumpy frog

• Puerto Rican crested toad

• Red-eyed tree frog

• Red-spotted toad

• Rio Grande leopard frog

• Rio Grande siren

• Sierra Madre salamander

• Couch's spadefoot toad

• Texas toad

• Tiger salamander

• Vietnamese mossy frog

• White's tree frog

• Yellow-banded poison arrow frog

• Yellow-striped caecilian