Jaguar Exhibit

Aug. 3rd, 2012.

This jaguar exhibit is not very large but it is still quite nicely done and sometimes small zoos can have surprisingly good exhibits. It reminds me of Happy Hollow Park Zoo in San Jose, California, as there is a tiny collection of animals there but also a decent jaguar habitat.

An excerpt from my 2012 review:

Hattiesburg Zoo is a minor attraction that takes about 45 minutes to see and by my estimate has exactly 20 animal exhibits. There is a train, carousel and fountain area for kids to splash around in and I suspect that some families might drag out a stay for a couple of hours. The future looks much better than the present as with the addition of all of the new exhibits a full loop that will incorporate North American, South American and Asian animals will be complete. With a host of other improvements around the zoo it seems as if the grounds are one big construction zone, but I truly hope that this tiny zoo can pull up its socks and gain AZA-accreditation as then it can participate in the SSP (Species Survival Plan) program and gain the respect of its peers. The goal is attainable but based on what I saw the zoo still has a lot of work to do in the near future.

@snowleopard This zoo recently announced that they will be building a giraffe exhibit, so it seems like they have advanced quite a bit from when you visited in 2012.

@DavidBrown It is exciting that Hattiesburg Zoo will add both giraffes and hyenas between late 2020/early 2021 and I pulled out my zoo map from my 2012 visit. Since then they've added a kid-friendly area (Mining Expedition and High Ropes Adventure Course) and what appears to be only two animal attractions in the 8 years since my visit. One is a flamingo pool, while the other is Wallaby Walkabout. Therefore the giraffes and hyenas will be welcome additions and the northern end of the zoo's grounds will remain almost entirely African animals.