I am going to New Orleans in the spring and am planning to visit the Audubon zoo. Are there any rarities or unique habitats that I should make a point of seeing at the zoo.
While not at the zoo per se, make sure not to miss the Audubon Insectarium downtown. Best insectarium I've ever seen and in close walking distance to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
I absolutely second making time for the Insectarium. It is my favorite of the public Audubon parks. It is such a unique facility and so well done. It is not particularly large; however, and can easily be combined with the Aquarium of the Americas, which is just down the street, if you have the time.The zoo, while not large, is in Uptown, which is quite far from the other two facilities. It will not take you a full day to see; however, there are a number of rarities, specifically within their Reptile House and Jaguar Jungle. There are some other rarities spread out around the rest of the zoo, barasingha in Asia, whooping cranes near the entrance, Angolan talapoin in World of Primates, etc. They have some (other) interesting birds in their collection as well; however, without much of a permanent bird exhibit other than the walk-through Audubon Aviary, I cannot guarantee which species you would see. Exhibit-wise, the cultural theming and educational elements of the Louisiana Swamp exhibit are definitely the highlights, even if some of the exhibits leave a little to be desired.
I would second the Louisiana Swamp is a highlight but would add the zoo's South American and reptile collections are notable too. The African lion habitat is the newest habitat and quite well done. Other improvements from the last few years include the Asian Domain renovation (including a new Asian elephant habitat and an interesting orangutan habitat in the footprint of the old elephant exhibit), CoolZoo (water play area) and Jaguar Jungle Phase II (nocturnal house.)
Not reported on here (to my knowledge) has been the closure of the Nocturnal House in Jaguar Jungle since last summer for unspecified renovations that were only supposed to last the summer but continued at least until this past December. Does anyone have any additional information on these renovations or the reason for the delay?
The nocturnal house reopened recently-- last week, I believe. There were some issues with the construction, which caused some animal welfare concerns as the exhibit was repeatedly serviced and aged. Those issues have been resolved, and I believe some of the exhibitry was updated as well. It has been awhile since I've been to the zoo, so I might visit soon and see what all has changed.
Highlights: Herp house: was very impressed, tomistoma, blue iguana, komodo and that's the outdoor displays, great herp collection all around Asia: second favorite, usual suspects with sun bears, bsrasingha and a great babirusa/asco mix LA swamp was excellent, but was more about drinking a local beer and having crawfish cakes, local vibe Tapoloin in primate area dont miss If you have the time Alexandria was more of highlight for rarities than Audubon
Nocturnal house did indeed just reopen last week and looks fantastic, 10x better than before! Audubon is my home zoo so if you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out!
Interesting! I wasn't aware of how extensive the renovations were actually going to be beyond fixing the aforementioned welfare issues. What all has changed? I will have to try and make it over there on my weekend.
So basically all the exhibits were completely stripped out and redone. Right now it's just the three mammal exhibits open; the tank side is still closed and vampire bats are still off display but I expect those to undergo similar transformations as well. All the exhibits now have awesome vine structures as well as a "archaeologist looking through ancient ruins" type vibe. The owl monkey/armadillo exhibit has a mulch substrate which makes things more dynamic for the armadillo and also the two-toed sloth that was formerly in the anteater exhibit (but off display for a while) has moved in. The fruit bat flyway is pretty sick and has an awesome mister/humidifier thing going on as well. The porcupine/ringtail exhibit is night and day different. It's not even remotely similar. The lighting looks better as well. To me it's easier to actually see the animals and they're all really active. I've been a few times since it reopened and I'm quite impressed.
Interesting! That's a lot more extensive than I had thought. It sounds like quite the improvement then, overall-- not that I didn't enjoy the building before. I will have to visit again soon!
I was there for the first time this past September. My top 3 species to not miss out on are the False Gharials, Maguari Storks, and the Barasingha Deer. The herd stag, whose name is Mac has huge antlers and is quite a large specimen! I’d also recommend going on a day that’s cooler if possible. I went on a 95 degree day and nearly got heatstroke (still had a fun day!)
Any pics of the development in terms of the flyway/vampire bats? (Not to pester or spam or anything, I'm just genuinely curious)
I tried to get some but they all came out blurry and terrible and I didn't notice until I left LOL. I'll try to get some more soon. Vampire bats aren't on exhibit yet though but the flyway looks great.
I am departing tomorrow at Philadelphia airport around 6:10. I will be stopping in Atlanta for a hour and a half. Then arriving in NOLA late at night. I’ll take some time to see New Orleans then arrive at my hotel. On Sunday i plan to take the bus tour at 10 am. Eat lunch which I'm looking forward to. Then see the aquarium and insectarium. I do nothing zoologically related on Monday seeing as all the institutions are closed. Go to the zoo on Tuesday leave by Wednesday.
Safe travels, and if you feel like writing reviews of the zoo, insectarium, and/or aquarium, we would be interested in reading them here.
Thank you. I plan to do reviews for all of them however there’s a lot i want to do in NOLA so it may take a while.
Awesome, safe travels! Audubon just switched over to their summer schedule actually so the facilities should be open on Monday!
Im just about to board my plane in Philadelphia . Going to stop in Atlanta before i board the flight to New Orleans.
