Chattanooga Zoo

Chattanooga Zoo Creating meaningful connections between people & animals through education, conservation & engagement
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The mission of the Chattanooga Zoo is to engage and inspire our community to better understand and preserve wildlife by creating meaningful connections between people and animals. With our intimate, innovative exhibits, wide-ranging educational offerings and commitment to conservation, our vision is to be a top destination for residents and visitors alike and the pride of our community. https://ww

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Introducing Full Swing, a refreshing grapefruit lager in collaboration with Oddstory Brewing Company! You can purchase t...
06/03/2026

Introducing Full Swing, a refreshing grapefruit lager in collaboration with Oddstory Brewing Company! You can purchase this crisp beer at either Oddstory Central or Oddstory Greenhouse and a portion of all sales will go to the Zoo. Our chimps ape-solutely love seeing themselves on the cans! 🐵🍺

We are honored to be Oddstory’s nonprofit of the month! For all of June, you can round up your tab at Oddstory to donate the change to the Zoo.

Don’t forget to also swing into Oddstory Central on June 11th, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for a special Zoo-themed giveback night. Give back while you sit back to enjoy an evening of friendly critters, learn about conservation and education at the Zoo, and sip a refreshing pint. During the event, 10% of all sales go towards supporting the Zoo!

We’re giving away TWO FREE TICKETS to Ice Cream Safari! For a chance to win this giveaway you must like, comment, and sh...
06/01/2026

We’re giving away TWO FREE TICKETS to Ice Cream Safari!

For a chance to win this giveaway you must like, comment, and share this post to your feed! Plus, tag your friends in the comments for extra entries! The winner will be announced in a separate post a week from today.

Want to attend the sweetest event of the summer? Ice Cream Safari is June 13th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. where you can enjoy all-you-can-eat ice cream while exploring the Zoo and meeting special, behind-the-scenes animals!

Ice Cream Safari is likely to sell out so purchase your tickets online now at the link below: https://www.chattzoo.org/events/ice-cream-safari

05/29/2026

These ancient relics of the past are enjoying National Alligator Day. Alligators have been around for millions of years, earning them the nickname of "living dinosaurs."

Today, there are only two species of alligator, and both can be found here at the Zoo! Make sure to admire these swamp puppies — Murph (our American alligator) and Finn (our Chinese alligator) — the next time you visit the Zoo!

Get ready for a brain-freeze because Ice Cream Safari is coming up June 13th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Visit your favo...
05/25/2026

Get ready for a brain-freeze because Ice Cream Safari is coming up June 13th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Visit your favorite fuzzy friends for animal meet and greets, special ice cream-themed enrichment, and unlimited ice cream tastings from Ben & Jerry’s, Mayfield, Dippin’ Dots, and more!

The Zoo will close at 3:00 p.m. on June 13th before reopening for the event. Ice Cream Safari is ticketed separately from Zoo admission.

Ice Cream Safari tickets must be purchased in advance online at: https://www.chattzoo.org/events/ice-cream-safari

We, at Chattanooga Zoo, are deeply saddened by the passing of Pete Serodino. As a founding member of Friends of the Zoo,...
05/23/2026

We, at Chattanooga Zoo, are deeply saddened by the passing of Pete Serodino. As a founding member of Friends of the Zoo, Pete was a friend, mentor, guardian, teacher and supporter who guided the Zoo to become an AZA-accredited, world-class facility. Pete was an early believer in the Zoo's conservation impact and championed wildlife across the globe. Words cannot express the depth of what he meant to our Zoo family and the community at large. He was deeply loved and will be forever missed.

To honor Pete's legacy, memorial contributions may be made by selecting the drop-down "In Honor of Pete Serodino" at the link below: https://chattanoogazoo-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1282410

05/22/2026

Meet our Aldabra giant tortoises: Thor, Loki, Asgard, and Odin! This week we moved them from their winter habitat to their summer yard at the front of the Zoo.

Here you can see keepers using a technique called target training to guide the tortoises on where to move since soon they’ll be too big to fit into a cart! These enormous fellas are only about 100lbs now, but when they’re fully grown they can get up to 500lbs!

You can come see them now in our Cape of Africa section near the gift shop!

Thanks to soon-to-be Eagle Scout, Eva, our Forsten’s tortoises have a brand new exhibit! Eva says that in total 363 hour...
05/21/2026

Thanks to soon-to-be Eagle Scout, Eva, our Forsten’s tortoises have a brand new exhibit!

Eva says that in total 363 hours went into designing and constructing this new exhibit for her community service leadership project to advance her scout rank, but she didn’t have to do it alone. Eva recruited friends and other Scouting America members to lend a hand as they sourced, dried, and processed bamboo to use for fencing, tediously hand-painted a beautiful mural, measured exhibit space, and even designed and built four shade structure huts for the tortoises.

Each step of exhibit construction was conducted with the utmost care and intentionality. Eva learned many new skills and what materials would be safe and suitable for the tortoises. She even did extensive research on the cultural background and habitats of the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera where Forsten’s tortoises are native to. Each hut in the exhibit space was designed to be unique and reflect a different architectural style of traditional Indonesian buildings.

On May 19th, the Zoo held a ribbon cutting ceremony for Eva and her friends and the tortoises were introduced to their new habitat for the first time. You can stop by and admire Eva’s hard work and these awesome tortoises the next time you visit the Zoo!

It is with immense grief that we announce the passing of two beloved animals: Kgalagadi (Gadi for short) the meerkat and...
05/20/2026

It is with immense grief that we announce the passing of two beloved animals: Kgalagadi (Gadi for short) the meerkat and Avi the red panda. Both Avi and Gadi were born here and spent their whole lives with us in Chattanooga.

Gadi, who was 6, was known for being an energetic and curious meerkat who loved to “pop” up and investigate his enrichment, keepers, and participating with guests during encounters. “Gadi was the most outgoing and social meerkat of the mob. He had the biggest personality. He always had to know what you were doing.” – Keeper Allison

After nearly a decade at the Zoo, Avi’s sweet and social demeanor made him a community favorite and an icon of Chattanooga Zoo. He loved snacking on grapes, meeting guests during encounters, and snoozing in his hammock. Avi’s legacy lives on in his son, Pilatus, who is housed at Beardsley Zoo in Ct.

As well as honoring their lives, we’d like to take an opportunity to reflect on the process of caring for animals with chronic illnesses. Like humans, animals might get chronic conditions from birth or as they age. Gadi passed because of dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that was likely genetic as he shared it with his father, siblings, and 30% of all meerkats. Avi passed suddenly as a symptom of Peracute Red Panda Mortality Syndrome, an adrenal gland abnormality similar to Addison’s disease. After a diagnosis, end-of-life care for Avi, Gadi, and any other animal with chronic conditions at the Zoo involves more frequent check-ups by vet staff, medication, and making life as easy and comfortable as possible (plus maybe some extra treats for good measure).

Although we care for animals through every stage of their lifecycle, including through chronic illness, saying goodbye never gets easier. Please feel free to share your favorite photos or memories with Gadi and Avi in the comments below to help us honor their lives. To learn more about how Zoo staff care for animals with chronic conditions, check out the link to our blog post below: https://www.chattzoo.org/blog/chronic-conditions

Spirits in the Wild is SOLD OUT! We're pumped for tomorrow's 21+, after-hours party 🥳🥳🥳Friendly reminder that the Zoo cl...
05/15/2026

Spirits in the Wild is SOLD OUT! We're pumped for tomorrow's 21+, after-hours party 🥳🥳🥳

Friendly reminder that the Zoo closes at 4 p.m. tomorrow (May 16) to prepare for the event.

Didn't get tickets in time? Make sure to save these special event dates:
🍺Q 'n Brew - a family-friendly cookout with lots of beer, BBQ and bluegrass is July 11
🎃 Frights & Pints - our 21+ Halloween party is October 30

Check out all our upcoming special events here: https://www.chattzoo.org/events/zooevents

Address

301 N Holtzclaw Avenue
Chattanooga, TN
37404

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 3:30pm
Saturday 9am - 3:30pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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