Habitats:

The African Forest

Your adventure begins as you enter The African Forest, trekking down a path that emerges into a village trading outpost. You explore the small, round huts that surround a fire pit. As you wind your way into the forest, drums pound in the distance, and you find an indoor chimpanzee study site with a huge glass wall for observation. The chimps enjoy watching you as much as you study them. As you depart, you walk through a rocky tunnel, and a clearing suddenly emerges. You see white rhino relaxing in the sun while kudu stand nearby. As you walk further, your stomach rumbles, and luckily, there’s a restaurant just around the corner. As you eat, you observe elegant Masai giraffes, zebra, and ostriches.

Asian Elephant Habitat

Covering an enormous three acres, the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat is a fun, naturalistic place to live and enjoy for the zoo’s seven elephants. Watch young elephants Tupelo and Baylor splash around in their 80,000 gallon pool, while a shaded, 200-seat demonstration area is a great place to see keeper talks from our elephant care team. You can even see inside the 7,000 square foot elephant barn, where elephants are given daily baths (be sure to check the keeper chat schedule for times!). Since adult males and females live apart in the wild, you’ll see the same living arrangement here at the zoo: the females are in one yard with their calves, while our older male, Thai, and younger Tucker enjoy space to themselves.

Shoebill Stork Exhibit

African-native Shoebill Storks get some love from the Houston Zoo in a large, new aviary that opened in June 2010. Inside, the exhibit features a wading pool, a beautiful old oak tree and a more than 70-year-old faux concrete tree. Encased by stainless steel woven mesh, guests are afforded clear views of the animals from three sides of the stork’s exhibit space.