The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens is located north of Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

 at the intersection of I-4

Interstate 4

Interstate 4 is a intrastate Highway located entirely within the state of Florida, United States. It goes from Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida to Interstate 95 at Daytona Beach, Florida . It also has the Florida Department of Transportation designation of State Road 400, but only a small...

 and Hwy 17-92 near the city of Sanford

Sanford, Florida

Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...

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The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...

 (AZA).

History

In 1923, the Central Florida Zoo (then called the Sanford Municipal Zoo) opened its gates for the first time with only a small collection of animals that were donated by the local fire department. For many years, starting in 1941, the zoo was relocated several times and finally settled down to its current location on July 4, 1975. The zoo is now home to over 400 animals, you visitors can take advantage of educational opportunities including keeper chats and animal encounters.

Animals

Mammals at the zoo include Amur leopard

Amur Leopard

The Amur leopard , also known as the Far Eastern leopard, Korean leopard, and Manchurian leopard is one of nine recognised subspecies of leopard. It is a wild feline predator native to the mountainous areas of the Russian Far East. It used to inhabit the forests of Korea and China, but it has...

, black-footed cat

Black-footed Cat

The black-footed cat is the smallest African cat, and is endemic in the south west arid zone of the southern African subregion. It is one of the lesser studied African carnivores, and has been listed as Vulnerable by IUCN since 2002....

, black-handed spider monkey

Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, also known as black-handed spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the...

, black howler monkey

Black Howler

The Black howler is a species of howler monkey, a large New World monkey, from northeast Argentina, east Bolivia, east and south Brazil and Paraguay. Together with the brown howler, it is the southernmost member of the Alouatta genus. Only the adult male is black; adult females and juveniles of...

, brown lemur, caracal

Caracal

The caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia, South Asia and Africa.The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". In North India and Pakistan, the caracal is locally known as syahgosh or shyahgosh, which is a Persian term...

, cheetah

Cheetah

The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...

, clouded leopard

Clouded Leopard

The clouded leopard is a felid found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as vulnerable in 2008 by IUCN...

, coati

Coati

Coatis, genera Nasua and Nasuella, also known as the Brazilian aardvark, Mexican tejón, hog-nosed coon, pizotes, crackoons and snookum bears, are members of the raccoon family . They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, and south-western North America...

, cottontop tamarin

Cottontop Tamarin

The cotton-top tamarin , also known as the Pinché tamarin, is a small New World monkey weighing less than 1 lb...

, goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

, Hoffmann's two-toed sloth

Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is a species of sloth from Central and South America. It is a solitary nocturnal and arboreal animal, found in mature and secondary rainforests and deciduous forests...

, llama

Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....

, lesser spot-nosed guenon

Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey

The lesser spot-nosed monkey, lesser spot-nosed guenon, lesser white-nosed guenon, or lesser white-nosed monkey is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, possibly Gambia, possibly Guinea-Bissau, and...

, prehensile-tailed porcupine

Prehensile-tailed porcupine

The prehensile-tailed porcupines or Coendous are a group of arboreal porcupine found in Central and South America. They are closely related to the other Neotropical tree porcupines and these three are sometimes treated as subgenera of Coendou instead of distinct genera.-Characteristics:Among the...

, puma, red ruffed lemur

Red Ruffed Lemur

The red ruffed lemur is one of two species in the genus Varecia, the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur . Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar and occurs only in the rainforests of Masoala, in the northeast of the island...

, siamang

Siamang

The siamang is a tailless, arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Malaysia, Thailand, and Sumatra. The largest of the lesser apes, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching 1 m in height, and weighing up to 14 kg...

, South African crested porcupine

Crested Porcupine

The crested porcupine is a species of rodent in the Hystricidae family.It is extant in mainland Italy, Sicily, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.-Physical Attributes:...

, zebu

Zebu

Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...

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Birds at the zoo include African Red-billed Hornbill

Red-billed Hornbill

Red-billed Hornbill is a relatively small species of hornbill found in savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa. It is sometimes split into five species, the Northern Red-billed Hornbill , Western Red-billed Hornbill , Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill , Southern Red-billed Hornbill Red-billed...

, Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

, Black-throated Magpie-Jay

Black-throated Magpie-jay

The Black-throated Magpie-Jay is a strikingly long-tailed jay of northwestern Mexico.-Description:This species is 58.5 to 76.5 cm long, more than half of which is the tail, and weight is 225-251 grams...

, Blue-bellied Roller

Blue-bellied Roller

The Blue-bellied Roller, Coracias cyanogaster is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across Africa in a narrow belt from Senegal to northeast Zaire. It is resident, apart from some local seasonal movements, in mature moist savannah dominated by Isoberlinia trees.The Blue-bellied...

, Green-winged Macaw

Red-and-green Macaw

The Red-and-green Macaw , also known as the Green-winged Macaw, is a large mostly-red macaw of the Ara genus.This is the largest of the Ara genus, widespread in the forests and woodlands of northern and central South America...

, King Vulture

King Vulture

The King Vulture is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, though some believe that William Bartram's Painted...

, Kookaburra

Kookaburra

Kookaburras are terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, and is onomatopoeic of its call...

, Panama Yellow-crowned Amazon

Panama Amazon

The Panama Amazon, also known as the Panama Yellow-headed Amazon, is a subspecies of the Yellow-crowned Amazon, and is endemic to Panama and northwest Colombia...

, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill

Silvery-cheeked Hornbill

The Silvery-cheeked Hornbill is a large bird at in length with a very large creamy casque on the beak. The female has a smaller casque and reddish skin around the eyes. The head is silver-grey and the rest of the plumage is iridescent black, except for the white rump, lower back, thighs, vent and...

, Tawny Frogmouth

Tawny Frogmouth

The Tawny Frogmouth is an Australian species of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often mistaken to be an owl...

, Wreathed Hornbill

Wreathed Hornbill

The Wreathed Hornbill , also known as the Bar-pouched Wreathed Hornbill, is a species of hornbill found in forests from far north-eastern India and Bhutan, east and south through mainland south-east Asia and the Greater Sundas, except Sulawesi. It is 75–100 cm long...

, Violaceous Turaco.

Reptiles at the zoo include Aldabra giant tortoise

Aldabra Giant Tortoise

The Aldabra giant tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world....

, Amazonian palm viper

Bothriopsis bilineata

Bothriopsis bilineata is a venomous pitviper species found in the Amazon region of South America. A pale green arboreal species that may reach a meter in length, it is an important cause of snakebite throughout the entire Amazon region...

, American alligator

American Alligator

The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...

, American crocodile

American Crocodile

The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives...

, Aruba Island rattlesnake

Crotalus durissus unicolor

Crotalus durissus unicolor is a venomous pitviper subspecies found only on the Caribbean island of Aruba, off the coast of Venezuela. Critically endangered, it is estimated that fewer than 230 adults survive in the wild. Sometimes still treated as a full species.-Description:Moderately sized, this...

, black-breasted leaf turtle, black caiman

Black Caiman

The black caiman is a crocodilian. It is a carnivorous reptile that lives along slow-moving rivers and lakes, in the seasonally flooded savannas of the Amazon basin, and in other freshwater habitats in South America. Once common, it was hunted to near extinction primarily for its commercially...

, dusky pygmy rattlesnake

Sistrurus miliarius barbouri

Sistrurus miliarius barbouri is a venomous pitviper subspecies found in the southeastern United States.-Description: Adults grow to between 35.5 and 76 cm in length . In a study that involved 103 males and 80 females, the average length was 53.5 cm. Snellings and Collins reported a specimen...

, Eastern green mamba

Eastern green mamba

The Eastern green mamba is a medium to large arboreal highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae.-Description:...

, Eastern coral snake

Micrurus fulvius

Micrurus fulvius is a venomous elapid snake that is found in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico. It should not be confused with the scarlet snake or scarlet kingsnake , which are harmless mimics...

, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

Crotalus adamanteus

Crotalus adamanteus is a venomous pit viper species found in the southeastern United States. It is the heaviest venomous snake in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake. It featured prominently in the American Revolution, specifically as the symbol of what many consider to be the first flag of...

, Eastern hognose, Egyptian cobra

Egyptian cobra

The Egyptian cobra is a species in the genus Naja found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest Naja species in Africa.- Description :...

, eyelash viper

Bothriechis schlegelii

The Eyelash Viper is a venomous pitviper species found in Central and South America. Small and arboreal, these snakes are characterized by their wide array of color variations, as well as the superciliary scales over the eyes. Often present in zoological exhibits. Named after the German...

, Florida cottonmouth, Florida pine snake

Pine Woods Snake

The pine woods snake is a secretive colubrid found in scattered locations across the Southeastern United States.- Description :...

, gila monster

Gila monster

The Gila monster is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora...

, Grand Cayman Island rock iguana, green tree python, jungle carpet python, king cobra

King Cobra

The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m . This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia...

, lance-headed rattlesnake

Crotalus polystictus

Crotalus polystictus is a venomous pitviper species found in central Mexico. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:Adults usually grow to 60-70 cm, although exceptionally large specimens may be as much as 100 cm in length....

, long-nosed viper, Madagascar tree boa, Neuwied's lancehead snake

Bothrops neuwiedi

Bothrops neuwiedi is a venomous pitviper species found in South America. This relatively small snake has a wide range and is a major source of snakebite in Argentina. It was named after German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied who made important collections in Brazil...

, New Caledonian giant gecko

Rhacodactylus leachianus

The New Caledonian Giant Gecko or Leach's Giant Gecko , is a large species of gecko first described by Georges Cuvier in 1829. It is often commonly referred to as a Leachie gecko . It is the largest of the Rhacodactylus geckos...

, New Guinea crocodile monitor

Varanus salvadorii

Varanus salvadorii is a monitor lizard found in New Guinea. It is also known by the common names Salvadori's monitor, Crocodile monitor, Papua monitor, and Artellia. The largest monitor lizard in New Guinea, it is believed to be one of the longest lizards in the world, reaching up to . It is the...

, prehensile-tailed skink

Solomon Islands skink

The Solomon Islands skink is an arboreal species of skink endemic to the Solomon Islands. It is the largest known extant species of skink...

, red rat snake

Corn Snake

The Corn Snake , or Red Rat Snake, is a North American species of Rat Snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. The name "Corn Snake" is a holdover from the days when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a wood frame or log building called a crib...

, red spitting cobra

Red Spitting Cobra

The Red Spitting Cobra , is a species of spitting cobra native to Africa. This species is one of several spittings cobra in Africa. Spitting cobras do not spit their venom...

, scarlet kingsnake

Scarlet Kingsnake

The Scarlet kingsnake is a species of kingsnake found in the southeastern and eastern portions of the United States. They are found in pine flatwoods hardwood hammocks, prairies, cultivated fields, and suburban areas...

, Southern copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix

Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake found in North America, a member of the Crotalinae subfamily. The more common name for the species is "copperhead". The behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans...

, tiger viper

Trimeresurus kanburiensis

Trimeresurus kanburiensis is a venomous pitviper species found in only a few areas in Thailand. An arboreal, but heavily built species with a brown or tawny coloration. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...

, timber rattlesnake

Crotalus horridus

Crotalus horridus, the timber rattlesnake, is a species of venomous pitviper found in the eastern United States. This is the only rattlesnake species in most of the populous northeastern United States. No subspecies are currently recognized....

, and West African mamba

Western green mamba

The Western green mamba , or also known as the West African green mamba or Hallowell's green mamba, is a long, thin and highly venomous arboreal snake of the family Elapidae.-Geographic range:...

.

Events

The zoo hosts several annual events, including ZOO Boo Bash, Breakfast with Santa, Fiesta del Coquí

Coquí

The Common Coquí or Coquí is a frog native to Puerto Rico belonging to the Eleutherodactylus genus of the Leptodactylidae family. The species is named for the loud sound the males make at night. This sound serves two purposes...

, Hippity Hop Adventure, and its annual Independence Day

Independence Day (United States)

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...

 and zoo birthday celebration, Red, White, and ZOO.

Conservation

The Central Florida Zoo had teamed up with The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a Florida government agency charged with managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, regulating Florida's fisheries and wildlife, and enforcing related laws...

's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC/FWRI) and the Florida Museum of Natural History

Florida Museum of Natural History

The Florida Museum of Natural History is the State of Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural history museum. Its main facilities are located on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida....

 to monitor the state's 68 species of amphibians and help save the 16 species considered to be at greatest risk due to habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and new wildlife diseases. The zoo also participates in 11 AZA Species Survival Plan

Species Survival Plan

The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild....

s (SSP), including those for the cheetah

Cheetah

The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...

, ruffed lemur

Ruffed lemur

The ruffed lemurs of the genus Varecia are strepsirrhine primates and the largest extant lemurs within the family Lemuridae. Like all living lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar...

, elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

, Aruba Island rattlesnake, gibbon

Gibbon

Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae . The family is divided into four genera based on their diploid chromosome number: Hylobates , Hoolock , Nomascus , and Symphalangus . The extinct Bunopithecus sericus is a gibbon or gibbon-like ape which, until recently, was thought to be closely related...

, black-footed cat

Black-footed Cat

The black-footed cat is the smallest African cat, and is endemic in the south west arid zone of the southern African subregion. It is one of the lesser studied African carnivores, and has been listed as Vulnerable by IUCN since 2002....

, guenon

Guenon

The guenons are the genus Cercopithecus of Old World monkeys. Not all the members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names, and because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that do include the word "guenon"...

, spider monkey

Spider monkey

Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil...

, cotton-top tamarin, rock iguana

Rock Iguana

Rock Iguana may refer to:* The Rock Iguana, Iggy Pop, American punk rock singer and occasional actor* Rock iguana any species of the Genus Cyclura, that are found in the West Indies...

, and clouded leopard

Clouded Leopard

The clouded leopard is a felid found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as vulnerable in 2008 by IUCN...

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