KENTUCKY — The Louisville Zoo is one of Kentucky's must-see tourism destinations to visit in the Commonwealth.
The zoo has undergone upgrades, the construction of new exhibits and other changes since opening in 1969.
Despite ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the Louisville Zoo has continued to press forward with its 2021 operations plan which includes adding new exhibits, new animals and making updates to its mask requirements policy.
“We're so pleased to be able to be here, and allow people in our community and beyond to be able to come and kind of escape the pandemic and everything that goes on with that. You can come out and spend two, three hours all day, and forget where you are for a little bit and experience other parts of the world, nature, I believe. That's a very important thing that we do here at the zoo, and we really want to encourage people to come out and have some fun, relax, and enjoy their time," said Steve Taylor, assistant director at the Louisville Zoo.
Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths have been added to the zoo this year. One-year-old male sloth Sebastian and 1.5-year-old female sloth Sunni are getting acclimated to their new surroundings. They're located in the South America zone near the Chilean flamingos.
A new polar bear, plus Finsbay the gray seal, are two of the new animals that can be seen at the zoo.
Glacier Run, Lorikeet Landing, South America, Africa Exhibit, Herpaquarium, Islands, Gorilla Forest and Wallaroo Walkabout are all of the exhibits you can tour at the zoo.
“People are enjoying the zoo with their families and enjoying being outside and breathing fresh air and just enjoying getting in touch with nature and building family memories with each other and learning about animals and the precious animals that we have,” said Louisville Zoo's Media Relations Manager Kye Shepherd.
Safety guidelines have been updated at the Louisville Zoo in response to the rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the community.
Louisville Zoo guests are now required to wear face masks inside all buildings at the facility.
The change is in accordance with recent safety guideline adjustments set by the Louisville Metro Government in light of the delta variant fueling a spike in cases.
The policy applies to all guests, regardless of vaccination, status to help the zoo stay open.
The zoo will provide hand sanitizer and disposable masks to help keep guests, staff and animals safe during visits.
High-touch areas will be disinfected frequently and all bathrooms will be open with step-and-pull or touchless access.
There will also be signs to remind guests to wear masks inside and to encourage social distancing.
For more information on Zoo times, ticket prices and more, click here.