Utah's Hogle Zoo

Utah's Hogle Zoo (/ˈhoʊɡəl/) is a 42-acre (17 ha) Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) accredited facility. Located at the mouth of Salt Lake City's Emigration Canyon, Hogle Zoo is one of the largest zoos in the Intermountain West, and houses over 800 animals representing 139 species.
The zoo is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is supported through Salt Lake County's Zoo Arts and Parks Tax and private donations raised by the Utah Zoological Society and the zoo's board of directors.
The zoo has been at its present location at the mouth of Emigration Canyon since 1931 on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hogle. Its original location was in Salt Lake City's Liberty Park. In 1916, the zoo purchased Princess Alice, an elephant, from a traveling circus. She gave birth to Prince Utah, the first elephant born in Utah. He died after eleven months.
Hogle Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Only ten percent of the United States' zoos are accredited by the AZA. As part of the AZA, Hogle Zoo must abide by strict husbandry, education, and guest service requirements. The organization sets standards for exhibit designs that all new exhibits must adhere to. The association manages the majority of accredited zoo's collection through Taxon Advisory Groups. Animals are only moved to other AZA locations or through programs with European accredited facilities. Every four years, members of the AZA visit Utah's Hogle Zoo to ensure their expectations are being met. Hogle Zoo is currently accredited through September 2025.
Most of the animals at Hogle Zoo have a Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is run under the AZA and ensures genetic diversity among captive populations. The SSP pairs animals together for breeding based on their hereditary and gene pool. Most Species Survival Plans focus on threatened species or those at risk of extinction. Other animals in the zoo's collections are rescues from the wild (see Rocky Shores).
Utah's Hogle Zoo is also accredited by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The organization serves a similar function as the AZA but on a global scale with a purpose of wildlife conservation and the best practices for animal welfare.
On June 12, 1971, the Small Animal Building opened to guests. The $510,000 project was funded through a million-dollar bond issue from 1968 that also funded the now closed Giraffe House (1969) and Feline Building (1970). The building was designed by Bruce J. McDermott and Associates and construction was completed by Intermountain Construction Co. The Small Animal Building is shaped like a large triangle and is separated into four sections exhibiting small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish, and arachnids from different ecosystems.
The anchor of the exhibit is the walk-through Rainforest Zone. A rainforest environment is recreated through live plants and trees. The walls are made of lava rock from Idaho adding to the naturalistic feel of the habitat. A waterfall runs over the lava rock and empties into two wading pools. A 40-foot diameter plastic dome covers the Rainforest Zone allowing natural light in. Several bird species fly freely among the habitat including the critically endangered Edwards's pheasant as well as a flock of roseate spoonbill. In the fall of 2024, the Rainforest Zone underwent a major renovation funded by the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation. The project addressed major needs for the exhibit. More soil and substrate were added to support more plants and pocket planters were added onto the lava rock walls. A new misting and lighting systems were added to support the additional plants. Part of the public pathway was removed to allow more space for the Zoo’s Aldabra giant tortoises, radiated tortoises, and leopard tortoise. Other updates added improved keeper amenities including a catch cage for the free-flight birds.
The perimeter of the building is divided into three different zone: Desert Zone, Temperate Zone, and Tropics Zone. The highlight of the Desert Zone is a barless aviary designed to replicate the Sonoran Desert featuring pairs of mourning doves and northern cardinals as well as a Mojave Desert tortoise. In the Tropics Zone, a new habitat for the Zoo’s rock hyrax group is being renovated. The Temperate Zone is home to long-term residents of the Zoo, Bill and Hilary, a pair of Siamese crocodiles. Utah’s Hogle Zoo is one of only five facilities in the United States to house this critically endangered species.
Surrounding the Small Animal Building are summer yards for the exhibit’s tortoises and crocodiles as well as a hillside habitat for two sibling pairs of red fox.
The Great Apes exhibit opened in 1983. The exhibit, which cost $1,040,000, includes four indoor habitats for the apes during Utah's cold winter months as well as two outdoor yards. The exhibit currently features a breeding troop of western lowland gorillas and two groups of Bornean orangutans. The exhibit used to be home to a trio of chimpanzees.
Husani was brought to Hogle Zoo in 2010 to form a bachelor troop with Tino, another male who lost his longtime mate Muke the year prior to cancer. Husani was born at Bronx Zoo in 1991 and came to Utah from Birmingham Zoo. A year after Husani's arrival, the zoo also welcomed two females, JoRayK and her daughter Jabali from the Denver Zoo. They were brought to Hogle Zoo to start at family troop with Husani upon Tino's death. The zoo successfully housed the four gorillas in two troops until Tino's death in 2015. It was at that point when introductions began between Husani and the girls.
The Species Survival Plan closely monitors breeding among gorillas in accredited zoos. Breeding recommendations are not made until several factors are assessed by a specialist including exhibit factors, and troop behavior. Before a breeding recommendation was approved, JoRayK and Jabali were both put on birth control while they lived with Husani. After an assessment in 2019, Husani and Jabali were approved for a breeding recommendation. On July 6, 2020, Jabali gave birth to her daughter Georgia, the first birth for this pair and only the second gorilla born in the zoo's history. Pele was later paired with Husani in 2023, and gave birth to healthy male infant named Addo on May 30, 2024, the third gorilla born in the zoo's history.
In early 2022, JoRayK, the troop's matriarch died. Prior to her death, the SSP had already made a recommendation to transfer two more females to add to the zoo's troop. Later that summer, Mary and her daughter Pele moved to Utah from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to join Husani, Jabali, and Georgia. Introductions began that summer, resulting in Addo's birth two years later and all six gorillas currently live together.
Adjacent to the gorillas, are habitats for Bornean orangutans. The zoo is home to a breeding pair male Mia and female Kawan as well as orphaned siblings Acara and Tuah. The exhibit also housed a Sumatran orangutan hybrid named Talukan. Acara was born on Mother's Day in 2005. Acara was larger than most orangutans at birth. Her mother, Eve, was in labor far longer than the four to five hours normal for an orangutan birth. Therefore, specialists from the University of Utah Hospital were brought in to perform a C-section. Acara was delivered after a two hour operation but was not breathing properly. She was taken to the University Hospital where she spent the night in an incubator. When Acara was taken back to the zoo and given back to her mom, Eve did not recognize her baby. Acara had to be hand-reared while introductions with her mother slowly took place. It took 20 staff members and 12 volunteers to raise Acara 24/7 for over nine months until she was put back with Eve full time.
Elija, affectionately known as Eli, came to Hogle Zoo in 2004 as a mate for Eve, a recommendation made by the Species Survival Plan. Eli was the father of Acara, but had no role in raising her as is typical with wild orangutans. Eli had become a social media star for accurately picking the winner of the Super Bowl for seven consecutive years. His accomplishments garnered him recognition in Sports Illustrated magazine and on MSNBC. In 2011, Eli was diagnosed with breast cancer, a condition rarely seen in apes. He was only the third orangutan to be diagnosed with the cancer and the first male. A surgeon from Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute performed one of two operations that removed the original mass. Despite veterinarian staff monitoring his condition closely, Eli ultimately lost his fight to breast cancer on September 6, 2014. Eve was pregnant when her mate died. She gave birth to Tuah, a male, on November 4, 2014. Again Eve had complications at birth and needed a C-section. Like his sister, Tuah needed to be hand-raised. While Eve responded well to the surgery initially, her behavior quickly changed. Three and a half weeks later Eve had died. A necropsy found that Eve's death was not related to the childbirth, however, no cause of death was found. The necropsy did find several medical problems that zoo staff were unaware of. While Tuah was being hand-raised, keepers began training his older sister Acara to be his surrogate mother. While other adult female orangutans had successfully been surrogates to orphaned babies, an older sibling had never been recorded as being one. Through positive reinforcement, keepers trained Acara to hold a baby using a stuffed animal. Acara was still young and full of energy so it was important she learned how to be gentle. Tuah was introduced to his big sister when he was three months old. In March 2015, the two started living together full time. Tuah made his public debut on April 11, 2015, to the 9,000 guests in attendance who wore "I met Tuah" pins.
Acara and Tuah have lived together at Hogle Zoo ever since. Acara has proven as a successful surrogate in this first ever scenario. In fall of 2016, the siblings were introduced to adult male Mia who came to Hogle Zoo from the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina as a potential future mate for Acara when she is ultimately separated from Tuah. On June 8, 2021, the zoo received Kawan, a female from the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin. Her move was recommended by the Species Survival Plan as a mate for Mia. The zoo held Mia and Kawan separate from Acara and Tuah for years, but as of January 2025 Acara had since been paired with Mia, while Tuah is already paired with Kawan, and keepers hope that the orangutans would breed again soon, continuing Hogle Zoo's recent success with breeding orangutans as well as gorillas.
The first phase of the A. LaMar Farnsworth Primate Forest opened on August 1, 1996, when a new exhibit was created for the Zoo’s guereza group. The group of five individuals were brought to the Zoo in 1982 when an addition to the Primate Building was built specifically for them. The expansion, which replaced exhibits for flamingos and other exotic birds, included large, latticed, wrought iron geodesic domes. While the male guereza of the group came from the ABQ BioPark Zoo, the three females and one of their offspring were sourced from the wild in Kenya. The new 2,300 square-foot exhibit for the guereza group in Primate Forest incorporated water features and lush vegetation creating a naturalistic environment. This would become the new standard for the Zoo’s primate collection replacing the concrete Monkey Island from 1931.
The grand opening of Primate Forest occurred on June 28, 1997. The exhibit was named after the former zoo director, A. LaMar Farnsworth, who served as director for 33 of his 45 years at the Zoo. Primate Forest was the first of many exhibits constructed under then director Craig Dinsmore. The exhibit, which ultimately cost $400,000 to construct, provided three landscaped habitats for guereza, tufted capuchin, and spider monkey groups. The outdoor habitats are enclosed by a light, steel mesh which allows for unobstructed views of the animals. Unlike the Monkey Island exhibit, Primate Forest also features climate controlled indoor habitats that are viewable to guests during Utah’s winter months. The indoor habitats, three in total, are fixed with climbing structures for the arboreal primates and murals by Jameson Weston depicting rainforest scenes. Additional indoor habitats for primates were built in the Zoo’s Auditorium Building which ultimately was torn down in 2012 in anticipation of the new African Savanna exhibit.
Many species have called Primate Forest home since its opening. A group of Hanuman langurs were added shortly after the exhibit’s opening. The exhibit was also home to the Zoo’s successful breeding group of the critically endangered golden lion tamarin. In May 2010, Isaac, a male François' langur from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, arrived and took up residence with the Hanuman langurs. Isaac would ultimately be transferred to the San Francisco Zoo three years later. Finally, two elderly red-tailed guenons, male Phillip and female Jinx, called Primate Forest home until their deaths in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Today Primate Forest is home to five species that rotate among the exhibits two outdoor and three indoor habitats. The exhibit is still home to a guereza group which currently consists of seven members. Two species of spider monkeys share habitat space. Ebony is a female Colombian spider monkey while her companion, a male named Lemon, is a Nicaraguan spider monkey. Both Ebony and Lemon were former pets and have been living at Utah’s Hogle Zoo since the late 1970’s. Finally, black howler monkey Jackie and her offspring Eli share habitat space with a family group of Bolivian gray titis.
Originally opened as Elephant Encounter in 2005, the exhibit was rethemed after the Zoo ended its elephant program in 2023. Today High Desert Oasis features threatened species from extreme environments like the Gobi Desert and Namibia’s Great Escarpment. Four species rotate among the exhibit’s three guest-facing yards including Przewalski’s horse, Hartmann's mountain zebra, southern white rhinoceros, and Bactrian camel. The exhibit underwent minor changes to accommodate the new species including new shelters and the filling of the former elephant pool.
Remaining from Elephant Encounter were geriatric southern white rhino half-siblings Princess and George. In early 2024, George was diagnosed with rapidly advancing cancer in his rear left leg. In November of the same year, two more masses were discovered. After consultations among the Zoo’s veterinary team and both human and veterinary oncologists, no long-term treatment options were deemed available due to George’s age, size, and thick skin. He was ultimately euthanized on December 18, 2024, at the age of forty-eight.
At 45-years-old, Princess is considered a geriatric rhino and therefore receives specialized care. On July 1, 2024, zoo staff observed Princess displaying abnormal behaviors and symptoms which appeared to be neurological. It was believed that she had experienced a seizure. Princess experienced a second seizure in November 2024. To treat these seizures, Princess receives medication twice daily. To accommodate her arthritis, Princess voluntarily participates in laser therapy. Specialized rubberized flooring and tilled dirt in the outdoor yards also provide comfort. Additionally, Princess wears a specialized fly mask to combat her seasonal allergies. Princess may be seen sharing habitat space with the exhibit’s Hartmann’s mountain zebras.
High Desert Oasis provides critical holding space for non-breeding Przewalski’s horse and Hartmann’s mountain zebra males.
In order to free up space for continued breeding, the Species Survival Plan for the Hartmann’s mountain zebra had established a goal to add three bachelor specific holding spaces within Association of Zoos and Aquariums facilities by November 2024. Utah’s Hogle Zoo was identified as one of these institutions and maintains a bachelor herd of the species in High Desert Oasis in addition to a breeding herd in the African Savanna exhibit. Currently the Zoo’s bachelor herd consists of Scooby and his offspring Wallace.
On November 1, 2023, the Zoo received Dimitri and Mikhail, a pair of male Przewalski’s horse from the Minnesota Zoo. The Zoo received an additional pair of males, Ballstein and Nicolai on September 16, 2024, again from the Minnesota Zoo. By transferring these non-breeding males, the Minnesota Zoo has freed up space to continue their breeding of this once extinct in the wild species. High Desert Oasis’ Przewalski’s horse herd may be seen sharing their habitat space with a pair of Bactrian camels named Terri and Gumby. The male-female duo was brought to the Zoo from a private facility in Nevada in 2024.
Just months after the opening of Elephant Encounter in 2005, construction began on Asian Highlands, the second project funded by the 2003 $10.2 million bond. The exhibit sought to convert the dated indoor Feline Complex's barred concrete cages into lush outdoor habitats for cats from the colder regions of central Asia. The zoo's existing female Amur tiger and snow leopard would enjoy the new habitats as well as new additions to the zoo including a male Amur leopard, a male Amur tiger, a male snow leopard, a trio of Siberian lynx brothers, and eventually Pallas's cats. The exhibit opened on June 29, 2006.
Asian Highlands resembles a village in the Himalayas with five lush hillside exhibits of which the cats rotate between through a system of chutes. A large catwalk connects from the holding areas (the renovated existing Feline Complex) to the main habitat allowing the cats, usually reserved for tigers, to walk over guests. The central plaza, themed with prayer flags, includes Cat Wok Cafe and Grandma's House, an indoor interpretive area with a window into one of the habitats. Realistic rock work, plantings, and water features along with the geographic theming proved to be the exact upgrades the area needed.
In May 2015, four male Turkmenian markhor from Bronx Zoo took up residence in the rocky habitats above Asian Highlands that once held bighorn sheep and stone sheep, but later goats, sheep, llamas, and wild turkeys adding to the exhibit's diversity of mountain dwelling Asian species. Two Chinese goral would later join them but have since left the zoo's collection.
The success of Hogle Zoo's Asian Highlands solidified the facility as a zoo on the come up. The theming of the exhibit influenced other exhibits including San Diego Zoo's Asian Leopards exhibit in 2015, Denver Zoo's the Edge in 2017, and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium's Asian Highlands in 2019.
Hogle Zoo's success in its participation of Species Survival Plans is most noted in its prolific breeding at Asian Highlands. The first babies of Asian Highlands were born in 2009. Three male Amur tiger cubs were born on June 2, 2009, to mother Basha and father Kazek. Bronevik, Kiril, and Vikenti, as they were named, have since moved to other accredited facilities to participate in the program themselves. Kiril traveled the farthest, moving to Japan as part of the Global Species Management Plans.
The zoo's former snow leopard mated pair, Nema and Himesh produced two offspring. Nema first gave birth to male cub Himal on May 7, 2009. She had another male cub Chimeegui on April 16, 2012. Chimeegui resided in Asian Highlands from his birth until his passing in 2024, but not before fulfilling the recommendation to breed with current female Babs, where she subsequently gave birth to twins Pavlova and Bhutan on June 4, 2024. Two litters of Pallas's cats were born to parents Haru and Patenka in 2017 and 2018. The pair produced a total of nine kittens.
Possibly Hogle Zoo's most significant contribution to the Species Survival Plan is their breeding success with Amur leopards. The species is commonly considered the most endangered big cat in the world. Around 300 individuals are left in their native habitat of Far East Russia and northeast China. Around 200 exist in zoos globally. To help boost the gene pool of the American captive population, female Zeya was brought to Hogle Zoo in 2016 from a facility in Kent, England, to breed with the zoo's resident male Dmitri. Since 2017, the Amur leopard pair have produced four litters and a total of seven cubs, most recently Jordan and Chelsea on December 25, 2021.
These SSP programs are important for creating a surplus for these species who are at the brink of extinction.
To the delight of Utah's public, red pandas returned to Hogle Zoo on May 2, 2018, with the opening of the Janet Quinney Lawson Red Panda Exhibit. The species was absent from the park when construction began on Rocky Shores in 2010. A new exhibit for the charismatic creatures was constructed at the entrance of Asian Highlands. This was the first of two exhibits constructed under the directorship of Steve Burns.
On June 23, 2023, after an approximate 132-day pregnancy, the zoo's female red panda Priya gave birth to a cub. Priya arrived at Hogle Zoo in June 2022 on a breeding recommendation. She was paired with the zoo's resident male Mow Mow. This was the first red panda birth in the zoo's history. In November 2024, the Himalayan red pandas, most recently breeding male Mow Mow, were gradually relocated to other zoos in favor of Chinese red pandas, starting with a 1-year-old male cub named William from Lincoln Children's Zoo.
In 2007, Hogle Zoo officials announced plans to construct an Arctic themed exhibit as part of their newly unveiled master plan. The exhibit would replace the dated Bear Grotto from the 1950s and see the return of polar bears to Utah. The proposed exhibit planned to also see the return of snowy owls and seals as well as new species including Arctic fox. This plan eventually evolved into Rocky Shores, an exhibit showcasing the physical, cultural, and social landscape of the western shores of North America.
Funding for what would be the zoo's largest and most expensive exhibit was secured through a 2008 Salt Lake County bond of $33 million as well as a $3 million grant from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. Construction for Rocky Shores began in 2010, transforming a three-acre site at the northwest end of the zoo. After a two-year construction period, the $18 million Rocky Shores exhibit opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony with Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker on June 1, 2012.
Rocky Shores features wildlife from Pacific Northwest stretching from Oregon to Alaska. From the R. Harold Burton Otter Falls habitat, guests can view bald eagles and North American river otters. The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Tidewater Cove provides underwater views of California sea lions, harbor seals, and polar bears. A salmon cannery inspired tower overlooks Bear Meadows which is home to the zoo's grizzly bears. Underneath Rocky Shores are dozens of pumps that help filter the exhibit's 350,000 gallons of water.
On May 1, 2012, Rizzo, a female polar bear from the Cincinnati Zoo, arrived in anticipation of the Rocky Shores' opening. Rizzo was the first polar bear to be seen in Utah since 2003. Rizzo delighted guests and was famous for swimming up to the glass and back diving into her habitat's pool. After a week of end-of-life care, zoo officials made the decision to euthanize Rizzo on April 9, 2017. The 19-year-old had been suffering from renal failure.
On September 16, 2017, the zoo received Nora, a female from the Oregon Zoo in need of relocation. Nora achieved global fame after her mother Aurora abandoned her days after her birth on November 6, 2015, at the Columbus Zoo. In an effort to keep Nora alive, she was hand raised by her keepers and quickly grew popularity on social media as people from around the world watched Nora grow up. Nora was sent to the Oregon Zoo in 2016 in hopes that she would learn natural bear behaviors from the zoo's older female Tasul. When Tasul died that November, Nora was again left alone, and the Oregon Zoo saw an opportunity to relocate Nora while they created an improved polar bear exhibit. Thus, Nora was sent to Hogle Zoo where she could be introduced to a female of a similar age.
Hope, born a month after Nora at the Toledo Zoo, arrived at Hogle Zoo on September 20, 2017. Introductions between the young bears began shortly after their arrival, and the two became fast friends. They would often be seen rambunctiously playing in their home at Rocky Shores. Their antics got Nora into a bit of trouble when she broke her front leg in February 2019. A team consisting of specialists from Texas A&M, North Carolina State University, and the University of Utah performed surgery on Nora on February 4, 2019. Nora made a full recovery with the help of heavy-duty orthopedic hardware in her leg. By 2021, it was time for the two girls to embark on a new chapter of their lives. On January 29, 2021, Hope moved to the Brookfield Zoo on a breeding recommendation with the zoo's resident male Hudson. Nora's new habitat at the Oregon Zoo, Polar Passage, was ready for her. She arrived back in Portland on March 9, 2021, where she currently resides with her friend Amelia Gray.
On February 26, 2021, Nikita, a fourteen-year-old male polar bear, took up residence at Hogle Zoo. Standing at 10+1⁄2 feet tall, Nikita was the first male polar bear to call Rocky Shores home. Arriving from the North Carolina Zoo, Nikita's move to Utah was coordinated by the Polar Bear Species Survival Plan. His mate, Neva, a five-year-old from the Maryland Zoo, arrived on November 16, 2021. The two have been introduced to each other, and zoo officials are hopeful the pair will produce offspring continuing Hogle Zoo's long history with polar bear breeding.
Many of the animals that live in Rocky Shores were rescued from the wild and have now found permanent homes in Utah. In July 2010, three grizzly bear cubs were left orphaned after their mother killed a man and injured two others outside of Yellowstone National Park and was euthanized. The cubs were too young to survive on their own in the wild, so it was determined that they would live out the rest of their lives in captivity. The cubs, two females named Dolly and Lou Lou and a male named Koda, were first sent to Zoo Montana, then New York's Buffalo Zoo, before finding a forever home at Rocky Shores in 2012. Most, if not all, grizzly bears in AZA accredited facilities are rescues. They are not bred to ensure space for more rescues. Koda, Dolly, and Lou Lou play an important role at Hogle Zoo educating guests on how to safely interact with wildlife to ensure an event like theirs doesn't happen.
One of Hogle Zoo's male California sea lions, Maverick, is also a rescue. He was found abandoned on a beach in California at less than a year old. Maverick was rehabilitated at the Fort MacArthur Marine Mammal Center in San Pedro, California. Because of his young age and his sustained injuries, Maverick was not eligible for release back into the wild. Hogle Zoo has provided a permanent home for Maverick since his arrival on May 5, 2012.
Female bald eagle Marie and male Nemo were both found injured in Alaska. They were taken in by the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. Their injuries required slight amputations to their wings. Unable to fly, the pair had no chance of survival in the wild. Nemo arrived at Hogle Zoo in spring of 2016 where Marie would join him a couple of years later.
Rocky Shores has become a haven for rescued animals, giving them a place where they can lead natural lives and receive the specialized care they need. Since the exhibit's opening in 2012, Rocky Shores has been home to ten rescued animals.
In the fall of 2012, Hogle Zoo broke ground on an expansive 4.5 acre complex that would showcase animals from east Africa's grasslands. The project transformed the heart of the zoo which previously was home to the zoo's Discoveryland. The exhibit became the zoo's first mixed-species habitat showcasing several species together as they would be in the wild. Plans for the complex first started in 1999 under the directorship of Craig Dinsmore when he proposed an $80 million-plus renovation of the 42 acre zoo. Despite public support for an African Savanna habitat which would greatly increase the animal welfare of its animals, the zoo struggled to finance the exhibit. In 2007, Hogle Zoo lost a bid for $65 million in taxpayer money. The following year, the zoo was funded $33 million through a Salt Lake County general-obligation bond. This helped fund a new animal hospital (2009), the zoo's Rocky Shores exhibit (2012), and finally the $16 million African Savanna. The exhibit was completed in two phases beginning with Lion Hill which had a soft opening in May 2014. The exhibit officially debuted with the completion of the Grasslands on June 2, 2014. The exhibit is anchored by Twigga Terrace, a fifty-foot in diameter platform that looks out onto the habitat. Daily giraffe feeds are offered on the terrace during summer months where guests can come face-to-face with the tallest land animal. On June 6, 2019, the zoo debuted the James E. Hogle Jr. Meerkat Manor which added meerkats and Cape porcupines to the African Savanna. All habitats in the African Savanna are outlined by amazing views of the Rocky Mountains that surround the landscape.
Before the opening of Lion Hill, African lions had been absent from Hogle Zoo for a decade. The zoo's former lions were housed in the Feline Building, a series of grottoes and barred cages reminiscent of typical 1800s zoo designs. However, when lions returned to Hogle Zoo, their habitat was state-of-the-art.
Lion Hill features two grottoes with freshwater and a grassy hill topped with a large rock for the lions to bask in. Large glass walls allow guests to come nose-to-nose with the large big cats. Heated rock work allows the lions to be comfortable outside during Utah's cold winters. The naturalistic exhibit overlooks the adjacent Grasslands habitat, giving the lions ample enrichment opportunities. The habitat also features a training wall, allowing guests to view daily training demonstrations between keepers and the lions. Lion Hill debuted with four residents: Vulcan and Baron, brothers from the Montgomery Zoo, and sisters Seyla and Nobu from the Woodland Park Zoo. The four lions were slowly introduced to form what is now Hogle Zoo's current pride. These lions were brought together upon a recommendation by the African Lion Species Survival Plan, a program that works to ensure genetic diversity among North America's lion population within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In 2016, the pride became bigger when Nobu gave birth to males Brutus, Titus, and female Calliope on February 24. This litter was only the third time lion cubs had been born in the zoo's history. On May 16, 2016, the cubs made their public debut with their mother alongside their father Baron and fellow pride members Vulcan and Seyla. Brutus and Titus were moved to the Brookfield Zoo on March 17, 2020, as it is typical for male cubs to leave the pride after two years.
The Grasslands makes up the major footprint of the African Savanna consisting of three yards for hoof stock, and buildings for the animal's overnight housing. When the exhibit opened in 2014, a diversity of birds and ungulates from and eastern and southern Africa roamed together in the habitat. These species included giraffe, Hartmann's mountain zebra, lowland nyala, common ostrich, Egyptian goose, and helmeted guineafowl.
Three two-year-old male lowland nyala arrived at Hogle Zoo in April 2014 prior to the exhibit's opening. Unfortunately, one of them died less than a month after its arrival on May 13, 2014, possibly due to stress. The other two struggled to acclimate to the exhibit. This may possibly be due to the skittish and timid nature of the species. Hoping that adding another male would help the others feel comfortable, a fourth nyala arrived in September 2014. However, the nyala never acclimated and in September 2015 the three surviving males were sent to other zoos. The zoo's two elderly Egyptian geese died not too long after the exhibit's opening. The zoo has never replaced these two species.
Common warthogs were added to the Grasslands habitat with the addition of Meerkat Manor in 2019. In 2024, a female warthog named Tikiti arrived from the Dallas Zoo where she was born the year prior in hopes she would breed with resident boar, Swifty.
The zoo's giraffe herd was moved from their former giraffe yards at the west end of the zoo to the more spacious and naturalistic African Savanna habitat. In the winter, they enjoy a heated paddock near the train station. This allows guests to still view the African-dwelling species during the colder months. Since the opening of the African Savanna, four giraffe calves have been born including most recently Nguvu, a male, who was born on February 7, 2025. On September 23, 2024, the Zoo received a non-breeding male named Bakari from the Blank Park Zoo where he was born in 2022. The zoo's current herd includes females Stephanie, Minka, and Reyna, as well as males Ja-Raffe, Bakari, and Nguvu.
Hogle Zoo has seen great success with its herd of Hartmann's mountain zebra. The species is found in the mountainous steppe region of southwestern Africa. The herd has acclimated well to Utah's climate and can often been seen running through the snow during the winter. Since the exhibit's opening, a total of seven calves have been born at the zoo through the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra Species Survival Plan. These births are significant as the species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
Night quarters for the Grassland's guinea fowl and warthogs reside underneath Twigga Terrace.
This exhibit was added to the west end of the Grasslands habitat in 2019. It just so happened that the additions of meerkats and warthogs to the savanna coincided with Disney's 2019 remake of The Lion King. The exhibit was sponsored by and named after James E. Hogle Jr., a member of the zoo's board of directors for over forty years and part of the family who donated the land of which the zoo still stands on. Sadly, Hogle Jr. died in October 2020. Meerkats were his favorite animals saying at the opening of the exhibit, "They're terrific. They are like little people, they have their own little colonies and families, they are just fun to be around."
Meerkat Manor provided new outdoor and indoor spaces equipped with termite mounds for the zoo's meerkats who moved from the Small Animal Building. They share their space with two cape porcupines.
In mid-2022, Hogle Zoo announced that a Utah-themed exhibit would be opened to the public where the bison used to be. As of May 9, 2024, the Aline W. Skaggs Wild Utah exhibit is now the newest major development since 2014's African Savanna. The exhibit has transformed three acres of the zoo's east side which was previously only visible by the train. Featured in the exhibit will be Utah native species with the intent to educate Utah's public and tourists about the state's iconic wildlife. Making a triumphant return to the zoo are species like mountain lion, desert bighorn sheep, and wild burro. The exhibit also provides new expansive habitats for the zoo's current native animals including a rescued bobcat named Loki, black-billed magpie Popcorn (until his sudden death in June due to stress from unsuccessful acclimation in his multispecies habitat), North American porcupine Barton, as well as desert tortoises, burrowing owls, and common chuckwallas. Other new animals that made their debut in the exhibit are gray foxes and a striped skunk that rotate between three exhibits with the bobcat and North American porcupine as well as an American badger in a prairie habitat next to the playground, building and bighorns. These exhibits are connected by a chute that goes over the guest pathway.
The guest pathway of the new exhibit includes a boardwalk around Emigration Creek, a historic Utah waterway which runs through the zoo's campus. A nature trail will lead down to the water every summer where guests will experience and learn about Utah's riparian habitats. Animals that can be viewed at the nature trails can include birds such as the local wild population of black-billed magpies, American robins, Steller's jays, mallards and great horned owls, as well as fox squirrels and rock squirrels. Other features of the exhibit include an education "campground" as well as a pollinator garden which will attract native pollinators and bees. Hands-on experiences include a burro brushing station, Education Maker Space, and an overlook tower.
The Wild Utah exhibit is expected to cost $22 million, triple the cost of the initial construction bid. $7.5 million came from zoo operations, $5 million from private donations, and $1.5 million from state funding.
Construction began in late 2022, and the exhibit opened on May 9, 2024.
The expanse of the new Wild Utah exhibit provides an opportunity for a brand-new facility for the zoo's animal ambassadors. Original plans for this project started a couple of years prior for a new animal ambassador building on the zoo's South Rim. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted this plan. Now the building, which houses over 100 animals, was finalized for the Wild Utah exhibit. This new facility currently focuses on smaller Utah native species including brine shrimp, Triops, western fence lizard, wandering garter snake, northern flying squirrel, Phidippus audax, western screech owl, yellow-bellied marmots, common raven, Pituophis catenifer deserticola, Lampropeltis pyromelana, as well as the aforementioned burrowing owl, desert tortoise, and common chuckwalla. The first collared lizards in 20 years and first giant vinegaroons and giant desert hairy scorpions in 12 years also made their debuts there.
The facility also features the Utah Amphibian Conservation Room which will become the new home of the zoo's Boreal Toad Conservation Center. This project works to works to protect boreal toads, a subspecies of western toad, whose population has declined in the past 20 years due to habitat loss and fungal disease chytrid. The center is currently home to 20 toads that were collected from Utah's Paunsaugunt Plateau. Theses toads have been bred so that their disease-free offspring can be released back into the isolated population. Some of them can be viewed at their public flex habitats across from the ants and bees while a small multigenerational knot is rotated at the intended public, modernized terrarium across from the marmots, owl, and lizards.
The Education Animal Center will support Hogle Zoo's iSEE program which brings animal ambassadors to second grade children across Utah helping to educate 50,000 students yearly about their native Utah wildlife.
Hogle Zoo's train ride closed on September 26, 2022, in preparation for construction of a new and larger track which surrounds the Wild Utah exhibit, completed on May 9, 2024. From the train guests are able to see the pollinators, badger, bighorn sheep, mountain lion, and wild burro, as well as the zoo's African Savanna species. Incorporated into the track is the existing Moffat Tunnel, a guest favorite.
Before the attraction's closures from 2012 to 2014 for African Savanna and 2022 to 2024 for Wild Utah, respectively, the Zoofari Express was in service for about 53 years and provided rides to between 12 and 15 million guests, and is in service for years to come.
Other than supporting Hogle Zoo's iSEE program and Boreal Toad Conservation Center, the Wild Utah exhibit will allow the zoo to participate in several other conservation programs. The exhibit will provide space for orphaned mountain lions and bobcats who have been deemed un-releasable due to their young age at rescue. The exhibit will also allow the zoo to participate in the Desert Bighorn Sheep Species Survival Plan, a nationwide effort to increase the genetic diversity of the threatened species. The exhibit's wild burros will be a population of animals that were collected by the Utah Department of Natural Resources. These feral animals can cause problems in native ecosystems by spreading diseases and destroying native plants.
Oasis Plaza serves as a connecting hub in the center of the zoo. Four paths stemming from the plaza lead guests to all corners of the zoo. The zoo's Conservation Carousel beautifully decorates the plaza and is a popular attraction. The plaza's Oasis Cafe serves pizza, sandwiches, ice cream, and drinks.
The World of Wildlife Amphitheater is accessible from the plaza. The amphitheater which was once home to the popular World of Flight show, is now home to the zoo's Canine Champions for Conservation program.
Completed in 2016, Creekside offers fun learning opportunities for children. Programs with the zoos animal ambassadors occur at the Discovery Theater. These programs feature insects, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Creekside also features a playground and boardwalk that over looks Emigration Creek.
The zoo has had many famous animals in its collection since it opened in Liberty Park in 1911.
Princess Alice, a female Asian elephant, was the zoo's most famous and biggest attraction during the early 1900s. She came to the zoo, which at the time was located in Salt Lake City's Liberty Park, in 1916. Schoolchildren donated nickels and pennies to raise $3,250 to buy Princess Alice from a traveling circus called Sells-Floto Show Company. She was a big hit among Utahns. In 1917, a year after her arrival, the zoo built a building to house her in. Princess was the biggest draw for the small Salt Lake City zoo.
On April 29, 1918, Princess Alice gave birth to a male named Prince Utah. Utahans were thrilled with the news as he was the first elephant to be born in Utah. However, he died a year later on March 14, due to injuries he suffered after his mother rolled over him.
Utahans were upset after Princess Alice repeatedly broke free from her enclosure. This prompted the zoo to relocate. The Hogle family donated 42 acres of land at the mouth of Emigration Canyon in 1931. In July of that year, the zoo built its new elephant building with a safer and larger exhibit for Princess Alice. The building was dedicated to the children of Salt Lake City. The zoo opened later that year on August 1. On August 14, 1932, a relief carving of Princess Alice was unveiled. It was donated by J. R. Fox, a local Utah sculptor.
In 1947, Princess Alice went on a rampage throughout the zoo grounds. She ripped up concrete, fountains, and an elm tree. After a few hours, she calmly returned to her exhibit. In 1953, Princess Alice was euthanized after becoming ill at the approximate age of 69. Princess Alice is one of the most famous animals in the zoo's history. She played a vital role in Utah's history as well.
Shasta, who was born on May 6, 1948, was one of Hogle Zoo's most famous animals. She was the first liger born in America. Her mother was Daisey, a tiger, and her father was Huey, a lion. The two had been raised together, and that was why the zoo was able to breed them. Shasta weighed just over a pound at birth. However, her mother rejected her, and therefore she was hand raised. Shasta was a huge draw at the zoo. She was the reason for the zoo's success during the mid-1900s. Without her, Hogle Zoo might have gone out of business. Every year, the zoo held birthday parties for her. This drew in large crowds. After she died in 1972, she was sent to a taxidermist to be stuffed. Her body can now be seen at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at Brigham Young University. At 24 years, Shasta holds the world record for the longest-lived liger.
Gorgeous, a female western lowland gorilla, was one of the zoo's most famous animals. Gorgeous came to Hogle Zoo in 1985 from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. She was caught in the wild in 1949 when she was only an infant. Gorgeous was very popular among guests, as she constantly interacted with them. However, Gorgeous lived alone because she did not get along with other gorillas. Therefore, she never had any offspring. In 1990, Gorgeous became world-famous as she was the first gorilla ever to receive cataract surgery. Dr. Allan Crandall, an ophthalmologist at the University of Utah Medical School, performed the surgery and implanted a lens into Gorgeous's eye. Gorgeous died in 1999 at the age of 50 and was the oldest living female gorilla at the time. She died of age-related problems. A bronze bust of the beloved animal was made in her honor attached with a plaque in both English and braille which can still be seen near the outdoor ape exhibits today.
Dari lived to be the oldest living African elephant in the world. She lived to the age of 55 and died due to age-related problems. Dari was loved by guests and staff alike. She was known for her caring attitude toward the other elephants in her herd.
Daphne was the oldest living giraffe in the world. She came to Hogle Zoo in 1985 from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She had nine calves at the zoo. Daphne died at the age of 31, which is double the average lifespan for giraffes.
In 1997, Tino, a 450-pound male western lowland gorilla, attacked and bit Robert Pratt, the zoo's team leader for primates. Tino gained access to a room which Pratt was cleaning after a door was left open. Pratt was knocked down by the gorilla and suffered some bite wounds. Pratt returned to work soon after the incident.
In 1999, two zookeepers were attacked by three chimpanzees after a man failed to close the gate to their indoor enclosure. Two chimpanzees were shot and killed and a third was contained and was sent to a zoo in Kansas. Both zookeepers were severely injured. Chimpanzees were absent from the zoo's collection since.
In 2006, Maddi, an eight-year-old female grey wolf, leaped over an eight-foot fence and escaped from her enclosure. She was out of her enclosure for about an hour until zoo officials could secure her and bring her back into her enclosure. No one was hurt in the incident.
In 2011, four spider monkeys escaped from the outdoor enclosure. The four primates did not travel far and were coaxed back into their exhibit by zookeepers. No one was harmed in the situation.
In 2016, Zeya, a four-year-old Amur leopard, climbed through a six by six-inch opening at the top of her enclosure. The sixty-pound endangered cat rested on a beam just outside her enclosure and fell asleep. Zeya was tranquilized and put into a holding area in the zoo's hospital.
In 2021, an Indian peacock attacked four young guests throughout the zoo grounds. This resulted in a pushback leading zoo officials to reluctantly pause care for decades of housing free-roaming Indian peafowl after receiving complaints from the guests' parents about any disregard for safety and intervention. The remaining two peahens were briefly rotated between Primate Forest and South Pathway but were since relocated as well, resulting in the species' absence.
Conservation efforts at Hogle include a reduce, reuse, recycle program, water conservation, and earth-friendly biodegradable products. The zoo's efforts were recognized in 2005 by the Recycling Coalition of Utah, and it received the Thomas A. Martin Utah Recycler of the Year award for a non-profit business.
Following a June 2010 oil spill from an underground Chevron pipeline in Red Butte Creek, 150 to 200 birds, many of them Canada geese, came in contact with the oil and were taken to Hogle Zoo to be cleaned.
The Big Six Program is the Hogle Zoo's biggest conservation program. The program works with six organizations that are working with six endangered species. The big six animals that are a part of the program include the African lion, Bornean orangutan, polar bear, African elephant, radiated tortoise, and boreal toad.
In the 1960s concern grew for the dwindling population of America's symbol the bald eagle. The species was declared an endangered species in 1967 after DDT poisoning had decimated North America's population. Reintroduction efforts were needed to help bolster the remaining wild individuals. Sam and Betsy, Hogle Zoo's mated pair in the Woodland Edge exhibit had successfully produced fertile eggs in 1989, 1990, and 1991. All three of their chicks were determined good candidates for release as their genetics were not well represented in wild populations. The 1989 chick was released in Arkansas and the 1991 chick in Georgia. The chick from 1990 was unfortunately lost to predation from a red fox after its release. Without the banning of DDT in 1972 and reintroduction efforts made by organizations like Utah's Hogle Zoo, the bald eagle would have not recovered and been taken off the endangered species list in 2007.
The golden lion tamarin, a small New World monkey, has lost all but two to five percent of the species' original habitat in Brazil. The first population estimate in 1972, found between 400-500 golden lion tamarins left. From 1984 to 2001, an extensive effort to reintroduce the species to its native habitat took place involving 43 institutions in 8 countries. Utah's Hogle Zoo was involved in this effort. On April 29, 1993, Hogle Zoo sent Bagel, a male golden lion tamarin, to the Smithsonian's National Zoo's former Center for Biological Research for a quarantine period in preparation to be released into the wild. On February 4, 1994, Bagel was introduced into the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve in southeastern Brazil, one of three small areas left in the wild that are home to the critically endangered species.
On May 1, 1991, twin female black-and-white ruffed lemurs, a critically endangered species from Madagascar, were born in Hogle Zoo's former Primate Building. Born through a recommendation made by the Species Survival Plan, the twins were well-represented genetically in the North American population and therefore were considered good candidates for release into the wild. After seven years of being raised by their parents at Hogle Zoo, the two females began their journey to rewilding. On June 2, 1998, they arrived at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina where they joined four more lemurs that planned to be released to the wild. They spent around four months at the Duke Lemur Center where they had little contact with humans to help prepare for life in the wild. After completing the necessary training at the center, the twins, who had been named Dawn and Jupiter, were flown to the Betampona Reserve in the Atsinanana Region of Madagascar on October 27, 1998. After completing a standard quarantine, they were released alongside the four other lemurs into the natural reserve on November 25, 1998, helping to boost the critically endangered species' numbers.
The boreal toad is an endangered subspecies of western toad found in alpine wetlands of the western United States. The species has suffered a decline over the last twenty years due to habitat loss and a fatal fungal disease. Hogle Zoo opened their Boreal Toad Conservation Center in 2015. The center housed eggs from the subspecies that were collected from the wild. The plan was to raise the eggs to adulthood, breed them, then release their offspring into restored habitats. In August 2021, Hogle Zoo released 21 boreal toads onto the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah.
Monkey Island was the first exhibit to be constructed for Salt Lake City’s new zoo at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. Modeled after a similar exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo, the exhibit would focus on the Zoo’s new philosophy to be barless. Instead of displaying the Zoo’s primates in cages, the inhabitants of Monkey Island were contained via a moat. On the island, trees, climbing structures, and shelters were meant to engage the animals. Due to the moat freezing every winter, which would have allowed the primates an opportunity to escape, the animals were brough inside the Zoo’s Main Building until spring every year. Funded by local mining man, David Keith, construction on Monkey Island began in June 1931. A month later, the exhibit was complete and ready to display animals.
On July 25, 1931, sixteen rhesus macaques arrived from India and were immediately introduced to the Zoo’s existing six macaques. After combining the two groups, a fight broke out among the primates, resulting in four of the newcomers being badly injured. On August 4, 1931, two young rhesus macaques died from pneumonia after a male named Samson had repeatedly chassed the youngsters into the water of the moat. As a result, Samson was removed from the exhibit and placed in a separate cage. On February 19, 1932, a hybrid macaque was born on Monkey Island. The male’s mother, Susan, was a rhesus macaque while its father, Jocko, was a long-tailed macaque. This was the first birth to take place on Monkey Island and the first macaque born at the Zoo in fifteen years. The rhesus macaque group was quite successful in reproducing. By 1945, Monkey Island was home to 26 macaques including serval offspring.
The Zoo debuted an enlarged Monkey Island exhibit including a twenty-foot steel pole for the macaques to climb on in April 1943. In 1955, Monkey Island was without its rhesus macaque residents. The zoo was unable to source the species due to an embargo on the shipment of monkeys from India as well as the need for rhesus macaques in the production and testing of the Salk polio vaccine. Instead, fifteen long-tailed macaques took up residence on the island. The following year, a group of rhesus macaques were back. New winter quarters in the Main Building allowed them to be a permanent fixture of the Zoo’s collection. In 1960, after years without a male, the Zoo introduced a young male rhesus macaque to Monkey Island to breed with the exhibit’s eight females. He was attacked by the females and thus was kept separate from the group until he grew bigger and stronger.
Major work took place on Monkey Island, including the removal of the volcanic rock pile that formed the center of the island in 1961. Replacing it was a colorful stainless steel “playground.” The design of the new structures was done by Bruce J. McDermott & Associates. Other improvements to the exhibit included refurbished walls to prevent water leaks. The Zoo’s eight female rhesus macaques were introduced to the new Monkey Island on July 23, 1961.
In 1964, before they moved to the new Sea Lion Pool, three California sea lions, a male named Sammy and two females named Cutie and Jingles, were temporarily housed in Monkey Island. On May 28, 1964, four spider monkeys and five capuchin monkeys joined the sea lions. The new world monkeys replaced the rhesus macaques after the later were sold. On August 21, 1964, the sea lions were moved from Monkey Island to the new Sea Lion Pool. On October 12, 1964, the primates were moved to their winter quarters inside the Main Building. Subsequently three North American river otters were temporarily moved to Monkey Island until their new exhibit was ready in spring 1965. Before the primates were removed from the island for the winter, West African dwarf goats from the Children’s Zoo contact yard joined them in fall 1968. In 1969, six wooly monkeys were put on display at Monkey Island.
After sixty-five years of displaying animals, Monkey Island was demolished in 1996 when construction on Primate Forest began. The new exhibit offered modern amenities for the Zoo’s primates including naturalistic indoor and outdoor habitats.
In 2012, Hogle Zoo's northwest end was transformed into Rocky Shores, an exhibit dedicated to animals from North America's coastlines. This three-acre site was historically home to major exhibits like Bear Grotto, Penguin Cove, and the former African Savanna as well as several other animal habitats.
In 1957, the Zoo opened an exhibit for cougars. Large red cement rocks were made to mimic their natural habitat in southern Utah. The zoo's two cougars were orphaned brothers. Snow leopards were held in the exhibit while construction was being completed on Asian Highlands.
Bear Grotto opened in 1958. The exhibit, reminiscent of Carl Hagenbeck's designs of the late 1900s, was intended for the zoo's polar bears and Kodiak bears. The two habitats, each 40 by 60 feet, had 15 foot deep moats separating guests from the bears and extensive rockwork. Bear Grotto's first inhabitants were a male and female polar bear pair. The two were born in the wild in Canada's Northwest Territories. The polar bears moved to Hogle Zoo on March 28, 1957, in preparation for the exhibit's opening. The male and female cubs were named Klondike and Kate via a contest in which a seven year old boy won a trip to Disneyland with his parents.
Klondike died in 1978 and Kate died in 1985. The zoo was hopeful for cubs and brought in Bubba, a male from the Oregon Zoo in 1978 and Chinook in 1979 from the Memphis Zoo. The two proved to be a successful mated pair. Chinook welcomed her first cub, a female, on November 4, 1985. With Bubba, Chinook gave birth to a male in 1987, twins Aurora and Bubba in 1989, and a male Denali in 1993. Chinook's mate Bubba died on December 22, 1993, due to pancreatitis.
Due to Chinook's success as a mother, the zoo was looking to find a new mate for her. On June 23, 1995, the zoo welcomed Andy from the Buffalo Zoo where he had been born in 1989. The next year, Chinook gave birth to male twins Koluk and Kiska on November 19, 1996. Two years later she had another set of male twins named Alcor and Mizar. Chinook's last cub, a female named Anana, was born on December 12, 2000. It was decided to not allow Chinook to become pregnant again due to her age. Chinook was described as a protective defender and gentle, nurturing caregiver. The bear mother was euthanized on December 18, 2002, after keepers had been monitoring escalating health problems. Chinook was one of the most prolific polar bears in North American zoo history giving birth to a total of ten cubs. Currently she is survived by Denali who lives at the Sapparo Zoo in Japan and Kiska at the ABQ BioPark. However, many of her grandchildren still populate U.S. zoos.
In 2003, Andy died from an intestinal blockage after swallowing a glove that was thrown into his exhibit. The blockage caused a rupture in the intestinal wall, leading to leakage of intestinal contents and fatal blood poisoning. The zoo would not go on to bring polar bears back into their collection until the opening of Rocky Shores in 2012.
In July 2002, Dale, a female black bear, went on display in Bear Grotto. She was an orphan that was rescued from Minnesota. In 2003, Cubby, a male black bear, moved to Hogle Zoo from the Chahinkapa Zoo in North Dakota. Then in 2004, Tuff, a male black bear, came to live at Hogle Zoo. Tuff was born at a private breeder's farm in Missouri. He was then sold illegally. However, he was confiscated by officials and moved to a licensed facility. Tuff moved to Hogle Zoo shortly after. All of the black bears were moved to the Oregon Zoo because Hogle Zoo was going to start construction on their Rocky Shores exhibit.
In July 1962, construction of a mountain habitat was completed in between the Bear and Cougar Grottoes for aoudad, also known as Barbary sheep. The exhibit was originally home to five members of the sheep native to Northern Africa - one male and four females. They arrived via rail from Fresno, California, where they had been purchased for $50 each. The exhibit was home to a plethora of animals over the years before its demolition in 2010.
In 1974, Hogle Zoo received its first two stone sheep, a subspecies of Dall sheep found in Canada and popular in big game hunting. The pair, only a year old upon their arrival, were born at the Okanagan Game Farm where then zoo director LaMar Farnsworth had a connection. At the time of their display, Hogle Zoo was the only zoo in the United States to exhibit the subspecies. The herd, which began to grow in size through births and other acquisitions, took up residence in the Mountain Habitat. When the zoo's herd began to die off, the final member, an elderly male affectionately named "Stone Sheep", was moved to the desert bighorn sheep exhibit on South Rim. The Mountain Habitat then became a summer habitat for the zoo's Aldabra tortoises.
Chacoan peccaries were the last species to inhabit the exhibit before it was demolished for the construction of Rocky Shores in 2010. The four new peccaries made their debut in 2004 on the Fourth of July. The all male group consisted of Walker and Palito from the Saint Louis Zoo as well as Chili Pepper and Habanero from the Phoenix Zoo. The four males moved to the Woodland Edge exhibit in Discovery Land in 2010 before permanently leaving the zoo's collection in 2012 when construction began on the African Savanna.
In February 1968, work began on a new exhibit dedicated to animals from South America. The construction was completed by Ralph Kramer Construction Co. just west of the Sea Lion Pool. The project, which cost $18,000, also included a new exhibit for blackbuck that was carved out of the existing elk run and a refreshment stand. The South American exhibit included a building with two large rooms and three smaller rooms each with windows allowing guests to view the warm climate animals during Utah's winter. A large outdoor yard provided the animals with a mixed species habitat. Both indoor and outdoor spaces included pools for the animals to wade in. Animal residents included pairs of lowland tapirs, giant anteaters, capybaras, and jabirus as well as three rheas and almost two dozen parrots.
The exhibit's first residents were the pair of young giant anteaters who arrived at the Zoo on April 16, 1968. After being caught in the wild, the pair spent four months in Florida before being traded by the Zoo for a male jaguar. The following month a pair of lowland tapirs would join the anteaters. The tapir were successful breeders, welcoming two male calves on July 9, 1970 and October 6, 1971. On June 5, 1968, a pair of jabirus, a species of stork, joined the exhibit after being caught in the wild and purchased through an animal dealer in Miami, Florida. The jabirus joined the already present rheas and parrots. Last to join the South American exhibit were a pair of capybara, the world's largest species of rodent.
While on a book tour for her text The Chimpanzees of Gombe, famed anthropologist Jane Goodall made a stop at Utah's Hogle Zoo to dedicate the zoo's new African Savanna exhibit on April 29, 1986. Joining her for the ribbon cutting ceremony was Utah governor Norman H. Bangerter. In her remarks, Goodall commended the exhibit, noting her approval of the animals' ability to roam in an open space in social groupings. The exhibit was designed by architect Von M. White and construction was completed by Mark G. Garff Construction.
The African Savanna covered one acre of the northwest section of the Zoo, replacing chain-linked yards that once held many species including blackbuck, common eland, sitatunga, and wallaroo. The tiered exhibit featured three habitats for African ungulates and birds. Boma enclosures inspired fencing and a rondavel inspired indoor holding area added to the exhibit's authenticity. The $250,000 exhibit was funded through private donations and membership subscriptions.
The African Savanna was split into three habitats. The Lower Savanna habitat was built as a new exhibit for the Zoo's African antelope, including South Africa's springbok and Thomson's gazelle from East Africa. New species were also added to the collection in the new African Savanna including addra gazelle and waterbuck. Cuvier's gazelle were added in 2002, and the critically endangered addax was added to the exhibit in 2003. The Lower Savanna habitat was visible via an outlook that extended from the path towards the old Giraffe Building as well as an elevated walkway that provided a birds-eye-view of the habitat.
The Upper Savanna was a habitat for plains zebra originally, until 1998 when they were replaced with Grévy's zebra. A gully provided a natural barrier between the guests and the zebras. The pond of this habitat trickled down into a waterfall that extended into the Lower Savanna. A third habitat for smaller antelope was located adjacent to the Sea Lion Pool. This space was later used for red pandas in 2002. Egyptian geese and a flock of helmeted guineafowl had free range between the Lower and Upper Savannah habitats.
On November 9, 1998, Taji and Monty, two male Grévy's zebras arrived at Hogle Zoo from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. The two zebras occupied the Upper Savannah habitat. Their addition to the zoo's collection was significant, as it was the first time this endangered species had been exhibited in Utah.
On January 26, 2010, Taji was found dead in his barn. The following day, Monty was showing signs of distress. Later that day, it was determined that Monty needed to be humanely euthanized. For months, the zebras' deaths remained a mystery. Since it had snowed the week of their deaths, it was ruled out that any predators or humans had been involved. Both had experienced nosebleeds and blunt force trauma, possibly pointing to a fight between the two males. On March 17, 2010, the zoo announced that the zebras' necropsy had come back inconclusive. To do this day, Taji and Monty's deaths remain one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the Zoo's history.
After the zebras' death, ostriches made a return to the African Savanna with the addition of three males. They took up residence in the Upper Savannah habitat. When construction on Rocky Shores began in 2010, the ostriches moved to the former cheetah habitat just south of the Giraffe Building along with two Egyptian geese and an elderly springbok. The birds were ultimately moved to the Zoo's new African Savanna exhibit when it opened in 2014.
Hogle Zoo had a long history of exhibiting and breeding African penguins. In 1983, the first penguins arrived at Hogle Zoo. The four penguins were exhibited in a habitat outside of the Small Animal Building. On September 16, 1987, the zoo's first penguin chicks hatched. The same pair would go on to have three more chicks over the next three years. These chicks, however, did not live long and by the end of 1993, only one male from the colony was left.
On March 24, 1993, six African penguins, one male and five females, arrived at the zoo from the Maryland Zoo joining the zoo's lone male. This new colony would go on to produce 11 chicks from 1994 to 2007.
In 1996 the Sea Lion Pool, located in the northwest end of the zoo, was renovated to house the growing penguin colony. The Sea Lion Pool, originally built in 1964, was dedicated to former zoo director Gerald deBary who had died earlier that year from a fatal bite by a puff adder. The exhibit which was once home to harbor seals and California sea lions (albeit the former was later relocated towards the east end of the zoo in an exhibit with a viewing tank), was closed due to costly renovations required to meet standards for marine mammals. The exhibit needed a new filtration system which would have cost $500,000. Instead the exhibit was renovated and turned into Penguin Cove which opened to the public on October 24, 1996. The renovations, which cost $40,000, included a rocky coastline surrounding the existing pool, a nesting beach, and an indoor habitat.
African penguins lived at Penguin Cove until the fall of 2010 when construction began on Rocky Shores. The remaining penguins were relocated to other accredited facilities including Dallas World Aquarium, Little Rock Zoo, and Toronto Zoo. The zoo has not had penguins in their collection since and has no plans for their return.
On December 6, 2002, Sarah and Ethel, two female red pandas made their debut in a new exhibit near Penguin Cove. The two had arrived the October prior from the Erie Zoo. The outdoor exhibit featured large trees for the red pandas to climb and an indoor habitat for them during Utah's hot summer months.
Red pandas were absent from the Zoo after November 2010 when construction began on Rocky Shores. The species returned in 2018 with the opening of a new exhibit in Asian Highlands.
In 1966, the Zoo began construction on a new Ape House intended to display all members of the great ape family. Once completed, the $75,000 exhibit was home to the Zoo’s first three chimpanzees which were acquired through donated trading stamps. Also on display were four members of the gibbon family. Rounding out the great ape collection, the Zoo acquired its first ever gorillas and orangutans in 1967. By 1969, the Ape House was already home to six chimpanzees, three orangutans, three gibbons, and two gorillas. The exhibit was famous for its two geodesic domes that were added to the front of the building in 1982 for guereza and ring-tailed lemurs. The cages were made of welded iron rods and were paid for by a $25,000 donation. After being deemed no longer structurally sound, the building was demolished in 2014 and replaced by Creekside, an attraction geared towards children.
In early 1967, Dan Valentine urged the readers of his “Nothing Serious” column in the Salt Lake Tribune to donate their spare change to allow the Zoo to purchase a pair of gorillas. Thousands of donations came in, and in total almost $5,000 was raised. To purchase the more than $8,000 gorillas, the rest of the funds were provided by the Utah Zoological Society. The male and female pair of western lowland gorillas were captured in Cameroon by famed Dutch animal dealer Franciscus van den Brink. The pair originally flew to Paris, France on May 18, 1967, before spending some time in Soest, Netherlands. Their delay to Utah was due to the gorillas becoming sick, however, they eventually began their trip to America. On June 16, 1967, they travelled from Amsterdam to Frankfurt before arriving in San Francisco, California. Then Director, LaMar Farnsworth, met up with the gorillas in San Francisco and joined them on their flight to Salt Lake City on June 17th. On June 19th, a contest was started in the Salt Lake Tribune to name the gorillas which had only been referred to as “Him” and “Her” in both papers and at the Zoo. Children ages thirteen and under were allowed to submit their name suggestions. The gorillas would make their public debut in the Ape House on June 23, 1967. On July 15th, a month later, the gorillas officially received their names. Twenty-five entries had been submitted with the names Dan and Elaine paying homage to the man who spearheaded “Operation Gorilla” and his wife. The twenty-five youngsters who picked the names along with 250 other children who submitted derivatives of Dan, Elaine, or their last name Valentine all received a free, year-long membership to the Zoo. By summer 1968, over 500,000 visitors had come to the Ape House specifically to see the Zoo’s first gorillas. Dan died on July 3, 1975. Elaine, however, was not without a companion for long, as the Zoo acquired Dan II later that month from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Before he passed, Dan I successfully mated with Elaine, resulting in the Zoo's first gorilla birth on December 27, 1975. The female gorilla was named Danielle after her late father. Unfortunately, Danielle suffered from brain damage that occurred during Elaine's pregnancy. Danielle was hand-raised by LaMar Farnsworth, but when she was not progressing properly, the zoo director brought her to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in October 1976 for a diagnosis. She ultimately died in California on November 24, 1976.
Only three days after the gorillas made their public debut, the Zoo received its first Bornean orangutan, a male named Otis. Two months later Otis would be joined by another male named Jiggs and a female named Maggie. Both Jiggs and Maggie were sourced by the same Dutch animal dealer who had acquired the Zoo’s gorillas. In May 1971, a second female orangutan named Go-Go joined the others in the Ape House. Go-Go was a gift to the United States from the Indonesian government. On December 4, 1974, the Zoo welcomed its first-ever birth of an orangutan. The male was named Rango and was born to father Otis and mother Maggie. Maggie would go on to give birth to three more offspring with Jiggs. These births included another male named Pongo in 1981, and two females born in 1981 and 1984. Kayla, the female born in 1984, is still alive and currently resides at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio. Jiggs also fathered a male offspring in 1990 named J.J. with another mate named Vickie.
In 1984, the Zoo moved their gorillas and orangutans into the newly built Great Apes exhibit. The new exhibit allowed the animals access to naturalistic outdoor habitats for the first time. Subsequently, the Ape House was transitioned into the Primate Building.
Members of the gibbon family called the exhibit home from its opening until its closure in 2014. In 1969, a pair of young siamangs went on display in the exhibit. The same year, the Zoo received its first white-handed gibbons. Despite having several male-female pairs, the Zoo did not produce an offspring of the species until 2012. Male Riley and his mate Candy were paired together at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in 2009. After two stillbirths in 2010 and 2011, Candy finally gave birth to a male named Thai on August 14, 2012. Unfortunately, Candy experienced a prolapsed uterus after the birth. White she was being treated keepers noticed she did not have enough milk to feed the baby. At three-weeks-old, it was then decided that Thai would need to be hand raised. Thai was raised by zoo staff for four months until he was successfully reintroduced to his parents on December 11, 2012. The entire family moved to the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park in 2014, where they still can be seen today.
Both old world monkeys and new world monkeys were exhibited in the building. The Zoo added a breeding pair of Hamadryas baboons to the exhibit in 1970. Eleven members of the species were born in the Primate Building. The Zoo’s four remaining baboons were transferred to the Prospect Park Zoo in June of 1993. In December 1984, the Zoo received a sibling pair of mandrills from the ABQ BioPark Zoo. The exhibit would be home to three more mandrills until the species was ultimately phased out in 2011. In May 1983, the Zoo received a breeding group of five red-tailed monkeys. From 1984 until 1998, the group produced twelve offspring. In May 1990, the Zoo received a pair of De Brazza's monkeys. The exhibit was also home to the Zoo’s spider monkeys, black howler monkeys, and Bolivian gray titis before they were moved to Primate Forest.
Finally, the Primate Building was home to a diverse collection of lemurs. In 1972, the exhibit displayed a pair of ring-tailed lemurs named Sampson and Delilah from the Denver Zoo for the first time. The species was a staple of the Primate Building until its closure in 2014 when the last individuals, two males named Buddy and Keamey, were transferred to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. In 1985, the Zoo received both black-and-white ruffed lemurs as well as red ruffed lemurs. Both species were successfully bred at the Zoo with the former being part of a reintroduction program in Madagascar. Other species of lemurs that were housed in the Primate Building included mongoose lemur, crowned lemur, and white-headed lemur.
In 1969 the two-story Giraffe Building was constructed. The giraffe building was known as the up-and-down house and formerly housed antelopes and birds as well as giraffes, but it was not safe. In the early 1990s, two giraffes were euthanized after breaking legs on slippery floors. In 1994, the USDA cited the zoo because it failed to maintain the structure in good repair. The zoo was also cited in 1994 after failing to correct previously identified violations of peeling paint that could be ingested by the giraffes. In 2002, Sandile, a 7-year-old male reticulated giraffe, died after getting his neck stuck in a fence. In 2004, Ruth, a 26-year-old female reticulated giraffe, was euthanized after complications of a fractured leg. The zoo could not identify whether the broken leg was related to the building. Several giraffes died at Hogle Zoo, however, not all were building related. The zoo paid in all $50,000 to ensure that the Giraffe Building was USDA approved. After the African Savanna was opened in 2014, all of the zoo's giraffes were moved to a new state-of-art giraffe house. The old Giraffe Building was turned into the zoo's Maintenance Building, and it no longer houses animals.
In 1968, 4,750 Salt Lake City voters approved a $1 million bond for a major development project at Hogle Zoo. Then zoo director LaMar Farnsworth said that this was, "the greatest thing that has happened to the zoo". The bond would be used to help fund a transformation of the undeveloped southwest portion of the zoo. The first phase of the project included a new Feline Building, which would replace dated exhibits for the zoo's cat collection in the old Lion House.
The $340,000 Feline Building opened to guests on April 4, 1970. The exhibit consisted of five large concrete cages for big cats including Amur tiger, Bengal tiger, African lion, African leopard, snow leopard, and jaguar over the years. Large garage doors were open during the summer to let fresh air into the exhibit. The exhibit also featured two outdoor habitats for the lions and tigers. A series of smaller cages were home to an impressive collection of small cats including jaguarundi, ocelot, margay, Geoffrey's cat, clouded leopard, Asian golden cat, caracal, serval, sand cat, and African wildcat over the years. The most famous of the residents inside the Feline Building, however, was Shasta the liger who was born at the zoo in 1948. Shasta resided in the Feline Building for two years until her death in 1972. The Feline Building also included restrooms, educational displays, and a maternity cage for a mother cat and her offspring.
In 1995, the Feline Building began its first major renovation since its opening. The renovations, totaling $1,400 when completed in 1996, included fabricated trees, rock work, recirculating water, as well as murals depicting the species' natural habitats.
The Feline Building closed in 2005, when construction started on the Asian Highlands. The skeleton of the Feline Building was retained, and now serves as the indoor holding areas for the Asian Highlands residents. The sand cats and wildcats were relocated in the Small Animal building and the ocelot was relocated towards Discoveryland in 2005 and remained there until 2012 shortly before construction began on African Savanna.
After the deaths of lion Flip in 2003 and elderly lioness Abby in December 2006, nearly six months after the opening of Asian Highlands, lions were not in the zoo's collection again until the first phase of African Savanna was completed on May 2, 2014.
In 1973, zoo officials announced that Salt Lake County had pledged $130,000 for a new exhibit that would display the first hippos seen in Utah. A year later, the Hippo Building, or "Hippodrome", opened in 1974. The exhibit, which was designed by architect firm McDermott and Associates, included a 90 by 64 foot indoor building as well as a 90 by 40 foot outdoor habitat for both hippopotamus and pygmy hippopotamus. The construction, which cost a total of $235,000, consisted of six pools for the hippos, the largest of which was 30,000 gallons. A bridge connecting the north side of the zoo to the Hippo Building provided improved circulation for zoo guests.
On March 28, 1974, the first residents of the exhibits, pygmy hippo pair Cleo and Brutus, arrived from West Africa. The pair produced three calves while living in the Hippo Building including a male in 1982, another male in 1983, and finally, a female in 1984. Brutus died at Hogle Zoo on April 10, 1997, while Cleo was transferred to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo on a breeding recommendation on October 27, 2001. Cleo died two days later.
On June 9, 1974, Tuff-Enuff, a male river hippo who was later named Moe, arrived from the Calgary Zoo. His mate Henrietta, arrived a day later from the Denver Zoo. The pair had two unsuccessful births in 1978 and 1979. Both calves died the day of their birth. Henrietta died on February 15, 1980, at the zoo. Moe was transferred to the Albuquerque Biological Park on April 11, 2005, where he still resides. Moe moved to join two females on a breeding recommendation. Since moving to the ABQ BioPark, Moe has fathered three healthy calves, most recently a female in 2021.
The Hippo Building also provided additional exhibit space for the zoo's African penguins as well as summer exhibits for the zoo's crocodiles and alligators. Also on display, in the exhibit was the zoo's famous "Museum of Human Stupidity" which featured objects from guests that had been found in animal exhibits throughout the zoo.
The Hippo Building was replaced by the Conservation Carousel when Oasis Plaza opened in 2008.
In 1981, for the Hogle Zoo's fiftieth anniversary, the Animal Giants Complex was built. The exhibit was built to house the zoo's elephants, African elephants named Hy-Dari and Twiggy, Indian elephants Kali, Toni, and Toka, and the zoo's white rhinos, Princess and George. Naturalistic outdoor enclosures were not only built for the zoo's pachyderms but for ostriches and tortoises too. The Animal Giants Complex was renovated for Elephant Encounter which opened in 2005.
Asian elephants had not been at Hogle Zoo since Kali's death in March 8, 2004.
Central Zone was located in where the current Meerkat Manor and Lion Hill exhibits are today. Central Zone was once home to the zoo's original elephant house known as the Main Building which was dedicated on July 31, 1931. The Main Building was not only home to the zoo's elephants including the famous Princess Alice, but also provided winter housing for a majority of the Zoo's collection in its early years. On August 14, 1932, a relief of Princess Alice was unveiled on the front of the building which was donated by local sculptor J.R. Fox. In its lifetime, the Main Building underwent many renovations, starting in 1945, to accommodate better living conditions for animals. By the late 1970s, most animals in the Main Building had moved to new exhibits within the Zoo. It was then that the east side of the complex was renovated into an auditorium. As part of the Primate Forest exhibit, the west side of the building was reconfigured into two indoor exhibits for primates in the late 1990s.
Central Zone was also home to an exhibit for the Zoo's Bactrian camel herd. By the early 2000s, the Zoo had a successful breeding herd with at least one calf born every year. The Zoo phased out their camels in 2012 after Gobi, an arthritic male, was euthanized and his female companion Mabel was then sent to the San Diego Zoo. This allowed the Zoo to start construction on the African Savanna exhibit. Bactrian camels eventually returned to the Zoo's collection in 2024 when Elephant Encounter became High Desert Oasis.
The first phases of Discovery Land opened in 1988 featuring a newly planted forest, duck pond, and fort for children to play in. A couple months after its opening, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation granted Hogle Zoo $100,000 as a matching grant. Combined with $700,000 from the Utah Legislature, the zoo had enough resources to fund new phases for the Discovery Land project. The new exhibits, which would transform the eastern end of the zoo, would display animals in naturalistic settings. North American animals were to be displayed in habitats representing woodlands, wetlands, and deserts. Under the direction of zoo director LaMar Farnsworth, the exhibits would cater to the zoo's younger demographic and include a new playground. In 1990, Woodland Edge, Knoll and Burrow, and the Marsh were added to Discovery Land with Desert Canyon being added in 1992.
Woodland Edge was made up of four habitats that housed a series of raptors and cats over the years. Species exhibited in Woodland Edge included Canada lynx, bobcat, bald eagle, rough-legged hawk, and ferruginous hawk.
In order for construction on Rocky Shores to begin, some of the animals from the construction zone had to be moved to Discoveryland. The four exhibits in Woodland Edge were renovated into two larger habitats to accommodate the zoo's two mountain lions Kota and Echo as well as the zoo's four Chacoan peccaries. New exhibits were built for the bald eagles and bobcat who were occupying Woodland Edge on the zoo's South Rim.
Knoll and Burrow was completed alongside Woodland Edge. The two exhibits cost $275,000. The innovative exhibit resembled a cave on the American prairie. On the outside, visitors could see exhibits for common North American including a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs, yellow-bellied marmot, North American porcupine, striped skunk and rabbit.
The exhibits were also used to house more rare species. Utah's Hogle Zoo was the only facility to exhibit the rare Utah prairie dogs. In 1900 it was estimated that there were 95,000 Utah prairie dogs. In 2004, the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources estimated that there were only 4,022 Utah prairie dogs left. Their decline has been largely impacted by habitat loss. Hogle Zoo was working with government agencies in helping to preserve the endangered species.
In the early 2000s, Hogle Zoo participated in the Species Survival Plan for black-footed ferrets. The species was thought to be extinct until the discovery of a small population in northeast Wyoming in 1981. Biologists captured the last 18 known wild ferrets in 1986 to start a breeding program. Hogle Zoo served as a holding facility for ferrets that were non-breeding animals and for those that could not be released into the wild. A total of 10 black-footed ferrets called Knoll and Burrow home. Inside the cave were exhibits for a cacomistle, southern flying squirrel, and a colony of over 200 Seba's short-tailed bats. Terrariums in the cave held blind cave fish and giant hairy scorpion. Inside the cave, guests could look through plexiglass to get up-close views of the outside exhibits.
The Marsh Aviary, was phase four of Discovery Land. Guests could walk out onto a boardwalk over the pond. In the pond, the zoo kept a group of injured American white pelicans, a common gallinule, American wigeons, pintails, mandarin ducks, a great blue heron, a breeding pair of mute swans, a greylag goose, and a snow goose. Also in the pond were other North American duck species. Visitors could pay twenty-five cents to feed the birds.
Desert Canyon was the fifth and final phase of Discovery Land. Large red stone rocks were constructed of fabricated rock, lath and rebar over three concrete and block buildings. A concrete gun was used to build a reddish-color cement-like compound, which was then hand-troweled for the rock-like appearance. The construction of Desert Canyon cost $600,000.
As visitors entered the exhibit they followed a somewhat narrow path to two exhibits for small carnivores. Overtime many species were housed in these habitats including kit fox, ocelot, and white-nosed coati. Two Island foxes were also displayed here in the early 2000s which at the time were only exhibited at Hogle Zoo and the Santa Barbara Zoo. Next visitors saw a collection of smaller exhibits for animals including Merriam's kangaroo rat and an aquarium which housed native Utah fish species June sucker and Bonneville cutthroat trout (although by 2012, shortly before demolition for African Savanna, the native Utah Lake fish were since replaced with bluegills and black crappies). Desert Canyon featured a recreated Anasazi cliff dwelling which provided views to a small mesa for angora goat and Navajo sheep.
Other small glass exhibits featured an array of species over the exhibit's timeline including common collared lizard, Harris's antelope squirrel, white-tailed antelope squirrel, rock squirrel, nine-banded armadillo, southern three-banded armadillo, screech owl, long-eared owl, American kestrel, ring-necked pheasant, Bullock's oriole, and raven.
Desert Canyon also featured a building for the education department's animal ambassadors and a small amphitheater where animal programs were held.
Discovery Land closed in 2012 in anticipation of the new African Savanna. Before construction started, several of Discoveryland's animals were relocated to other areas of the park. An old angora goat and the Navajo sheep moved into the old desert bighorn sheep exhibit on South Rim. Tukut the bobcat and bald eagles Sam and Betsy moved to new exhibits on South Rim as well. The cacomistle and Seba's short-tailed bat's relocated to the Small Animal Building. Hogle Zoo would also pause continued care for the cougars, wolf spiders and gray foxes until 2024, when Discovery Land reopened under the new name Wild Utah as the definitive, public train-loop exhibit, complete with a new Woodland Edge where the plains bison habitat was.
The push for a new elephant habitat was issued by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' new 2001 guidelines for elephant care. While many AZA zoos opted to relocate their elephants, Hogle Zoo already had plans for a new facility. In 2003, Salt Lake County voters approved Proposition #1, a bond that allotted Hogle Zoo $10.2 million to redo the Zoo's elephant and feline exhibits. The following year, construction began on the $5.5 million Elephant Encounter, an exhibit that would increase the elephant's habitat by 400 percent. The exhibit opened in June 2005, completing the Zoo's largest major animal exhibit in 25 years. The new home featured three female African bush elephants Hi-Dari, Christie, and Misha, as well as southern white rhinoceros half-siblings Princess and George. The exhibit received great praise even from the president of AZA at the time, Bill Foster, noting, "Hogle Zoo is leading. They are ahead of the curve. (Hogle) Zoo will be known globally for the advancement that it's making now."
Elephant Encounter featured three natural outdoor exhibits. The first habitat was a large Serengeti inspired yard with a swimming channel that was 10.5 feet deep and held over 110,000 gallons of water. A second "working yard" allowed guests to see how zookeepers train and care for the large mammals. This habitat also featured overhead heaters and heated concrete floors to ensure the elephants were comfortable in winter months. Guests viewed this habitat from the African Lodge, a 2,600 square foot open-air African styled structure, constructed of wood and thatch materials. The Convergys Corporation pledged $200,000 to become the title sponsor of the structure. A kopje replica allowed guests to come face-to-face with the Zoo's rhinos in a third habitat.
Starting in 2006, attempts were made by a team of German veterinary scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin to artificially inseminate female elephant Christie. The team used samples from a male elephant named Jackson at the Pittsburgh Zoo. On the third attempt, Christie became pregnant. After a 22-month-long gestation, Christie gave birth to a healthy 251-pound female calf on August 10, 2009. The calf was named Zuri meaning "beautiful" in the Swahili language.
In 2020, the animal activist group In Defense of Animals added Hogle Zoo onto their list of "10 Worst Zoos for Elephants". The group called upon Utah's harsh winter climate and the Zoo's unnatural herd dynamics. With the deaths of Misha in 2008 and Hi-Dari in 2015, the Zoo's herd was down to just Christie and her daughter Zuri. Current AZA regulations mandate that herd sizes should be no less than three. In 2020, a Hogle Zoo spokesperson assured that the zoo is "working closely" with the AZA and Species Survival Plan "to increase the size of our herd, but that takes time. Our current master plan calls for a greater investment in elephants, with bigger barn, additional yards, and large walking paths. We are committed to the species."
In May 2023, Hogle Zoo officials announced a permanent end to their elephant program. After caring for elephants for over a century, the Zoo decided that the best plan for their elephants, Christie and Zuri, would be to relocate them to another accredited facility. The plan came after a comprehensive animal-driven evaluation that focused on giving the elephants the opportunity to live in a more behaviorally natural environment and have the chance to breed.
The Zoo's chief executive officer Doug Lund was quoted as saying,
"Utah's Hogle Zoo is progressing through an exciting and transformational planning process to help ensure we meet the changing needs of our community and the complex needs of animals in the Zoo's care. We have talked to many professionals, consultants, community members, and our staff as we carefully assessed what is best for all our animals, including elephants Christie and Zuri. The ultimate choice to move Christie and Zuri is to provide them both the best chance to have a calf in the important social dynamic of a multigenerational herd." In October 2023, Christie and Zuri were ultimately moved to the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium in Missouri where they were slowly introduced to a herd of seven elephants including six females and one male.
The exhibit has since been rethemed as High Desert Oasis featuring bachelor groups of Hartmann's mountain zebras and Przewalski's horses as well as a pair of Bactrian camels and longtime resident southern white rhinoceros, Princess.
Tropical Gardens was a 3,300 square-foot temperature-controlled greenhouse built in 1995 that housed several temporary exhibits at Hogle Zoo. The 40-by-80-foot glass enclosure was manufactured in New York. The exhibit replaced exhibits for otters and pheasants and ultimately cost $430,000. Tropical Gardens' first exhibit was Butterfly World which opened on June 10, 1995. The exhibit featured hundreds of butterflies representing 21 species.
In 1999, Jack, the Komodo dragon debuted in Tropical Gardens. On loan from Zoo Miami, Jack was over seven feet long and 150 pounds.
On June 19, 2000, Baringa and her son Bundaleer, two koalas on loan from the San Diego Zoo made their debut in a new exhibit Wonders from Down Under. The two koalas traveled from the Salt Lake City airport to the zoo in a limousine. The celebrity status didn't stop there for the koalas. Eucalyptus was flown in from Florida twice weekly to feed the animals while they were on exhibit through October 8, 2000. Wonders from Down Under also featured laughing kookaburras and stick insects.
Butterflies returned to Tropical Gardens in 2001.
Possibly the most popular exhibit in Tropical Gardens was Outback Adventure which ran in the summer months for three years from 2002 through 2004. The exhibit featured around 350 free-flight birds from Oceania including budgerigar, cockatiel, eastern rosella, Papuan eclectus, salmon-crested cockatoo, and zebra finch. The exhibit, which debuted on May 4, 2002, had a $1 entry fee. For an extra $1, guests could purchase a stick with food for the birds to come and feed from. Outback Adventure also featured blue-tongued skink, bearded dragon, and White's tree frog.
Butterflies returned in 2005 and 2006.
On May 5, 2007, the zoo debuted Ghost of the Bayou, an exhibit featuring Antoine, an all white alligator. The 9-foot and 220-pond alligator got his coloring from a genetic mutation called leucism. Antoine was one of 18 white alligators found in the wild in a nest outside of New Orleans in 1987. Because of their unique pigmentation, their chances of survival were low and were therefore taken to the Audubon Zoo where Antoine was on loan from. The rest of the exhibit featured other animals from America's wetlands including baby American alligators, cottonmouth, spotted salamander, and American bullfrog. The exhibit's popularity allowed it to return with Antoine in 2008.
2009 saw the opening of Madagascar! and the first time fossas, Madagascar's largest carnivore were seen in Utah. The exhibit featured two predators as well as lesser hedgehog tenrec, Madagascar tree boa, Madagascar hissing cockroach, and radiated tortoise.
The final exhibit to debut in Tropical Gardens was 2010s Nature's Nightmares featuring "scary" animals with important roles in their ecosystems. The stars of the exhibit were two king vultures. A colony of fifty free-flying straw-colored fruit bats from the Milwaukee County Zoo roosted above guests' heads. Terrariums held emperor scorpion Vietnamese centipede, dung beetle, Goliath bird-eating spider, leeches, and red-bellied piranha. Other species within the exhibit were Norway rat and striped skunk. The exhibit returned in 2011 when it was renamed Living Links.
From 1995 to 2011, Tropical Gardens was home to a number of some of the zoo's most popular exhibits and animals. The exhibit permanently closed in September 2011 when construction began on the Beastro, the zoo's main restaurant. Many of the temporary exhibits' supplementary animals stayed in the zoo's collection and were housed in the Small Animal Building including the colony of straw-colored fruit bats.
During the summer, a number of special temporary exhibitions have been hosted at Hogle Zoo. These attractions ranged from animatronic dinosaurs to conservation themed art.
Hogle Zoo has featured several animated dinosaur exhibitions. The two most recent being Zoorasic Park (2011) and Zoorasic Park 2 (2015).
In 2013, Creatures of Habitat featured 32 Lego sculptures by Sean Kenny depicting life-size animal scenes including Humboldt penguins, polar bears, and golden lion tamarins.
Fourteen animatronics depicting various supersized bug species were scattered around zoo grounds in Bugszilla during 2017. The exhibit worked to help destigmatize the creepy-crawlies and helped educate guests on the important roles insects play in ecosystems.
Angela Haseltine Pozzi's Washed Ashore came to Hogle Zoo when fifteen of her sea-life sculptures were displayed in 2019. Each sculpture is made of recycled plastic that was collected from United States shorelines. The artwork educates viewers on the importance of recycling and reducing plastic waste as well as the effect pollution has on marine life.
Every year during late winter, the zoo hosts the World of the Wild Art Show. This indoor exhibition shows animal-themed art by various artists.
In 1999, the zoo completed the planning of its first major Master Plan. The plan laid out the blueprints for the Main Entrance (1999), the Wildlife Theater (2004), Elephant Encounter (2005), Asian Highlands (2006), Oasis Plaza (2008), the Animal Hospital (2009), Rocky Shores (2012), the African Savanna (2014), and Creekside Playground (2016). These developments all occurred under zoo director Craig Dinsmore. In 2014, Hogle Zoo hired landscape and architecture firm CLR Design to develop upon the 1999 plan that would see the zoo through 2030. Dinsmore retired in 2017 after serving 20 years as director and CEO of Hogle Zoo. He left leaving behind him an amazing legacy by creating modern exhibits and improving animal welfare. Since 2017, the new zoo directors have steered away from the 2014 Master Plan. Steve Burns' (director 2017-2020) Red Panda Exhibit (2018) and Meerkat Manor (2019) were not a part of the 2014 Master Plan. The current zoo director's, Doug Lund, new Wild Utah exhibit, which is now completed in 2024, is also not a part of the 2014 plan.
In May 2023, it was announced that the zoo is currently developing a new master plan, one that focuses on the animal welfare of gorillas, polar bears, rhinos, and orangutans. While this plan is now outdated, below outlines the major projects identified in the 2014 Master Plan.
The Great Ape and Primate Forest expansion will be the biggest project Hogle Zoo still has to undertake. The project will modernize the exhibit space for the zoo's gorillas, orangutans, and smaller primates. As part of the plan, the zoo hopes to exhibit different species together. This would include allowing smaller primate species access to the great ape habitats. This idea of mixed-species exhibits will not only stimulate the animals, but it will give guests an idea of how these animals live in the wild. Primates and apes travel long distances in the wild. Therefore, another plan for the expansion is to have overhead chutes connect several exhibits to allow the animals to move to different exhibit spaces. This feature would give the animals choice as to where they would spend their days. The Great Ape and Primate Forest expansion will also allow better viewing opportunities for the guests.
The Diversity of Life and Education building is planed to replace the zoo's current EdZoocation Station and RendeZoo Room. The facility will not only function as exhibit space for the zoo's small animal collection, but as well as the new dedicated home for the zoo's education department.
The 2014 master plan calls for the demolition of the current Small Animal Building. In its place, a new building will be erected that will feature seasonal exhibits. The Beastro, the zoo's main restaurant, replaced the zoo's Tropical Gardens exhibit which featured seasonal exhibits from 1995 until 2011.
The Asian Highlands expansion will include minor renovations to the current Asian Highlands exhibit as well as construction on more exhibits above Asian Highlands. The construction will also include improvements to the South Pathway.