Audubon Zoo
Entrance, 2010
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| Date opened | 1914 |
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| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Coordinates | 29°55′23″N 90°07′56″W / 29.9231°N 90.1322°WCoordinates: 29°55′23″N 90°07′56″W / 29.9231°N 90.1322°W |
| Land area | 58 acres (23 ha) |
| Number of animals | 2,000 |
| Memberships | AZA,WAZA |
| Major exhibits | Reptile Encounter, Swamp Exhibit |
| Website | audubonnatureinstitute |
The Audubon Zoo is a zoo located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Audubon Nature Institute which also manages the Aquarium of the Americas. The zoo covers 58 acres (23 ha) and is home to 2,000 animals. It is located in a section of Audubon Park in Uptown New Orleans, on the Mississippi River side of Magazine Street. The zoo and park are named in honor of artist and naturalist John James Audubon who lived in New Orleans starting in 1821.
Some of the exhibits include gorillas, orangutans, and the Louisiana swamp exhibit. It is also home to a rare white alligator with blue eyes. The zoo is open year round Tuesday through Sunday and Monday through Sunday in the spring and summer, except Mardi Gras, the First Friday in May, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
While there had been animal exhibits on and around this site for the World Cotton Centennial Exhibition 1884 World's Fair, the origins of the current zoo are found in the early 20th century. A flight cage has been in it since 1916. In the boom of the 1920s many additions were made; the sea lion pool with neo-classical columns from 1928 can still be seen today, as can a few art nouveau buildings later used as a reptile exhibit.
During the Great Depression a $400,000 expansion of the zoo was conducted by the Works Progress Administration. Many new cages were constructed, along with an artificial hill known as "Monkey Hill", built to show the children of flat New Orleans what a hill looks like. Local folklore calls Monkey Hill the highest point in New Orleans, although another artificial hill in City Park competes for that title.
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