Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
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| Date opened | May 12, 1914 |
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| Location | 370 Zoo Parkway, Jacksonville, Florida, 32218,  United States
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| Coordinates | 30°24′14.67″N 81°38′36.04″W / 30.4040750°N 81.6433444°WCoordinates: 30°24′14.67″N 81°38′36.04″W / 30.4040750°N 81.6433444°W |
| Land area | 117 acres (47 ha) |
| No. of animals | 2,400 |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Website | www |
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, located in Jacksonville, Florida, sits at the mouth of the Trout River. The zoo occupies approximately 117 acres (47 ha) and has over 2,000 animals and 1,000 plants in its collection. The zoo has grown from its modest beginnings in Springfield to be considered one of the city's premiere attractions, with more than 1,000,000 visitors in the last year.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' marquee attractions are the Range of the Jaguar, which won the 2005 AZA Exhibit of the year award and the Land of the Tiger, which opened in 2014 and features an innovative walk-through trail system for the two Sumatran and three Malayan tigers. Also included in the Land of the Tiger are wreathed and wrinkled hornbills, Visayan warty pigs, babirusa pigs, and Asian small-clawed otters. The zoo's other exhibits include the Plains of East Africa, highlighting African savanna animals; Great Apes of the World, featuring two of the four great apes among other primates; the Australian Outback, including lorikeets, cassowarys, and kangaroos; and Wild Florida, which features animals native to the state.
The zoo is active in animal conservation, participating in more than 50 national and international conservation initiatives and more than 95 Species Survival Plans. In 2004, the zoo reached an agreement with the nation of Guyana to help promote conservation in that country, particularly the Iwokrama Rainforest. Additionally, since 1999 the zoo has been home to a large breeding colony of wild wood storks.
The Municipal Zoo opened in the Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida on May 12, 1914. The first animal on exhibit was a red deer fawn.
On July 19, 1925, the zoo moved to a 37.5-acre (152,000 m2) site on the Trout River off Heckscher Drive in North Jacksonville.
Perhaps the most significant animal in the zoo's history was a jaguar named "Zorro." Zorro was a male, wild-born black (melanistic) jaguar that arrived at the zoo in August 1967. At that time, black jaguars were very rare in captivity. During Zorro's 19 years at the zoo (he died in September, 1986), he fathered numerous cubs that were sent to other zoos across North America. In the spring of 2003, the Jax Zoo investigated and could not find a current North American captive-born black jaguar that was not a descendant of Zorro.
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