Baton Rouge Zoo, Baton Rouge

The Baton Rouge Zoo is located 15 minutes north of downtown. The zoo is owned and operated by the Recreation and Park Commission of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (BREC), and is home to over 800 animals from around the world. The zoo was first accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 1977 — the first zoo in Louisiana to be accredited. However, the zoo lost its accreditation in March 2018 due to infrastructure issues and animal escapes.

A local WAFB TV personality by the name of "Buckskin" Bill ended his popular children's program in the 1950s and 1960s by saying "Baton Rouge needs a zoo." He helped rally the Baton Rouge community into supporting the zoo not only in passing the millage election to fund it but also in running a penny drive that raised over 600,000 pennies to purchase the zoo's first two elephants, Penny and Penny Two. The zoo first opened to the public on Easter Sunday, 1970.

In 2013, the zoo shuttered its original elephant exhibit, which held a maximum of two elephants. In 2012, the AZA had announced that for a zoo to remain accredited, its elephant enclosures must support at least three elephants by 2016.

In 2018, the zoo sought to relocate from its long-time home in Greenwood Park in north Baton Rouge to Airline Highway Park, citing a need for additional space to modernize the zoo's enclosures and facilities; however, BREC commissioners rejected the proposal. Subsequently, the zoo lost its AZA accreditation.

In December 2018, the zoo announced a multi-phase, multi-million-dollar effort to update the zoo to regain its AZA accreditation. It is the first park-wide improvement plan for the zoo since its opening in 1970. As of August 2022, the first phase of improvements, including a new entry plaza, giraffe enclosure, and improved pygmy hippo, jaguars, bear, and bird exhibits, were scheduled to be complete in autumn 2023.

The zoo participates in more than 30 Species Survival Plans, including those for the eastern black rhinoceros, and golden lion tamarin which have been successfully reintroduced into the wild.

The zoo has education programs including outreach, reading programs, day camps, classes, teacher workshops, and demonstrations. Together these programs reach more than 45,000 children each year. The zoo also works with departments of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine when conducting research.