I’ve always been a little conflicted about zoos. I prefer to see wildlife in their natural habitat, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience quite a variety—marine life like whales, dolphins, and manatees, as well as river and creek critters like alligators, river otters, and turtles. On land, I’ve spotted tortoises, raccoons, foxes, bears, and moose. I’ve even heard coyotes howling at night.

But since most of my wildlife encounters have been here in the U.S., if I want to see more exotic animals… well, to the zoo I must go. And this winter, I headed out with a friend to a smaller zoo that focuses on wildlife preservation.

Find it: Google | Apple

Admission:
Adults 12-64: $36.95
Seniors 65 & over: $30.95
Children 3-11: $24.95
Under 3: Free
(Purchase online to save $2/ticket)

Open daily 9:30 am - 5 pm
(Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day)

The Brevard Zoo was founded by a group of local CEOs, business owners, and philanthropists led by Florida Today publisher Frank Vega. It all began with a land donation from A. Duda and Sons, followed by a $2.5 million loan from the County’s Development Council, along with additional fundraising efforts. In total, they secured $3.5 million—and recruited over 16,000 volunteers—to construct this truly community-built zoo.

It opened in March of 1994, featuring a native Florida forest exhibit that remains central to the experience today. Over time, they expanded with an Australasia exhibit in 1996 and Expedition Africa in 2003. In 2014, they opened the Sea Turtle Healing Center—the only sea turtle rehabilitation center in Brevard County.

When my friend and I visited, we were told the giraffes had “slept in” (which honestly felt very relatable), and their feeding time would be delayed. So we saved them for last and started our visit by heading counterclockwise through the zoo.

We began by petting some very friendly goats, then meandered through the rainforest exhibit, spotting monkeys, tamarins, snakes, birds, and even a coati. (If you’re not familiar, a coati is like a cross between an anteater and a lemur—and is actually closely related to the raccoon.)

Next up was the Wild Florida exhibit, which I enjoyed more than I expected. It was especially helpful to see American alligators right across from American crocodiles—you could really notice the differences. Alligators have a wide snout and live in freshwater environments like ponds, swamps, and rivers. Crocodiles have a narrower snout and can live in fresh, salt, or brackish water, like mangrove swamps.

This exhibit had a few surprises too—wild Black Vultures sharing space with Bald Eagles, and a wild Blue Heron nesting with its baby just above the alligators. Nature finds a way, even in a zoo setting.

Of course, it’s always fun to see wildlife from Australia and Africa—kangaroos, meerkats, lions, zebras, rhinoceroses, and my personal favorite, giraffes. If you’re hoping to see something specific, the zoo does a great job listing all their animals on their website.

We spent about three hours casually strolling through the exhibits. We visited midweek, and there were a couple of school groups there—it was actually kind of delightful to hear kids reacting with such pure excitement to everything around them.

If you’re looking for a bit more adventure, you can add on experiences like ziplining, climbing their aerial course, or even kayaking past the Expedition Africa section or the Wetlands in Wild Florida. It doesn’t cost too much more to add these on, but after watching from the boardwalk, I’m not entirely convinced it would be fun.

That said, if you have little ones, they might absolutely love the 10-minute Cape to Cairo Express train ride.

The zoo also offers a handful of 15–20 minute animal encounters for an additional fee—options include rhinos, sloths, okapi, tortoises, and even a gator encounter. Some are seasonal, and all depend on the weather.

My favorite types of encounters are the feeding ones—and Brevard Zoo does these well. You can feed giraffes, kangaroos, and lorikeets or cockatiels, and these tend to be some of the more affordable add-ons.

Their Sea Turtle Conservation program has been so successful that they’re now fundraising for a new aquarium on a 14-acre site in Port Canaveral. They plan to break ground by the end of April, with a target opening in 2028.

The aquarium will feature sea turtles, bull sharks, alligators, tarpon, stingrays, manatees, and other local species. Notably, it will not include dolphins or whales, instead focusing on rehabilitation space for sea turtles and manatees.

You may not realize that Brevard County’s beaches are one of the most important sea turtle nesting areas in the United States. It’s truly magical to watch turtles come ashore, lay their eggs, and return to the ocean—and even more incredible to see the hatchlings make their journey back to the sea.

Sea turtle season runs from March through October, and during that time it’s especially important to keep beaches dark at night. From what I’ve observed, most nesting happens between mid-June and late August, with hatchlings emerging about two months after the eggs have been laid.

In 2023 alone, there were 33,435 loggerhead nests, 37,927 green turtle nests, and 88 leatherback nests in Brevard County. Remarkably, only about 100 turtles needed rehabilitation, which speaks to the growing awareness and stewardship efforts led by organizations like the East Coast Zoological Foundation and other local groups.

At the Rossetter House, I learned about two sisters who played a significant role in shaping the local community. Now, seeing the collaborative effort behind the zoo—and the upcoming aquarium—it’s inspiring to see how businesses here continue to invest in making their community stronger.

This area was a wonderful choice for our winter home.

Next week, I’ll be sharing a visit to a world-class art museum in Vero, before taking you along on a tour of London—and then up the East Coast of the U.S.

There are so many adventures, both big and small, still to come. And as always, I’m so glad you’re along for the journey.

‘til next week, happy exploring!
Kathleen