The Virginia Zoo sits on 53 acres beside Lafayette Park in Norfolk, Virginia, tracing its roots back to 1900 when the city began assembling a small animal collection in the park. More than a century later, it has grown into an AZA-accredited zoo, home to over 700 animals representing more than 150 species from across the globe.
Visitors can wander through themed regions like the African-inspired Okavango Delta, home to giraffes, lions, cheetahs, and zebras, and the Asia-focused Trail of the Tiger, featuring Malayan tigers and orangutans. The zoo has continued to expand in recent years, adding a white rhino exhibit, a reptile house, and a nature discovery zone for younger visitors, drawing roughly 500,000 guests annually.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Norfolk, Virginia
- Opened: 1900
- Size: 53 acres
- Animal count: 700+ animals
- Species: 150+ species
- Annual visitors: About 500,000
- Famous for: AZA-accredited zoo since 1987
What to See
The zoo’s Okavango Delta exhibit, opened in 2002, recreates an African savanna landscape with giraffes, lions, cheetahs, and zebras, while the Trail of the Tiger area, opened in 2011, showcases Asian species such as Malayan tigers and orangutans. A North America section features bison, prairie dogs, and a rescued bald eagle, and the World of Reptiles and Friends building rounds out the collection with reptiles and amphibians.
In 2017, the zoo welcomed two white rhinoceroses transferred from the Singapore Zoo, giving it one of its most popular large-mammal exhibits. Newer additions like the Run Wild! Nature Discovery Zone and a Turtle Oasis exhibit have added more interactive, family-oriented spaces to the grounds.
History
Norfolk acquired the land that became the zoo in 1892, and the city began building an animal collection in Lafayette Park around 1900, with the collection growing past 200 animals within its first year. The facility was known as Lafayette Zoological Park starting in 1974 before being renamed Virginia Zoological Park in 1985, and it earned AZA accreditation in 1987.
Decades of phased expansion transformed a modest municipal animal park into the accredited, multi-region zoo visitors see today, including a temporary closure and reopening with modifications during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Explore more: Explore more Zoos & Aquariums.
Virginia Zoo FAQs
Where is the Virginia Zoo located?
The Virginia Zoo is in Norfolk, Virginia, adjacent to Lafayette Park.
How big is the Virginia Zoo?
The zoo covers about 53 acres and is home to more than 700 animals representing over 150 species.
When did the Virginia Zoo open?
The zoo traces its origins to 1900, when Norfolk began building an animal collection in Lafayette Park, and it has been AZA-accredited since 1987.
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Photo: Mytwocents at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.