Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Columbus Zoo and Aquarium News 2025

The zoo has announced that a Damas Gazelle was born on Dec 19th

Our dama gazelle herd entered the new year one calf bigger!

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is excited to announce that our Heart of Africa region welcomed an adorable baby girl on Thursday, December 19 – the perfect early Christmas present! The proud mother is Kix, the father is Kabili, and the new baby has already won over the hearts of her keepers and her great-grandma, Layla.

With two slender-horned gazelle calves born in October and November, we're super excited to have one more baby gazelle that guests can look forward to seeing out on the savanna in the spring! But until then, here’s some photos of the sweet calf. ❤️
 
On January 7th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (0.1) Pallas' cat to the Hogle Zoo in Utah.

12K views · 474 reactions | Something fluffy this way comes... We are so excited to welcome 2-year-old female Pallas’ cat, Kaarina, to Utah’s Hogle Zoo! Kaarina’s move from... | By Utah's Hogle Zoo | Facebook

On January 9th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) Pallas' cat named Moose passed away at age 5 due to unknown causes, though a necropsy is pending.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Was he the one who lived alone in the old Reticulated Python/Monitor exhibit?
 
From Facebook - The zoo is closed Monday and Tuesday due to the extreme cold.

Due to the extremely cold temperatures in the forecast, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will be closed this Monday and Tuesday to prioritize safety for our guests, staff, volunteers, and animals. While our doors will be closed, our incredible animal care, security, and facilities teams will still be hard at work ensuring every animal in our care stays safe and warm.

The Zoo remains open today, Sunday, January 19.

This Monday, we had planned to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through donations to our community partner, Columbus Urban League. Even though we won’t be open, we remain committed to this effort and will still be making the donation as planned.
Thank you for your understanding as we take these steps to ensure everyone’s safety during this cold snap. Stay warm, and take care of yourselves and each other!
 
On January 7th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (0.1) Pallas' cat to the Hogle Zoo in Utah.

12K views · 474 reactions | Something fluffy this way comes... We are so excited to welcome 2-year-old female Pallas’ cat, Kaarina, to Utah’s Hogle Zoo! Kaarina’s move from... | By Utah's Hogle Zoo | Facebook

On January 9th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) Pallas' cat named Moose passed away at age 5 due to unknown causes, though a necropsy is pending.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Does Columbus still have Pallas cats, or is the zoo phasing them out?
 
The Columbus Zoo is temporarily moving some of its birds off-display to indoor areas, as a precaution against avian flu as reported cases have ramped up in Ohio. They weren't specific about exactly which birds would be affected, but it seems to be mostly water birds "like flamingos, swans, pelicans, and cranes" according to their Facebook announcement.

Another Ohio zoo moves birds indoors amid bird flu concerns

They are now the second zoo in Ohio to be implementing precautions like this, as Akron also recently quarantined its waterfowl and closed its walk-through aviary.
 
The Columbus Zoo is temporarily moving some of its birds off-display to indoor areas, as a precaution against avian flu as reported cases have ramped up in Ohio. They weren't specific about exactly which birds would be affected, but it seems to be mostly water birds "like flamingos, swans, pelicans, and cranes" according to their Facebook announcement.

Another Ohio zoo moves birds indoors amid bird flu concerns

They are now the second zoo in Ohio to be implementing precautions like this, as Akron also recently quarantined its waterfowl and closed its walk-through aviary.
It's good they're being proactive, last time there was an outbreak they lost so many birds they had to indefinitely close an exhibit.
 
Does anyone know if there are still solid plans for a South American area to be built in the near-ish future? For such a complete zoo, it feels like an obvious gap to fill.

Hell, I'd even go for Antarctica with a nice penguin complex if I was Columbus - just to say we're geographically complete!
I don't believe that is the plan anymore unfortunately. Originally the zoo planned to shrink NA and place a south american region between Heart of Africa and the train, but these plans have been scrapped. It would be a welcome addition on the second side of the zoo if they do indeed follow through on the old plan to move the congo animals to HOA though.
 
I kind of hope they finish the geographical thing, they have oceania (islands), Africa, (Congo and HOA), Asia (Asia quest), and North America (NA and Arctic). I wouldn’t mind if they renovated shores to a South American section keeping the theme and aquarium by adding South American monkeys and a few species like coatis, jaguars and maybe an aviary.
 
Back
Top