North Carolina Zoo

About NC Zoo

Located just south of Asheboro, the North Carolina Zoo is seated on a 1,500-acre tract of land in the Uwharrie Mountains. Approximately 500 acres of this property have been developed into one of the largest "natural habitat" zoos in the United States. You won't find cages made of steel and concrete here. Our animals are given enclosures that mimic their natural habitats to include trees, ponds, rocks, grass and dirt.

The North Carolina Zoo grew from an idea initiated by the Raleigh Jaycees in 1967. Through a series of fund-raising events--including at least one professional football game-the site was selected and secured to be close to the center of the state. We are 75 miles west of Raleigh, 25 miles south of Greensboro and 75 miles northeast of Charlotte.

The first exhibits opened in 1974 as a temporary facility while the permanent Zoo was being built. Our first permanent exhibit was the "Forest Edge", home to Zebra, Ostrich and Giraffe. This opened in 1979, and exists today much as it did in the late 1970's.

• Visit any day of the year, except Christmas, and see how we have grown.
• The North Carolina Zoo invites you to an adventure as BIG as all outdoors
• Visit the North Carolina Zoo for fun with family and friends, for face-to-face animal encounters, to enchant and educate children or perhaps to enjoy the glorious gardens.
• Connect with wildlife from two different continents as you explore 500 acres of exhibits carefully constructed to resemble natural habitats. Walk from Africa's grasslands to North America's Arctic coast.
• Learn how the Zoo works to conserve and protect wild things and wild places.
• Escape to the forests and streams of North Carolina's beautiful Central Piedmont. Located at the foot of the Uwharrie Mountains, the Zoo is just outside the charming southern town of Asheboro.
• Discover more than 1,600 animals and 52,000 plants along five miles of shaded pathways.

North Carolina Zoo... connect your life to wildlife.

Animals

Zoos introduce people to animals. Each year, approximately 700,000 visitors from all 100 counties in North Carolina and all 50 States of the US travel to Asheboro, North Carolina, to visit with our animals. The Zoo is home to approximately 1,600 individual specimens representing more than 225 species.

Our animal exhibits focus upon habitats found on the continents of Africa and North America.

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