The Cincinnati Zoo announced a series of major habitat expansions and program upgrades that have reshaped the campus and its conservation reach, the zoo said.
Phase one of the zoo’s Africa expansion culminated with Hippo Cove and other savanna exhibits, and the zoo opened Elephant Trek, a five-acre habitat, on October 1, 2024, the institution reported.
Elephant Trek houses a multigenerational herd of eight Asian elephants, including a family unit from the Dublin Zoo and four elephants the Cincinnati Zoo previously cared for, the zoo said.
The new habitat features pools, streams, overhead feeding stations, mud wallows and three separate yards that support movement, training and medical separation when needed, the zoo described.
As part of its More Home To Roam master plan, the zoo completed Roo Valley and African Penguin Point in 2020 and opened Phase 2 of Elephant Trek on April 14, 2025, adding Siamang’s Point, a rhinoceros hornbill exhibit, Asian small-clawed otters and a Babirusa, the zoo reported.
The expansion campaign began in 2018 with a fundraising goal of $150 million, and benefactors Harry and Linda Fath gave $50 million toward the effort, the zoo stated.
Conservation, Breeding Records and Public Profile
The Cincinnati Zoo combines exhibit work with active conservation science through the Carl H. Lindner Jr. Family Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife, created in 1986, the zoo said.
CREW’s Frozen Zoo stores more than 2,500 specimens that represent roughly 60 animal and 65 plant species, and the center supports assisted reproduction and species recovery work, the institution reported.
The zoo highlights a long record of breeding milestones and rescue care, including the viral survival story of Fiona the hippo, born six weeks premature and initially weighing 29 pounds, who became an international media figure after intensive care, the zoo said.
The campus also hosts historical and controversial moments that shaped its public profile. The zoo traces its origins to 1873 and its 1875 opening, and it holds accredited status with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1978, the zoo reported.
High-profile incidents include the 2016 killing of Harambe, a western lowland gorilla, after a child fell into the enclosure, an event that drew global attention and debate, news reports noted.
The Cincinnati Zoo reports housing more than 500 species, roughly 1,800 animals and several thousand plant species, while visitor figures are presented variably in zoo materials as 1.2 million or exceeding 1.7 million annually, the organization’s publications indicate.
