Where Is the Baltimore Zoo Located?

The Baltimore Zoo is now called the Maryland Zoo and it is located in Druid Hill Park.  It is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, opened in 1876.  Let’s find out more about this zoo.

To get to Druid Hill Park, where the Baltimore Zoo is located, you need to get to I-83. Then take exit 7 West to Druid Park Lake Drive and there you just need to follow the signs to the zoo.  

Baltimore Zoo Elephant Exhibit

When you get to the Baltimore Zoo, be sure and find where the elephants are located. 

• They have an excellent elephant program and exhibit that not only educates the public but helps with elephant conservation as well. 
• Elephants may be extinct by 2020 if conservation efforts aren’t increased and poaching isn’t decreased. 
• The zoo has housed elephants since the 1920s and is dedicated to the long term survival of individuals and the species. 
• In 1985, it was able to expand and improve the facility for elephants not only in a housing aspect but for breeding. 
• 2007 saw even more renovations and improvements with a state of the art barn, a walking path, and new yards. 
• The zoo obtained two more elephants in 2007 and one of them was pregnant, so the calf was born in 2008. 

Other Baltimore Zoo Exhibits

Other exhibits at the zoo include: 

• The Bog with the Bog Turtle
• The Cave with snakes, newts, bats, and more
• The Farmyard which has a petting zoo
• Giant Tree and Slide with reptiles and amphibians
• Marsh Aviary and Lily Pads with ducks and birds
• The Maryland Wilderness with the Children’s Zoo
• The Meadow with toads and turtles
• Polar Bear Watch with polar bears, foxes, ravens, and owls
• The Stream with foxes and otters

Between the African Journey and the Polar Bear Watch is Base Camp Discovery.  This has educational activities and presentations with animals like boa constrictors, owls, turtles, parrots, macaws, and various snakes.   

Animals at the Baltimore Zoo

Since you know where the Baltimore Zoo is located, here is some information about the animals they have there:

• Some interesting reptiles and amphibians housed at the zoo are the African Slender-Snouted Crocodile, Corn Snake, East African Black Mud Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, Leopard tortoise, Northern Copperhead, Northern Pine Snake, Spur-Thigh Tortoise, Timber Rattlesnake, African Bullfrog, and the Panamanian Golden Frog.
• Here are most of the mammals you will find there:  Addra Gazelle, African Crested Porcupine, African Elephant, African Leopard, African Lion, Anglo-Nubian Goat, Arctic Fox, Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Cheetah, Chimpanzee, Colobus Monkey, Coquerel’s Sifaka, Dexter Cattle, Jacob Sheep, Kirk’s Dik-dik, Miniature Mediterranean Donkey, North American River Otter, Okapi, Ossabaw Island Hog, Plains Zebra, Polar Bear, Pygmy Goat, Red Fox, Red Ruffed Lemur, Reticulated Giraffe, Rock Hyrax, Sitatunga, Southern White Rhino, and a Warthog. 
• Some of the birds that you might see at the Baltimore Zoo, which is now called the Maryland Zoo, are: Abdim’s Stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, African Penguin, American Wigeon, Barn Owl, Black Vulture, Blue-bellied roller, Blue-winged Teal, Cattle Egret, Demoiselle Crane, Domestic Chicken, Domestic Goose, Gadwall, Green Heron, Green-winged Teal, Manerkop, Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Hooded Merganser, Lappet-Faced Vulture, Little Blue Heron, Long-Eared Owl, North American Ruddy Duck, North American Wood Duck, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Ostrich, Raven, Saddle-billed Stork, Snowy Owl, West African Crowned Crane, and the White-Breasted Cormorant

Conservation Projects

The Maryland Zoo at Baltimore participates in over 20 Species Survival Plans under the guidance of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Some special projects are:

• African Black Footed Penguin - the zoo has the largest colony of these in captivity in North America.  Their breeding program has been successful and zoo officials actually traveled to South Africa to study them in the wild and help with conservation efforts.  An oil spill affected 44,000 penguins and 90% were cleaned up and released.
• Bog Turtle - The Bog helps to conserve the bog turtle which is rare, the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly, and other insects living in vanishing wetlands.  Some of the wetlands plants are also rare and can be seen here, like the carnivorous pitcher plant.
• Panamanian Golden Frog - The Maryland Zoo is one of the organizations that founded Project Golden Frog.  The zoo is joined by groups from Panama, Canada, and the U.S. in this project and is dedicated to preserving these frogs that have been almost wiped out by a fungal disease.  The zoo has the largest population in North America.

So, now you know where the Baltimore Zoo is located as well as some additional details about the zoo.