The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans
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Information on the New Orleans Zoo
The New Orleans Zoo actually survived the Hurricane without much loss of life among the animals, because in anticipation of it the staff had stockpiles of food and were able to keep all but a few of them safe. It has since re-opened with most of the exhibits back up and running - there are a couple still shut down, specifically the sea lions (which used to put on a daily show). There are also some empty pens that look like they used to house something. However, all of the bigger animals have returned and there are plenty of them there to see. Admission is $12 for an adult, $7 for children, and it's currently open Tuesday through Sunday.
The front building of the New Orleans Zoo.
Another shot of the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
The zoo is a pretty big place, and keep in mind that if you want to see all the exhibits you'll be walking around for some distance because they're pretty spread apart. It's a good idea to bring some water with you, but I relied on a snow cone personally. I'd also go in the morning instead of the afternoon. The animals tend to slow down a lot in the heat, especially during the summer, and they'll just be sitting there instead of doing much. One other option: a train that runs through the entire zoo. It doesn't stop everywhere, though, and it is hard to rely on it because if you get off to wander around, you have to sit and wait a long time for it to come back.
Train offering tours of the New Orleans Zoo.
A fan spraying water down for people to stand under - a great way to cool down if you get hot.
I went down there recently and got pictures of most of the post-Hurricane animals they have back in the exhibits. You can check them out on these pages:
Directions:
It's actually very easy to get there if you know where Magazine Street is, and that's a big street that runs through the Uptown area. The address is:
6500 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA 70118
Phone: 504-581-4629
Coming from downtown, you go down Magazine Street until you hit the Audubon Park, which will be very obvious to you (you're surrounded by a park). When you see two statues of lions on your left, turn left onto Entergy Blvd. That's a little street that goes into the zoo parking lots. Parking is free and there's plenty of it. If you're coming from other random places they've got directions on their website here.
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