Largest Expansion In Chattanooga Zoo History Officially Open

Today, Chattanooga Zoo officially opened its biggest expansion to-date – The Cape of Africa. The new $3.9 million Zoo section includes state-of-the-art exhibits featuring warthogs, servals, Cape porcupines and Aldabra tortoises. The Cape of Africa also includes a 20,000-square-foot giraffe yard, water features, a group entrance and more.

“This is a really important moment for the Zoo and for Chattanooga as a whole,” said Darde Long, president and CEO of Chattanooga Zoo. “With the completion of The Cape of Africa, we’re bringing long-term developmental plans to fruition and creating new connections between visitors and several fascinating African species.”

Construction started on The Cape of Africa in September 2023. The project incorporates authentic African imagery, colors, textures, sounds and iconography that pair with the new African species to create an immersive experience.

Additionally, the new animals will all reside in carefully crafted exhibits that are specifically suited to their needs while also offering ample up-close viewing opportunities. The new spaces allow visitors to see into the animals’ indoor and outdoor spaces, increasing their visibility.

Some notable features include:

• Warthogs have a spacious yard featuring a shallow pool, mud wallow and sizable logs to scratch themselves.
• Servals, which can jump up to nine feet in the air, will enjoy three 18-feet-tall climbing trees in their sizable outdoor exhibit.
• Giraffes are receiving a new yard that will double their outdoor space and provide new trees for shade and nutrition.
• Aldabra tortoises, which can grow up to four feet long, weigh up to 550 pounds and live around 150 years, will find their new home in a shaded outdoor enclosure at the front of the Zoo.
• Cape porcupines, which are the largest porcupine species and second-largest rodent species, will enjoy ample indoor and outdoor space, with windows in their outdoor exhibit providing face-to-face viewing opportunities by reaching almost all the way to ground level.

The Cape of Africa officially opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday. For more information about the Cape of Africa at Chattanooga Zoo, visit https://www.chattzoo.org/visit/cape-of-africa.

Chattanooga Zoo would like to express their gratitude to the following Cape of Africa primary sponsors and supporters: State of Tennessee, City of Chattanooga, First Horizon, Chattanooga Tourism Co., TVFCU, Dr. Tony and Alana Ashley, Dr. Thomas Donovan, Sr., Lisa Harris and Julia and Joe Horn. Chattanooga Zoo would also like to recognize Modus Build, LLC as the contractor and Billingsley Architecture as the architect.

Chattanooga Zoo would also like to thank everyone who purchased a customizable brick to support the expansion. These bricks have been placed in the Zoo’s new group and field trip entrance.