Knoxville Zoo

The Knoxville Zoo is just right: large enough to boast a wide variety of animals in beautifully designed exhibits, yet small enough that you can see it all in a pleasant afternoon's stroll. In the spring, the zoo blossoms with a profusion of tulips, daffodils, and flowering plants of all sorts. In summer, it's leafy and green.

Our favorites are the playful river otters, which are native to East Tennessee but rarely spotted in the wild. We especially enjoy the prairie dog village, with its underground tubes for kids to crawl through. The meerkats, red panda, and camel rides are also tops with us.

The zoo entrance features Black Bear Falls, where you can see our native bears in a naturalized habitat. Better that you should see them here than bump into them up in the Smokies!

Since we arrived in Knoxville back in 1991, the zoo has undergone quite a transformation. Every year has brought something new and wonderful. One of the biggest additions was Kid's Cove, which opened in the spring of 2005. This kid friendly attraction features a petting zoo, a custom made carousel, Songbird Aviary, beaver pond, and playground.

Perhaps the zoo's most famous resident is Einstein, a Congo African grey parrot who has appeared on many TV programs. Einstein has an extensive vocabulary of over 200 words and sounds and is the star of the Knoxville Zoo's Bird Show.