
PHOTO: HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY (HTA) / TOR JOHNSON
Located in the heart of Waikīkī lies an award-winning urban jungle inhabited by more than 1,200 mammals, birds and reptiles.
lands of the Lē‘ahi Crown Holdings available “to the people of Hawai‘i.”
Today, the zoo remains a place of natural beauty and is home to wildlife that includes Asian elephants, hippopotamuses, ring- tailed lemurs, Galápagos tortoises, Komodo dragons and native species of birds and plants, including the Hawaiian hawk and nēnē (Hawaiian goose).
Among the zoo’s attractions is the ECOTHERM COMPLEX . Here, you’ll find a Burmese python, elongated tortoises and a giant African snail. In recent years, the zoo has welcomed three male Sumatran tiger cubs, the first births at the zoo since 1981.
Many of animals in this 42-acre zoo are housed in open-air enclosures. In the 12-acre AFRICAN SAVANNA , which resembles the natural habitat, animals roam freely behind disguised barriers. Look for giraffes, plains zebras, cheetahs, lions and rhinoceroses (both white and black).