Alabama’s ‘Little Zoo That Could’ becomes ‘Little Zoo That Moved’
By Tom Adkinson

GULF SHORES, Alabama – You can see the Gulf of Mexico four miles in the distance when you are at the 110-foot peak of the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo’s Soaring Eagle zipline. That’s as close as zookeepers care to be to the gulf anymore, considering 14 feet of hurricane-driven saltwater inundated the zoo when it was in its original location just a mile from the beach.

A lion named Simba strikes a regal pose after one more move for the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Image by Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

GULF SHORES, Alabama – You can see the Gulf of Mexico four miles in the distance when you are at the 110-foot peak of the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo’s Soaring Eagle zipline. That’s as close as zookeepers care to be to the gulf anymore, considering 14 feet of hurricane-driven saltwater inundated the zoo when it was in its original location just a mile from the beach.

The zoo’s staff has fun naming some of its animals. This crane’s name is Frazier. Get it? Image by Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

Close-contact animal encounters are a popular aspect of the Little Zoo That Could. Image by Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

You may know the now-relocated and newly opened attraction by its informal name – the Little Zoo That Could – because of a popular Animal Planet series of that name. The TV show and network news coverage brought fame to the once-tiny institution chased from its home by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. That incident made it the only U.S. zoo ever completely evacuated because of a natural disaster.

Not everyone likes snakes, but the Little Zoo That Could can help you overcome your fears. Image by Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

The zoo has 600 animals, 199 species and a staff that enjoys a good laugh. That’s why there is a crane named Frazier (TV sitcom fans get that right away) and a sloth named Sonic.

When operations are normal, the zoo is popular for its hands-on animal encounters and educational programs. You can cuddle a kangaroo, hold a snake that’s longer than you are tall, get close to a sloth and feel how delicately a lemur can perch on your head.

A novel element of the new facility is the Safari Club Restaurant, which you can visit without paying for a zoo admission. It is on the edge of the property and overlooks the zoo. It operates outside of zoo hours, meaning you can hear the monkeys howl and the lions roar while having dinner on the verandah.

This tamandua, a South American anteater, is named Titan and is one of the zoo’s encounter animals. Image by Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

Just as Hurricane Ivan wiped out the first incarnation of the zoo, it also obliterated the lodge at the nearby nature-oriented Gulf State Park. And just as the zoo is in a new home, there’s a new 350-room lodge that opened in late 2018, giving you one more place to explore Alabama’s gulf coast.

Trip Planning Resources: AlabamaGulfCoastZoo.com and GulfShores.com

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s new book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available at CornersOfTheCountry.com.)

Published June 5, 2020