Lowry Park Zoo - Tampa, Florida

Tampa's Lowery Park Zoo has won dozens of awards including being rated among the "Top 25 Zoos in the U.S" by TripAdvisor. It is home to more than 1,000 animals, many of them endangered, threatened and vulnerable. The park is divided into sections for Asia, Africa, Australia and Florida. My favorite resident is Calusa, nicknamed Lucy, a Florida panther. Lucy was one of four kittens. Her mother abandoned her as a tiny cub. Since Lucy had a head injury, the mother panther may have thought Lucy could not survive. Lucy needed a lot of intensive care, so zoo personnel had to bring her home overnight in her early days there. The zoo is expanding her habitat and will be open a new section of Florida wildlife soon. The elephants playing in their pool are another spot you will want to stay and watch for a while.

If you go:
They are open 9:30 am - 5:00 pm, 7 days a week. You can download a ZooTampa app at Google's Playstore or Apple's App Store. You will want to spend a lot of time here. The zoo has several restaurants and snack shops.

Phone Numbers:

Zoo Information
+1 (813) 935-8552