

Some in exhibits and some roaming the zoo. There are many birds throughout the park. Primate exhibits include lemurs, gibbons, siamangs, tamarinds, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, chimps, gorillas, including baby Kigali, a moustached guenon, and marmosets.īig cats on display include cougars, tigers, a one-year-old lion, named Zion, and a clouded leopard. Some other exhibits throughout the park include Rocky the red river hog, black bears, a flying fox, otters, an alligator, and camels. It leads to a large petting area, a giraffe feeding station, and a walk-through parakeet enclosure. The Gulf Breeze ZOO 4. ExhibitsĪ path through the zoo gardens lets visitors see many animals including primates, big cats, marsupials, Procyonidae, tortoises, and birds. in December 2009, and was reopened on February 18, 2010, as Gulf Breeze Zoo. Central address: 5701 Gulf Breeze Pkwy, Gulf Breeze, FL 32563, USA. The zoo was purchased by Virginia Safari Park of Natural Bridge, Virginia. The latitude of The Gulf Breeze Zoo is 30.399873, and the longitude is -86.983232. On August 20, 2009, zoo officials announced that the closure of the zoo would be permanent. Plagued by financial troubles since Hurricane Ivan struck the area in 2004, the zoo closed on August 17, 2009, awaiting the decisions from the governments of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to provide $125,000 each in funding. The Gulf Breeze Zoo supports captive breeding, wildlife conservation, and habitat preservation programs. Activities include hand-feeding of some animals including giraffes. It has over 900 exotic animals including rhinos, hippos, Western lowland gorillas, and orangutans that visitors can view during an African preserve train ride. The Gulf Breeze Zoo (originally The Zoo Northwest Florida) is a 50-acre (20 ha) zoo located in Woodlawn Beach, Florida, neighboring Navarre and Gulf Breeze, Florida.

And she’s still leading safari tours all over Africa, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, Madagascar, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Jean Benchimol (Assistant Director of The Zoo when I was there) is now the Director at the Capron Park Zoo. They were enjoying one of their many safaris! This is a photo that Pat and Donna Quinn sent me as a Christmas card one year. He’s also on the board of directors for the Zoological Association of America. It’s something he’s been doing for over 30 years. Pat Quinn (my former boss who is still listed as “founder and director emeritus of The Zoo in Gulf Breeze, Florida”) is continuing his great wildlife tours in Africa, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands. (This is what people were saying about The Zoo back then.)īut it certainly does my heart some good to learn that those I was closest with have gone on to pursue the things they are most passionate about - while still remaining grounded in Zoo life. Here are some pictures from The Gulf Breeze Zoo.įor the record, I left The Gulf Breeze Zoo in the year 2000. Turns out, The Gulf Breeze Zoo has been through some troubled times, and they’re still dealing with a number of challenges at this point.įirst and foremost, they changed their name from The Zoo at Gulf Breeze to The Zoo Northwest Florida, then back to The Gulf Breeze Zoo. Some Google searches have shed some light on what’s happening at the Gulf Breeze Zoo… This is a pretty big deal, as The Zoo was fairly well connected in the world of media & marketing… so for them not to have an active website definitely signaled that something was up. To my surprise, The Zoo’s website wasn’t working. Pat Quinns Legacy - Gulf Breeze Zoo becomes key resource for North West Florida Local news for Navarre, Navarre Beach and Gulf Breeze in south Santa Rosa County, Florida. If you buy thru these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.Īfter I got an email from Lucie, someone I used to work with at the Gulf Breeze Zoo, I got all reminiscent and decided to The Zoo’s website to see what’s going on there these days.
