Big Things are Coming to Brevard Zoo’s Expedition Africa

building a brand-new expansive lion habitat, expanding the boardwalk into an actual loop

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Big things are coming to Brevard Zoo’s Expedition Africa. The Expedition Africa loop features a winding boardwalk where you can spot animals like meerkats, ring-tailed lemurs, giraffes, zebra, impala, klipspringers, and rhinos.

This area is undergoing a massive makeover to make it even better – and feature the Lion brothers!

Due to this construction project, the majority of the area will be closed in May 2023. The lion brothers will remain in their public-facing Wild Florida habitat throughout construction.

There will be a few other closures (some partial) of Expedition Africa later in the year for construction, but we will give you another heads-up beforehand.

The Zoo just wanted to let you know and give you the inside scoop on what is coming.

Not only will they be building a brand-new expansive lion habitat, but they will also be expanding the boardwalk into an actual loop to give you lots of new viewing areas.

The Brevard Zoo construction crew plans to replace all of the existing decking in this section.

They are excited to complete this major refresh of Expedition Africa as they work to complete the brand-new lion habitat that the three brothers, Chobe, Ruaha, and Karoo, will soon inhabit.

The new lion habitat will be four times the size of their current temporary space in Wild Florida. You can also look forward to glass viewing at ground level to get an up-close view of these amazing big cats.

Their new space will also include raised platforms and a chilled water system to give the lions some cool spots to lay on hot Florida days. Also in the plans is renovating what was the Zoo’s cheetah viewing area with an upper viewing spot as well as a lower training wall for VIP encounters in the future.

In order to complete all of these incredible things, we will be closing the majority of Expedition Africa from May 1 through May 31. During this time, you will still be able to spot our meerkat mob, check out Burmese pythons and kayak through Expedition Africa.

Please note that giraffe feeding and rhino encounters will not be available during May.

During the more extensive closures, rest assured that our Expedition Africa residents will continue to receive top-notch care.

Whether they are in their regular habitat or behind-the-scenes habitat will depend on what construction is happening on any given day based on their comfort levels.

The Zoo hopes the entire renovation project will be complete in the first quarter of 2024 and that you’ll be able to see the lion brothers exploring their new habitat at that time.

The Brevard Zoo appreciates your understanding during this time and hopes that if you visit them during May, you will check out all of the other amazing animals at the Zoo!

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