Walk with Kangaroos at the Ararat Ridge Zoo

In August, we officially opened the expansion to the Ararat Ridge Zoo, doubling the size of our zoo. You can visit it with your admission to the Ark Encounter, and it is located behind our life-size Noah’s Ark. See what you’ll experience in this new area and what’s to come below.

Kangaroo Walkabout

You can now get up close to the Ararat Ridge Zoo kangaroos in our new walkabout. Seven of our kangaroos are out in the exhibit full time, and we currently have a joey that comes out with her zookeepers for a couple hours each day.

There is also a viewing area where guests will be able to see our kangaroos when they have to go inside to stay warm during the winter months!

Goat Mountain

As soon as you enter the zoo through our new entrance, you will see Goat Mountain on your right. This exhibit will house aoudads, a species of wild sheep that are from the same created kind as our goats. Right now, you’ll see some of our goats getting their exercise on the rocks that were sourced from the Ark Encounter grounds.

New Homes

Our African spurred tortoise, Munch, and our ostriches have new homes in the expansion area as well. Munch currently weighs about 80 pounds, but he’s still growing!

The ostriches are really enjoying their new space, which is a great natural exhibit with fresh grass to walk on now.

Coming Soon . . .

The Ararat Ridge Zoo expansion isn’t over! We have several new animals that will be joining us, including a sloth, large birds, ring-tailed lemurs, and bearcats. We will also have a full-time exhibit for our African crested porcupines. Currently, they only can be seen on the Ark’s second deck or occasionally in the zoo.

We are building a stage area where live-animal and teaching programs will take place.

Inside Look

Take a walk through the Ararat Ridge Zoo expansion with our CEO, Ken Ham, and our senior zoo manager, Leanne, in this video.

Start planning your trip to the Ark Encounter today, and be sure to explore the Ararat Ridge Zoo during your visit. Share your favorite pictures of our zoo animals with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using #arkencounter.