Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo to be renamed
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — Goodbye to “Children’s.”
Visitors to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo on Jan. 1 will say hello to a new name: the Fort Wayne Zoo.
The zoo that opened in 1965 is accredited through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, with 38 acres, but the current name leads some potential visitors to think its a “small ‘petting zoo,’” said a news release the facility shared Tuesday.
Rick Schuiteman, executive director of the zoo, said in a news release, “This new name will better reflect who we are and what we do, and our mission won’t change. This name change will also help widen our audience, engage more people in our mission, our conservation efforts, and in our future growth.”
Discussions about the name change began in 2023.
The zoo includes the African Journey, a trail with a giraffe-feeding station and a zebra research station; the Sky Safari, a 38-foot ride that takes visitors into the zoo’s treetops; the Crocodile Creek Adventure Ride, a dugout canoe ride that moves past dingoes and eastern gray kangaroos; a capuchin monkey island; and the Asian Trek section that includes many birds plus red pandas, clouded leopards, and Sumatran tigers and orangutans. See a zoo map online.
