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Indianapolis Zoo Grounds and Exhibits
 Welcome to the Indianapolis Zoo Biomes. What is a biome? A biome is the a living habitat for the animals at the Zoo that attempts to replicate their natural habitat as much as possible. Animals are clustered in groups inside exhibits with similar habitats, which become the biomes. At the Zoo, you can visit our five biomes listed below.
Each of our biomes actively participates in conservation and breeding programs and many of them have achieved international recognition for their work both with the animals and breeding.
Temperate and tropical forests of the world are represented in the Forests Biome. As the world's forests are utilized to meet the increasing demand for paper products, fuel, agriculture, building materials, furniture and urban expansion, forest-dwelling animals are losing their habitats. Featured animals in this biome include the rare and endangered Amur tiger from Siberia, active little small-clawed otters from Asia, white-handed gibbons, green peafowl, bald eagle, ravens, turkey vultures, and brown bears from Alaska. Photo by Don Reynolds
 In the Oceans exhibit visitors have the opportunity to touch real sharks in one of the world's largest shark touch pools in the Firestone Gallery. Here they will meet the fierce looking green and purplemouth moray eels, and a variety of fascinating fish and invertebrates that call the Oceans home. Also included are three species of penguins, plus the underwater viewing for polar bears, California sea lions, harbor seals and gray seals. Oceans emphasizes the relationships between animals and between people and animals and presents loads of information about global warming and keeping our oceans clean and safe for all.
Photo by Don Reynolds
 Click here for information on the Zoo's collection of another kind of water environment animal - the Marine Mammals. The Zoo's wonderful marine mammal collection includes Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Pacific walruses, polar bears, harbor seals, California sea lions and gray seals. The dolphins are featured in daily demonstrations, as well as being observed from inside the world's only underwater dolphin viewing dome.
Photo by Fred Cate.
 With one step, visitors leave Indianapolis and arrive in an amazing desert environment. That was the goal of Zoo staff when designing the biome, which opened in 1990. In fact the desert habitat is so authentic, the Zoo is known worldwide for its successful research and breeding of some the rarest desert reptiles. The Indianapolis Zoo was the first zoo in the world to have successfully bred the extremely endangered Grand Cayman blue iguana and the only zoo to successfully breed the rare Jamaican iguana. The attention to detail in the Deserts Biome sets it apart from other desert exhibits across the nation. The 80-foot diameter transparent dome allows the animals to bask in natural sunlight year-round while heating and air conditioning vents hidden in the rocks keep the temperature in the 80s. The Deserts Dome also includes a Zoo visitor favorite exhibit - Meerkats.
Photo by Don Reynolds
 A slice of Africa is recreated in Indianapolis in the expansive Plains Biome. Upon entering the biome, visitors see kudu and zebras grazing in their large yard along with ostriches, vultures and other birds. In the distance, giraffes pluck leaves from trees, and elephants interact quietly by a waterhole. East African crowned cranes and Marabou storks rest near a pond that runs under a wooden bridge carving a visitor trail through the African plains with exhibits of lions, wild dogs and baboons.
 Feel the silky muzzle of a pony, pet a pygmy goat, or touch noses with a llama. These and other experiences take place in the Encounters Biome, which, as its name suggests, is where visitors are encouraged to interact with the animals. The Encounters Biome connects the Zoo's animals and plants with its visitors by allowing Zoo guests to learn by doing, rather than by observing. Get up close inside Critter Corner, where zookeepers interact one-on-one with visitors to present some of the Zoo's fun program animals, or be on the look out during the summer months as keepers and animals wander through the grounds to meet the visitors!
Photo by Don Reynolds.
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