Welcome to the world, little one

Tina RolenEast Knox, Our Town Outdoors

It’s been almost 20 years since Zoo Knoxville was the first American zoo and only the second institution in the world to hatch Madagascar flat-tailed tortoises. This little tortoise pictured here hatched March 4. We continue our tradition of working with critically endangered and threatened species.

As a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Zoo Knoxville works as part of a collaborative Species Survival Plan for endangered animals. As part of the largest conservation movement on the planet, we are working to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population to ensure we don’t lose animals to extinction. Zoo Knoxville is committed to being part of the solution to save species from extinction, both locally and globally.

The turtle/tortoise hatchery is housed in the Clayton Family Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus (ARC). Find out more about that here.

The zoo has returned to its warmer weather hours of operation from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. Last admission is one hour before closing time.

For more information about programs or becoming a member at Zoo Knoxville go here.

Tina Rolen is director of marketing and communications at Zoo Knoxville.

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