Africa The Africa exhibit opened in 2009 after more than a decade of planning and two and a half years of construction. In this exhibit, the visitors walk around the main area on a boardwalk, and can see across the entire expanse of the enclosure. The main area is divided into two sections, the northern section containing
giraffes and
gazelles, and the southern section being home to
zebras and
rhinos.
Lions have their own enclosure, as do the
mandrills.
red river hogs and
colobus monkeys share a home, and the
African crested porcupines and
Aldabra giant tortoise also live together. Kyra's mate Vaska, the male tiger, died in December 2016 at age 16. Their two female cubs, Nikita and Sasha, still live at Peoria Zoo. Arthur was born on September 9, 2005, and moved to Peoria Zoo on November 16, 2008, where he lived with his mate Lizzy. Arthur and Lizzy were the original lions at the Africa exhibit. On May 1, 2024, the zoo's male giraffe, Taji, was humanely euthanized after a broken foot. The male giraffe was one of the original animals at the Africa exhibit in July 2007. He weighed over 2,300 pounds and lived to be almost 17 years old, surpassing the median life expectancy in captivity of 13.4 years. In May 2025, a one-year-old giraffe named Fitzniklas (Fitz for short) was transferred from
Memphis Zoo. On March 3, 2025, the zoo acquired a juvenile
Grevy’s zebra (born July 3, 2020) from White Oak Conservation Center in Florida. A small animal building houses smaller animals such as the
zebra mouse,
Zambian mole-rats,
pancake tortoises,
dung beetles,
Madagascar hissing cockroaches,
African rock pythons,
Madagascar tree boas, and
Taveta golden weavers.
Asian Trail The smallest exhibit in the zoo, with three exhibits for
Siberian tigers,
Sichuan takins, and
Reeves's Muntjacs.
Tropics Building Due to feedback from the
Association of Zoo and Aquariums, the zoo is planning an estimated $5 million renovation of this facility. More animals would have outdoor enclosures, such as Butch, the zoo's 50 year-old spider monkey. The Tropics building used to house lions, tigers and jaguars, but they have moved to outdoor enclosures. The Tropics Building houses many species, including:
greater spear-nosed bat,
western hognose snake,
Dumeril's ground boa,
Mexican beaded lizard,
desert blond tarantula,
green tree python,
New Caledonian giant gecko,
Burmese python,
red-footed tortoise,
Standing's day gecko,
cotton-top tamarin,
Hoffman's two-toed sloth,
mongoose lemur,
northern tree shrew,
ring-tailed lemur,
cardinal tetra,
firehead tetra,
southern three-banded armadillo, and
black-handed spider monkey.
Conservation Center The Conservation Center is a building for endangered species, mostly reptiles and amphibians such as:
alligator snapping turtle,
Colorado River toad,
green and black poison dart frog,
prehensile-tailed skink,
Panamanian golden frog,
Chinese alligator, and
spotted turtle.
Contact Barn The Contact Barn is home to
domestic donkeys,
Nigerian dwarf goats, and
koi. ==Other facilities==