Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo

The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) zoo in Gainesville, Florida. Located on Santa Fe College's main campus, it is the only college zookeeper training facility in the United States.^[3] Since 2000, the zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo
Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo entrance, August 2019
29.6819°N 82.4382°W / 29.6819; -82.4382
Location	Gainesville, Florida
Land area	10 acres (4.0 ha)[1]
No. of animals	200+
No. of species	70
Memberships	AZA[2]
Website	www.sfcollege.edu/zoo

Guided tours led by students in the program are available at the teaching zoo if scheduled ahead of time; visitors may also take a self-guided tours.^[4]

History

The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo was established in 1970.^[5] It comprises 10 acres (4.0 ha) of forested land on the west side of the Santa Fe College main campus. The zoo has been accredited by the AZA since 2000 and undergoes its accreditation process every five years.^[6][7]

Animals

Bald eagle at the zoo

External videos
Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo Tour – an introductory tour of the facility with highlights of the zookeeper program and the different animals onsite

The zoo is home to over 200 individual animals representing more than 70 species, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and birds.^[8][9]

List of animals

Mammals

• Asian small-clawed otter
• Caracal
• Common squirrel monkey
• Key deer
• Lar gibbon
• Matschie's tree-kangaroo
• Nyala
• Ocelot
• Perdido Key beach mouse
• Red ruffed lemur
• Southern three-banded armadillo
• White-throated capuchin

Herptiles

• Alligator snapping turtle
• American alligator
• Asian forest tortoise
• Ball python
• Common kingsnake
• Common musk turtle
• Corn snake
• Diamondback terrapin
• Dusky pygmy rattlesnake
• Eastern copperhead
• Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
• Eastern indigo snake
• European glass lizard
• False water cobra
• Florida box turtle
• Florida pine snake
• Florida red-bellied cooter
• Florida softshell turtle
• Galápagos tortoise
• Gila monster
• Gopher tortoise
• Green and black poison dart frog
• Leopard gecko
• Leopard tortoise
• Peninsula cooter
• Prehensile-tailed skink
• Red-footed tortoise
• Sinaloan milk snake
• Tokay gecko
• Yellow-bellied slider

Birds

• American white ibis
• Bald eagle
• Barred owl
• Black-crowned night heron
• Blue-winged teal
• Cattle egret
• Cuban amazon
• Emu
• Fulvous whistling duck
• Golden parakeet
• Guam rail
• Guinea turaco
• Grey crowned crane
• Grey parrot
• Hawk-headed parrot
• Indian peafowl
• Laughing kookaburra
• Northern red-billed hornbill
• Redhead
• Roseate spoonbill
• Turkey vulture
• Wood duck
• Yellow-crowned amazon

The zoo also participates in several AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, for white-handed gibbons^[10] and Matschie's tree-kangaroo as well as for the Asian small-clawed otter, red ruffed lemur, Guam rail, Perdido Key beach mouse and ocelot.

Zoo Animal Technology Program

Students spend 5 semesters learning about animal husbandry, breeding, nutrition, medical care, physiology, taxonomic relationships, conservation, enclosure construction, proper zoo sanitation, and other topics through classwork and actual work as keepers in the zoo.^[11] Students of the Zoo Animal Technology Program are known as Zooies and there is a student chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers.^[12] The Zoo Animal Technology Program degree has over 200 students enrolled in the program.^[13] The two year degree program is to have a four year degree program starting in 2023.^[14]

Events

The zoo is a popular destination for both local residents and tourists. The zoo hosts several events open to the public throughout the year, including Party for the Planet (celebrating Earth Day)^[15] and "Boo at the Zoo" (BATZ) Halloween festival.