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Specialties
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is a nonprofit organization cooperating in conservation programs both in and outside the wild. Much more than a walk-thru zoo, this historic tropical garden and nationally accredited zoo features a full day of wildlife experiences to delight guests with the natural world.
Hand-feed the herd of giraffe plus enjoy your favorite animals like monkeys, lions, tigers, and bears plus rarely seen species like fierce African honey badgers and Malagasy fosas. Ask those questions you’ve always wondered about at the Meet the Keeper Series. Experience wildlife including unusual carnivores during feature wildlife shows in the Safari Canyon theater. Cruise through islands of monkeys, lemurs, and apes. Watch our staff hand-feed alligators while dispelling popular myths. Get great photos and learn the facts behind the fiction at a venomous snake talk. It’s wild fun from apes to zebras.
History
Established in 1919.
Along with all that’s new, Naples Zoo has a wonderful history beginning in 1919 when botanist Dr. Henry Nehrling founded the botanical garden. A Fleischmann Yeast heir restored and expanded the garden in 1954. In 1969, Lawrence and Nancy Jane Tetzlaff, a.k.a. Jungle Larry™ and Safari Jane™, introduced the wild animals. Larry did stunt work for Johnny Weissmuller in the famous Tarzan films, milked thousands of venomous snakes during WWII, and educated millions of adults and children with his wife Nancy. In 2005, the nationally accredited Zoo became a nonprofit 501©(3) conservation and education organization.
Today, Naples Zoo welcomes well over 350,000 guests each year to enjoy being with rare animals from apes to zebras within its 44-acre accredited arboretum in the heart of Naples.