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Walk on the Wild Side Tours
Join one of our expert Houston Zoo animal keepers for an insider’s look at the Zoo. Our staff will be your personal guides as they share their passion for the scaly, furry, and feathered critters in their care. Listen to stories of the animal's antics and personality quirks that will open your eyes and tickle your funny bone. Don’t miss your chance to take a Walk on the Wild Side!
How old do I have to be?
The tours involve a lot of walking and are designed for ages 12 and older, but younger children are welcome with adult supervision.
How many people can take a Walk on the Wild Side tour with me?
We can accommodate 5 to 30 people. If fewer than 5 people register, the tour will be rescheduled later that same month.
The tours involve a lot of walking and are designed for ages 12 and older, but younger children are welcome with adult supervision.
How many people can take a Walk on the Wild Side tour with me?
We can accommodate 5 to 30 people. If fewer than 5 people register, the tour will be rescheduled later that same month.
How long does a Walk on the Wild Side tour last?
Tours typically last from 1 to 1 ½ hours
Where does my tour begin?
All Walk on the Wild Side Tours begin promptly at 9:00 am. at the Zoo’s main entrance. You will be met by a Zoo Ranger who will escort you to the starting area of the tour.
To avoid confusion regarding where you need to go, please arrive a few minutes early, so you can accompany the Zoo Ranger.
What do Walk on the Wild Side tours cost?
Due to the programming differences in these tour prices may be inconsistent with other Walk on the Wild Side tours.
Due to the programming differences in these tour prices may be inconsistent with other Walk on the Wild Side tours.
Tour prices include regular Zoo admission.
June 19 – Birds of the World and Flamingos
Want a more detailed look at the Zoo? Join our experts for a 90 minute in depth look at the Zoo. We will be your personal guides as we share fascinating stories and facts about the Zoo. Each tour focuses on a particular section of the zoo so you can get an intimate look.
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
$25 Zoo Members
$35 Non members
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Birds of the World Bird Run Slideshow
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The Flamingo Exhibit houses our large flock of Chilean Flamingos. This is one of the three flamingo species found along the Andes mountain chain of western South America, and has been kept in Houston since at least the early 1970s. Flamingos are long-lived birds: the oldest bird presently at the Zoo is a wild-caught female received in 1975. The first successful flamingo nesting occurred in 1986, and the birds build their conical mud nests in spring or summer of most years. A single egg is laid, and both parents incubate their egg and raise the chick.
Crossing the bridge over the Flamingo Exhibit, visitors will see a long row of cages referred to as the Birds of the World Bird Run. Strolling along the row, one may see the unusual black and scarlet Pesquet’s, or Vulturine, Parrot from New Guinea. This bird is primarily a fruit eater and the sparsely feathered facial skin helps keep the bird clean of messy fruit juice and pulp.
Of special note in this area is the Ocellated Turkey, a close relative of the North American Wild Turkey, but with a much more restricted range, confined only to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and adjacent Guatemala. It is also a far more colorful bird than its northern relative, with blue and orange bare skin on the head and iridescent green and coppery feathers. Like the more familiar Wild Turkey, the male performs an impressive courtship display in the spring, spreading his tail, strutting, and gobbling.
At one end of the Birds of the World Bird Run is an open-topped yard housing an impressive and colorful Saddle-billed Stork from sub-Saharan Africa. The sexes of this species may be distinguished by eye-color: males have dark brown eyes; females, yellow.
At the other end of the Birds of the World Bird Run is a large aviary housing a variety of birds, notable among which is the Waldrapp Ibis, a critically endangered species now found only at a few sites in Morocco and the Middle East. Fortunately, it breeds well in captivity, and there are now far greater numbers of this species in Europe and North America than in the wild.
Last but not least in the Zoo’s bird collection are the St Vincent Parrots, housed in a building across from the keeper entrance to the Birds of the World Bird Run. This is one of the largest of the so-called Amazon parrots and is endemic solely to the island of St Vincent in the eastern Caribbean, where it is the national bird. Though the wild numbers fluctuate, sometimes as a result of hurricanes or volcanic eruptions, and the species has always commanded high prices in the pet trade, its numbers in recent years have been stable at around 600. This species has been housed at the Houston Zoo since 1967, and the first zoo breeding occurred here in 1972.
