Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo

Monroe's zoo opened under Mayor Arnold Bernstein, who led the city from 1919 until his death in 1937 and gave the place its first name. Mayor W. L. "Jack" Howard expanded it into a centerpiece of his municipal improvement campaign — the same push that built Monroe's City Hall and Civic Center. The Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo sits on 80 acres now, with over 500 animals and a boat tour. That boat tour is the detail that matters. It runs a water route through the grounds to hoofed animals, primates, and native species the footpaths don't reach. The zoo holds an Easter Egg Extravaganza, Boo at the Zoo, and Splash into Summer. In 2013, the USDA mandated kitchen remodeling and eight new primate holding pens; director Joe Clawson tapped the $80,000 annual maintenance budget to make the changes in-house. By 2017, the zoo was in full USDA compliance. That June, a new male lion arrived and the lion exhibit was remodeled. The collection includes addax, agile wallaby, alligator snapping turtle, American alligator, American black bear, American flamingo, bald eagle, black swan, Cape buffalo, dromedary camel, elk, hippopotamus, spotted hyena, tiger, western hoolock gibbon, and white-tailed deer. There's a reptile house. Go for the boat — it's the route that reaches what the walking paths miss.