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Frank Buck Zoo
This statue near the entrance of the zoo has 360 degrees of animal carvings!
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The Frank Buck Zoo was founded in 1930 in Gainesville, TX. The Zoo sits on 30 acres inside a 30 acre public park called Leonard Park. The Zoo is home to approx. 130+ animals. The Frank Buck Zoo is a member of the Zoological Association of America. To view the Savanna area there is an approx. 1 mile loop where guests can walk above the Savanna and the wildlife that inhabits the Savanna. Frank Buck Zoo is a great zoo to stop at and stretch your legs when traveling through north Texas.
The Giraffe, Ostrich, Ibex, and Zebra all roam the amazing African Savanna habitat! You are up on a boardwalk with an awesome view and some great photo ops!
Frank Buck Zoo Website:www.gainesville.tx.us Hours: Fall/Winter (Mid August-April 2) 10:00am-4:00pm Spring/Summer (April 3-Mid August) 9:00am-5:00pm Closed: Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day Ticket Pricing: Adults (13+)-$7.00 Seniors (55+)-$6.00 Active Military-$6.00 Kids (1-12)-$5.00 Parking: Free Pet Daycare: N/A Service Dogs-N/A With any extra service provided I would always call ahead for any information. Customer Service: 1-940-668-4539 Restaurants: No restaurants or concessions available. The gift shop does sell pre-packaged snacks and cold drinks. There is no outside food or drink allowed, as it poses a risk to the animals.
The Swahili word for Ostrich is Mbuni! These female Mbuni were enjoying the sun!
Animal Habitats Education Cultural Immersion Navigation Food Variety
We stopped at the Frank Buck Zoo as we were headed to Dallas. Frank Buck Zoo is pretty easy to find, it is located inside a city park, in Gainesville Texas.
When we arrived at the zoo we were informed the zoo is a one mile loop, no map needed. No map, no problem, we decided to go left at the Flamingos.
Once you walk down the stairs or the ramp, the first exhibit you come to is the Chilean Flamingos, very pretty and spacious habitat.
Steve was standing at the fence saying hi to some of the Flamingos as they walked past. A few of the Flamingos answered him back. He had a good chuckle.
We left the Flamingos and decided, as I stated above, to go left around the 1 mile loop.
Starting the walk around the loop this way you will encounter animals native to North America first.
First up is the American Black Bear. The bears have a large double sided habitat with a grassy area on the left and a place they can climb and relax on the right.
The next animal species you will encounter is the Red Fox. You will be surprised just how much the Red Fox smells. They have a musky skunk smell to them.
The next habitat you will come upon is the largest owl species in North America, the Great Horned Owl. Did you know owls fall under the Raptor category? They have razor sharp talons and a beak designed for tearing meat. It is a nice moderate sized enclosure for the owl.
The only other two birds (besides the Flamingos and Owl) are a pair of Black Vultures. Vultures are extremely important to our way of life and our ecosystem. Vultures protect us from the spread of disease by eating carrion (dead animals). So next time you see a Vulture (in the wild or in a zoo) remember they are one of Earth’s garbage disposals (in a way).
The next species we saw is the Coyote. These Coyotes were very active the day we visited the zoo. Their keepers had just put out nice frozen treats for them before we got there.
After the Coyote habitat you will come upon the American Alligator. The Alligator was very happy chilling in his pond.
Above the Alligators habitat is a second Alligator habitat. Sometimes you have to look around to find the Alligator in his habitat.
When you see Alligators or Crocodiles on land with their mouths open, it’s their way of cooling off. Just like Dogs, Alligators and Crocodiles can’t sweat. Dog’s pant and Alligators and Crocodiles open their mouths to thermo-regulate their bodies.
After the Alligators, there is a path up leading up a hill to a small building. In this building is one of the zoo’s newest (and most vocal) residents, the Small-clawed Otters.
These otters have a wonderful and enriching habitat. Aside from a nice big pool, there were places for the otters to climb and explore.
They even had a big toy, a large wheel. All the otters would get on their big wheel and run! It was like a really big hamster wheel. We had never seen this type of enrichment before, and we absolutely loved it!
Otters are very vocal, and they will talk to zoo visitors. We think these otters really loved their habitat and wheel, because they were telling us ALL ABOUT IT!
Across from the Otters the zoo has two huge Cheetah runs. Look closely when you visit, Cheetah have amazing camouflage.
If the Cheetah are laying down in the green grass you may miss seeing them. We had to look hard for a couple minutes before spotting them.
In between the Otters and Kid’s Zoo are the cutest Miniature Zebu. Zebu are a species of African Cattle, think miniature Brahma cattle.
In the Kid’s Zone they have Goats and a very lazy Pot-bellied Pig.
Steve took a few Goat selfies and I fed the sweet goat, but not the pushy goat. I had Steve distract the pushy goat while I fed and loved on the sweet goat; she warmed my heart.
As you leave the Kid’s Zone you will round a curve by the zoo’s amphitheater (for education shows) and make your way to the African Savanna boardwalk via a winding path.
In the winding path you will find habitats for a Leopard Tortoise and the adorable Prairie Dogs.
The Prairie Dogs just recently moved into their brand new habitat!
Once we reached the boardwalk on our left were a couple of Miniature Horses and on our right were Red Ruffed and Ringtail Lemurs.
Oh boy were these little Ringtail Lemurs ornery. Ok so, outside the Lemurs habitat the zoo had planted some kind of green vine. It looked to me like maybe a sweet potato vine.
The two Ringtail Lemurs were sitting by the fence. One was sitting on a log, kicked back sunning. The other Lemur was sitting on the ground, it was reaching through the fence and pulling all the leaves off this vine and eating them.
The Lemur on the log would occasionally look around as if he was watching out for their keepers. It was hilarious watching this go on. We stood there and watched for about ten minutes.
Alas, we had to move on. As we walked along the boardwalk we were also gaining elevation. Soon we were approx. twenty feet above the African Plains exhibit.
On the left is a Dromedary Camel and his Donkey friend.
On the right is the African Savanna. Out on the Savanna are Zebra, a small herd of Nubian Ibex, Ostrich, and Reticulated Giraffe.
As you near the end of the Savanna boardwalk there is a covered observation and picnic area for visitors to relax. Here you can sit and soak in the view and animals on the African Savanna.
Right below the observation deck is the watering hole for the savanna animals. It has a rocky plateau for the Ibex to climb on as well as a couple waterfalls to keep the water moving and fresh.
At the end of the African Savanna trek you will see the Giraffe house. When the temperature is below 45 degrees or exceeds 110 degrees the Giraffe can be found in their house.
As you walk down the boardwalk you wind around and down into Australia.
In Australia you will see Red Kangaroo and the absolute cutest Wallabies.
Further down the path you will enter Asia.
The species found in Asia that you will encounter are Reeve’s Muntjac, Clouded Leopard (spends 90% of their life in the trees), Burmese Python!
The Clouded Leopard was patrolling the perimeter of its habitat to make sure there weren’t any sneaky Squirrels invading!
The last or first region you come to is South America.
Here you will encounter the largest rodent in the world called the Capybara.
There is a nice large enclosure for the Ring-tailed Coati. These arboreal cuties always seem to be on the move whenever we see them.
You can also see Patagonian Cavy, Lesser Rhea, Alpaca, and Peruvian Llama.
When we were finished exploring South American we had come to the end of the one mile loop. We spent about an hour walking through and seeing all the animals.
It was great to get out and stretch our legs and walk a bit. The Frank Buck Zoo is definitely a diamond in the rough zoo.
The zoo does not have any concession. They do have cold beverages and packaged snacks in the gift shop. Also in the gift shop is a room dedicated to the history of the Zoo and its founder Frank Buck.
If you stop at the zoo close to meal time there are good places to eat in Gainesville. Just ask Google.
Frank Buck Zoo is a great little zoo with a great collection of wildlife. If we are ever back that way we will not miss the chance to stop and visit again.
