The eve of the 2020s brought one of the most significant transformations in Zoo Atlanta history with the ambitious and historic Grand New View project. Zoo Atlanta raised more than $50 million for the project, which entailed three phases. The first phase, a new African Savanna, opened in August 2019. A highlight of the African Savanna was a new African elephant habitat, introducing a dynamic living space designed with elephant wellbeing in mind. The complex, which also included the indoor Zambezi Elephant Center, provided a new home for African elephants Kelly and Tara. The females were joined by male Msholo, a new arrival from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, that same summer.
The same day Msholo arrived – July 24, 2019 – exciting news arrived from The Ford African Rain Forest with the birth of western lowland gorilla Floyd to Lulu and Taz. A grandson of Willie B., Floyd was the 24th gorilla born at Zoo Atlanta.
The early days of 2020 saw the completion of the second phase of Grand New View, Savanna Hall. The home of the Cyclorama painting “The Battle of Atlanta” for more than 90 years (the Cyclorama is now located at the Atlanta History Center), the 1921 building was carefully restored to give the structure a brand-new chapter while retaining many historically important notes of its past. The final phase of Grand New View, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Entry Plaza, was completed that spring.
Savanna Hall opened as a one-of-a-kind event space, featuring the grand two-level Michael & Thalia Carlos Ballroom overlooking the African Savanna and the Delta Savanna Terrace overlooking Grant Park, in February 2020.
Zoo Atlanta history – and world history – took a significant turn in March 2020 with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many public destinations and zoological organizations around the globe, Zoo Atlanta closed to the public on March 13. Following one of the Zoo’s most extraordinary periods of resilience, its gates reopened on May 16.
On a bright note, the first year of the pandemic also introduced high-profile new animal faces. Mumbles, the first southern white rhino ever to live at Zoo Atlanta, arrived in October 2020. A year later, male Mumbles would be joined by female southern white rhino Kiazi. The pair was the first to inhabit the Delta Air Lines Rhino Habitat, the site of the Zoo’s former elephant habitat in a space newly redesigned for rhinos.
The Ford African Rain Forest gained three new members in December 2020 with the arrival of western lowland gorilla females Amari, Kambera, and Shalia. The females formed a brand-new troop with Willie B.’s only son, Willie B. Jr.
The first weeks of 2022 were marked by the passings of three of the Zoo’s oldest and most legendary individuals. Choomba the western lowland gorilla, an original member of the founding group of gorillas who joined the Zoo in the 1980s and the mother of two of Willie B.’s five offspring, passed away on January 13 at the age of 59. Another founder gorilla, male Ozzie, passed away on January 25. At 61, Ozzie was the oldest living male gorilla in the world. In February, the Zoo Atlanta family said goodbye to Aldabra giant tortoise Patches, who had lived at the Zoo since 1994. Patches’ hatch date is unknown, but she was estimated to have been in her 70s to 80s.
On April 24, 2023, Shalia the gorilla gave birth to Willie B. Jr.’s first offspring, Willie B. III. A namesake of his famous grandfather, Willie B. III was the 25th gorilla born at the Zoo. Zoo Atlanta celebrated Willie B. Day on June 18, 2023 – the 35th anniversary of Willie B.’s first steps outside into The Ford African Rain Forest in 1988.
2023 brought two orangutan announcements – on both the bright and the bittersweet ends of the spectrum. On August 10, Zoo Atlanta mourned the passing of the oldest orangutan at the Zoo, Sumatran orangutan Biji, at the age of 52. Just weeks later, in September, the Zoo family welcomed a new arrival from the Sacramento Zoo, Sumatran orangutan infant Nangka. Like Keju’s before him, Nangka’s biological mother did not provide maternal care. Once again, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Orangutan Species Survival Plan® (SSP) selected the amazing Madu as his surrogate – the fifth foster infant this extraordinary maternal figure accepted despite never having had biological offspring of her own.
The final months of 2023 saw two more high-profile new animal arrivals: Dakari, a new female southern white rhino from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, in October, and Bob, a new male Sumatran tiger from the Oklahoma City Zoo, in November.
December 2023 brought special holiday joy with the birth of Zuri, Zoo Atlanta’s first-ever southern white rhino calf, born to Zuri on Christmas Eve.
2024 proved a notable year for Zoo Atlanta with the conclusion of the Zoo’s original giant panda agreement with China. In the 25th anniversary year of the panda program, original pair Lun Lun and Yang Yang and their two youngest offspring, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, left Atlanta for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China on October 12. All nine of the “original Atlanta pandas” – Lun Lun, Yang Yang, Mei Lan, Xi Lan, Po, Mei Lun, Mei Huan, Ya Lun, and Xi Lun – now reside in their species’ native homeland at the Chengdu Research Base. Lun Lun and Yang Yang are now grandparents: All seven of their cubs have gone on to have offspring of their own.
Also in October 2024, Zoo Atlanta celebrated the completion of the $21 million Rollins Animal Health Center, a state-of-the-art veterinary complex that would redefine standards of excellence in zoological animal medicine, scientific research, and academic partnerships.
The early months of 2025 welcomed two exciting new arrivals: Titan, a new male African elephant from Sedgwick County Zoo who joined the Zoo’s herd in January, and Buttercup, a new female Sumatran tiger who arrived in April from Wildlife Safari in Oregon.
Spring 2025 brought the long-awaited reopening of a new habitat for a beloved trio with the debut of a newly updated African lion complex. The $6 million renovation featured expanded habitat space for lion brothers Hondo, Hatari, and Azizi, as well as new viewing areas allowing Members and guests to appreciate these majestic apex predators more fully.
The first half of 2026 celebrated a significant array of new animal family members: Siamese crocodile Seng (March, from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park); clouded leopard Boon (April, from the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere); warthog Anakin (May, from the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens); red panda Paprika (June, from the Lee Richardson Zoo); warthog Ua (June, from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo); and black-and-white-ruffed lemurs Sora and Kairi (July, from the Central Park Zoo). All were Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan® (SSP) recommended moves, highlighting the extensive regular collaborations among multiple organizations to ensure the wellbeing, genetic diversity, and sustainability of animal populations in AZA zoos.
In thrilling news for Zoo Atlanta, the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond, on April 23, 2026, Zoo Atlanta announced a new International Cooperative Research Agreement on Giant Panda Conservation, initiated between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. As part of this agreement, two new giant pandas will be traveling to Atlanta. Zoo Atlanta has not announced a timeline for the pandas’ arrival.
Stay tuned as history continues to be made at Atlanta’s oldest cultural destination.