One of the world’s great forests and hotspots of biodiversity comes to life in Audubon Zoo’s popular Jaguar Jungle. That experience has become even more immersive with the opening of Jaguar Jungle River’s Edge. On March 13, 2025, guests started exploring this new section of the zoo that focuses on the importance of rivers to the Mayan culture and showcases how people live in harmony with the rivers and jungles in Mesoamerica. The term “Mesoamerica” means “Middle America” and reflects the geographical and cultural significance of this area, which has been a center for complex societies and cultural exchange throughout history.
More than two years in the making, this new space at Audubon Zoo features a lagoon and boardwalk that will take guests right down to the water’s edge to visit an interactive fishing boat where they will learn more about the connection between people, nature, and animals in Mesoamerica.
“Jaguar Jungle River’s Edge is the continuation of a narrative we started years ago when this part of the zoo was developed. Understanding community-based conservation initiatives’ importance to the people of Mesoamerica helps us understand the roles we play in preserving our own environment,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Audubon Nature Institute President, CEO and L. Ronald Forman Chair in Conservation Leadership. “Guests will see the similarities between Mayan people living in harmony with their surroundings and those of south Louisiana communities dependent on local waterways for their own way of life.”
The Jaguar Jungle exhibit in Audubon Zoo originally opened in 1998. It expanded in 2018 to include the popular nocturnal house and its collection of bats and other creatures of the night. This new phase of Jaguar Jungle continues the original focus of the exhibits – to immerse guests in the history and way of life of the ancient Maya culture, including the highly advanced civilization’s contributions to art and agriculture.
