The Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens is a small, but fun zoo on the Big Island of Hawaii. The zoo has some great animal exhibits and a nice playground. Since it is in the town of Hilo, we referred to it as the Hilo Zoo. It is definitely worth a visit, but plan to spend just 1-2 hours at the zoo, as it is quite small. And the best part is that this zoo has free admission.
Despite the size of the zoo, it has a really interesting collection of animals. Of course, there are a lot of birds, amphibians, and reptiles, but there are larger animals, too. One of our favorites were the anteaters. We debated whether we’d seen anteaters before, and none of us could come up with a time that we were certain we had.
We also enjoyed the tigers. There were both white and orange tigers, and they were very active in their large enclosure. One stopped within three feet of us and put his paws up on the fence to say hello, or maybe to tell us to back up and back off.
There were also some really interesting birds. At one point, we stepped close to a reptile cage and heard an alarm go off. We immediately backed up. However, we heard that alarm again and again during our visit. Finally, we got to the alarm birds and realized that they make a noise that sounds exactly like an alarm! We hadn’t disturbed the reptile at all, we’d just been “alarmed” by a nearby bird!
The Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens is all outside and it is very green just like Hawaii. Just walking through is a nice stroll and you will probably run into a lot of peacocks that are wandering the grounds.
There is a small playground at the zoo as well. It was great for toddlers, though we didn’t spend much time there with our larger boys. The Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens has a lot of fun places to take pictures, too. The cousins we were with stopped at every single spot including tiger benches, butterfly slides, and more.
We really enjoyed the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens. It was a nice break from the beach, and the gardens and animals were beautiful. Give it a try on your next visit to the Big Island in Hawaii. For current hours, check their website.
