The Zoo in November 2026

The present state, verified November 2026

The institution: The Fort Wayne Zoo stands at 3411 Sherman Boulevard in Franke Park, forty acres, about 1,000 animals of some 200 species, operated by the Fort Wayne Zoological Society under its cooperative agreement with the parks department, self-supporting, accredited by the AZA through September 2029. Rick Schuiteman is its third executive director; the society's board president in 2026 is Sarah Earls. Its season is a spring-to-autumn one: the gates open in the spring and close at the end of October, with lantern and light festivals carrying its name into the dark months on either side.

The sixtieth year and its new works: The 2025 season — the sixtieth, and the first as the Fort Wayne Zoo — opened on 28 March 2025 with a ribbon cutting in the Entrance Plaza, the mayor beside the director. That spring the zoo transformed on select dates for Glo Wild, a nighttime lantern festival that debuted 27 March to 26 May 2025; in the summer, Coastal Cove opened, a new rocky-shore habitat in the Central Zoo where California sea lions were joined by harbor seals, under a West Coast lighthouse. In the fall the zoo paired with Blue Jacket to present Fort Wayne Light Fest, and its own Wild Lights — a walk-through holiday display beginning at Santa's Cottage, with the Family Farm, Central Zoo, Coastal Cove, Red Panda Ridge and parts of the Australian Adventure open — ran its first edition from 28 November 2025 to 4 January 2026, as the Events section of this record tells in full.

2026: The sixty-first year opened in stages: Wild Zoo Spring Preview weekends from 28 March 2026, Glo Wild returned for the spring nights, and the full season ran daily from 24 April to 31 October 2026. Its signature arrival was Raya, the orangutan born in January, on exhibit through the season; its signature work was a train. The Z.O.&O. Railroad's original diesel engine, after more than sixty years of service, was retired, and on 24 April 2026 the zoo unveiled a new electric engine built at the Chance Rides factory in Wichita, Kansas, paired with the refurbished original cars — nearly $475,000 for the replacement raised from hundreds of local donors, the founding funding pattern repeating itself in the zoo's seventh decade. In July the African Savanna's wildebeest evacuation closed the season's only emergency, told in the escapes entry above. The regular season ended on 31 October 2026; as this history is verified in November 2026, the zoo stands in its winter close, with Wild Lights' second edition the next opening on its calendar.

Sources:

1. Fort Wayne Zoo, sixtieth-season opening release, March 2025 (the 28 March 2025 opening; Glo Wild's dates, 27 March–26 May 2025; Coastal Cove to open in the season), via Amusement Today.
2. Alyssa Ivanson, "See inside Fort Wayne Zoo's new Coastal Cove," WANE 15, 3 June 2025.
3. Fort Wayne Zoo and Blue Jacket, "Fort Wayne Zoo and Blue Jacket proudly present Fort Wayne Light Fest," 25 September 2025 (Wild Lights' first edition, 28 November 2025–4 January 2026; the open sections), via AroundFortWayne.
4. Fort Wayne Zoo, 2026 season opening releases, April 2026 (Spring Preview from 28 March; the season 24 April–31 October 2026; Schuiteman and board president Sarah Earls), via Amusement Today and The Post & Mail, April 2026.
5. Fort Wayne Zoo news release, "Fort Wayne Zoo Unveils New Electric Train," 24 April 2026 (the diesel's retirement after more than sixty years; the Chance Rides electric engine; the refurbished cars), fwzoo.com; The Post & Mail, April 2026 (nearly $475,000 donated).
6. Visit Fort Wayne, "What's New at the Fort Wayne Zoo for 2026?" April 2026 (Glo Wild's return; Raya's season), visitfortwayne.com.
7. Association of Zoos and Aquariums, "Institution Status" list, September 2026 (accredited through September 2029), aza.org.