Conveniently located less than a mile off Interstate 44 in Springfield, Missouri, the Dickerson Park Zoo is not only a great stop for weary travelers, but also an excellent AZA accredited institution well worth a visit for any zoo fan.  Featured in the Best of the Rest section of America’s Best Zoos, Dickerson Park has an excellent collection of animals from every major wildlife laden continent.  South America is extensive, so is Africa, but the jewel of the zoo might be the Missouri Habitats.  Well shaded in a broad leaf forest, black bears and coyotes (together in one exhibit), otters, red fox, bobcats, cougars,  timber wolves, deer and turkeys are all here.  Australia and Asian animals are represented too, with the latters elephant herd breeding success making the zoo famous worldwide.

If you want to keep up with events and news, check out the blog – DPZ Blog.

If you Facebook, Twitter, or frequent You Tube, Dickerson Park has an outlet for all three.

Visitors can get close to a pair of cougars in the Missouri Habitats

Musky maned wolves can be smelled from a mile away!

The Diversity of Life building holds the zoo's colorful reptile and amphibian collection

DPZ has a large (and growing) herd of rarely seen Baringo giraffes.