The Elephant House Gets an Upgrade

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Elephant Trek is a fitting new home for these gentle giants.
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Elephants explore their new habitat at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Photograph courtesy Cincinnati Zoo

One of my first memories is of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. I was 5, maybe 6, and my cousins were in town. My grandma bravely took the Tulsa and Cincinnati cousins to the zoo, and I rode a camel, ate soft serve ice cream, and visited the elephants.

I was mesmerized by the elephants. I had never seen anything like them, not in real life. They were so large, yet so graceful. Their ears and trunks were so elegant and long, their feet shuffling through the exhibit with impossibly soft steps.

The elephant house left as much of an impression on young Sarah as its residents. The building harkened back to the turn of the 20th century and had a domed roof that was visible from all areas of the zoo. It was dramatic, unique, and a little whimsical, just like its pachyderms.

But this building was almost as old as the zoo itself (150 years old in 2025!), and our zoo’s star troupe deserved an upgrade. At the end of 2024, the Harry and Linda Fath Elephant Trek was unveiled.

Elephants chow down by the watering hole in their new habitat.

Photograph courtesy Cincinnati Zoo

The Elephant Trek includes multiple inside spaces in the Farmer Family Foundation Elephant Center, as well as three outdoor yards. It’s sprawling (the biggest habitat at the zoo to date), and gives the animals lots of room to roam. The various spaces also allow zookeepers to separate groups during the “introduction” phase (fingers crossed for some calves in the not-too-far future!), and guests can view elephants both inside and out (similar to Giraffe Ridge).

Photograph by Sarah McCosham

Over winter break, I finally got the chance to see this new space with my kiddos. We bundled up and made a beeline to the Elephant Trek to see the gentle giants in action: Bull elephant Sabu, females Anuk, SheRa, Jati, Mai Thai, and Schottzie, and two young males called Kabir and Sanjay.

While the design of the original elephant house was iconic, the new building has a mid-century, Frank Lloyd Wright vibe that’s its own moment. From afar, it stood out and beckoned.

Because it was a cold morning, we were happy to venture indoors and were enchanted, to say the least. Inside the sprawling space, the elephants were enjoying a snack, and the zookeepers encouraged us to get up close! One of my favorite things about the Cincinnati Zoo is how it truly puts you there, inspiring curiosity in a way that’s captured my imagination since I was a kid. My own kids were as fascinated by the elephants as I was—and still am—and on this quiet January morning, a core memory was made for all of us. (I love visiting the Cincinnati Zoo in the winter, by the way!)

The elephants and their care team keep warm inside for the winter.

Photograph by Sarah McCosham

Looking ahead, Phase 2 of Elephant Trek will open in the spring of 2025 and will include habitats for siamangs, babirusa, rhinoceros hornbills, and small-clawed otters, and I can’t wait to check that out with my crew.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale

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