by Nancy Houser

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

Located in the southeastern part of Nebraska's largest city, the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is the state's number one tourist attraction for both locals and out-of-state visitors alike. This Nebraska zoo has been ranked as one of the nation's top zoos with an annual attendance of 1.35 million visitors, historically evolved from the Riverview Park Zoo in 1894. Part of the "Gateway to the West", the Henry Doorly Zoo promotes family fun along with education, conservation, recreation and research to all who find their way to this scenic wonder on the state's eastern border. The city of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is considered one of their most fascinating and exciting places which will keep you wanting to come back for more, no matter how often you visit.

The Henry Doorly Zoo has one of the world's largest indoor rain forests-the Lied Jungle, a steam train, the Scott Aquarium with the world's largest underground zigzag tunnel, the Hubbard Gorilla Valley, the world's largest indoor desert under a massive geodesic dome-the Desert Dome, and the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp known as "Kingdoms of the Night." In May, new plans were announced to build a $7.5 million dollar Madagascar exhibit that will be home to beautiful rare lemurs and orchids. This plan is part of a $100 million dollar project that will include an Arctic Center, a habitat for elephants, an exhibit entitled "Antelope Valley", and a kangaroo Australian exhibit.

Since 2008, the Henry Doorly Zoo has built a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art Butterfly and Insect Pavilion, with plans to house more than a thousand of over 200 species of butterflies in flight. Presently, breathtaking Blue Morpho, Zebra Longwing and Painted Ladies butterflies are gently traveling through the air to land on delighted zoo visitors. This 14,000-square-foot new addition includes a butterfly conservatory, an insect zoo, and a chrysalis hatching room.

ATTRACTIONS OF THE SEASON

As of May 1, 2009 at 2:40 pm, three little King Penguin chicks from three different sets of parents have been on display, much to the enjoyment of the zoo's visitors. Located in the Scott Aquarium penguin exhibit, baby penguins have been an annual display since 1995, with each year new chicks hatching out for children and adults to enjoy. The King Penguins are considered the second largest penguin of all the penguins, often mistaken for the much larger Emperor Penguin. The male King Penguin incubates the egg during the warmer seasons and

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