ZooTampa at Lowry Park elevates Christmas in the Wild over the holidays

It’s been getting merrier at ZooTampa at Lowry Park.

The elephants waved Christmas trees in the air, with the donated items providing the animals some enrichment one afternoon.

A violinist serenaded a group of dancing children and nearby red river hogs with a rendition of “Jingle Bells.”

These were some of the scenes at Christmas in the Wild, the zoo’s special ticketed event that runs on select nights the rest of December.

“I think Tampa offers an experience that’s unlike anything else you can do in the Tampa Bay area simply because we have the benefit of having our beautiful animals and our conservation is at our core,” said Stacey Goode, the zoo’s Event Productions Director. 

For years, Florida’s theme parks have thrown extravagant holiday celebrations. In recent years, zoos are getting on board with hosting festivities too.

Sanford’s Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens runs its popular Asian Lantern Festival after dark over the holiday season. In South Florida, families can go see Christmas lights at Zoo Lights Miami. And in Tampa, Christmas in the Wild features glowing decorations, holiday food booths and live entertainment throughout the zoo where kids can meet Santa or admire stilt walkers and dancers.

This year, Christmas in the Wild features 500,000 lights and more than 200 decorated trees. 

The Zoo’s event, now in its ninth year, is expected to draw 130,000 people from the Tampa Bay region, Sarasota and Manatee counties, and as far away as Orlando.

Every year, Christmas in the Wild has grown bigger with more lights and illuminated animal sculptures, organizers said. 

Kids can hula hoop to a DJ blasting tunes or get special nighttime opportunities to meet and greet animals, like African penguins — although not do both activities near each other. The zoo intentionally places the loud music away from the animals so as not to frighten them. The zoo is also well-staffed to monitor the animals and noise levels during the event, Goode said.

Admission helps the zoo fund its conservation efforts.

“When you come to Zoo Tampa, you’re not only creating Christmas memories with your family and hopefully doing something that you can repeat year after year as your family grows, but you’re also giving back to the animals who need our support and need our love,” Goode said. “You’re doing a double good thing, which is what the Christmas season is all about.”