Potawatomi Zoo

Hiya!

This post is about my 2026 visit to Potawatomi Zoo, located in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend is 2.5 hours north of Indianapolis and is near the border to Michigan. It is best known for being the home of the University of Notre Dame. In the past few years it was also in the news since Pete Buttigieg, the former Secretary of Transportation (2021 - 2024) was the mayor of South Bend (2012 - 2020).

If you are interested in other tourist sites in Indiana you should also check out:

G1: Fort Wayne Zoo

G2: Potawatomi Zoo (this post)

along with my backlog which includes:

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art in South Bend at Notre Dame University
Indianapolis Zoo
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, and Holcomb Observatory
Garfield Park Conservatory
Eiteljorg Museum
Kurt Vonnegut Museum
Crispus Attucks Museum

All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission.

POTAWATOMI ZOO

500 S. Greenlawn Ave
South Bend, IN 46615

Website: https://potawatomizoo.org/

Hours:

Spring Hours: 10 AM – 5 PM
Last entry 4:30 PM

June 1 – August 31: 10 AM – 7 PM
Last entry 6 PM

Fall Hours: 10 AM – 5 PM
Last entry 4:30 PM

Cost (as of 2026):

$16 General admission for ages 15 - 61.

$14 General admission for children 3 - 14 and adults 62+.

FREE General admission for Zoo Members & children 2 years and under.

Free admission on Children's Day to children 14 years and under.

Parking is free.

Potawatomi Zoo participates in the AZA Reciprocity program at the 50% rate. Members of all other participating zoos (whether those zoos participate at 50% or 100%) get 50% off the admission rate at Potawatomi Zoo. And Potawatomi Zoo members get 50% off the admission of all participating zoos (regardless of whether that zoo participates at 50% or 100%).

Since I was a member of Buttonwood Park Zoo, I got 50% off admission so I only had to pay $8 instead of the full $16.

Estimated Time: 2 hours

You can easily get through the medium-sized zoo in 2 hours. I spent 2.5 hours because I stayed for the Andean Bear Keeper Chat and circled back to visit the red pandas an additional time and to see some animals (e.g. snow leopard) that I missed on my first trip through.

SUMMARY

Potawatomi Zoo 2025 Map.jpg

Potawatomi Zoo is a medium-size zoo in South Bend, IN. I would rate it as an average, reasonably priced, 2-star zoo of which the main attractions are the red pandas and Andean bears. There is also a really good Learning Center tucked away near the entrance with a lot of cute critters (sand cats, fennec foxes, two-toed sloth).

The zoo holds two different Keeper Chats a day, which vary depending on the day of the week:

I attended the Andean Bear Chat, which was educational - the keeper talked about the history of the various 3 Andean bears and their habits. Despite spending 2.5 hours at the zoo, there wasn't enough content to keep me around until the second Keeper Chat of the day.

I was able to see most of the animals on the zoo map. It was apparently too cold for the scarlet macaws, okapi, Chacoan peccaries, North American river otters, and Southern ground hornbill. The zoo's website also shows a red fox, Northern tree shrew, and common genet but I wasn't able to find them. Also absent were many of the animal ambassadors such as the sugar glider, Southern tamandua, three-banded armadillo, lesser hedgehog tenrec, striped skunk, and chinchilla. I got to the zoo early enough to see the red pandas while they were active - they spent the rest of the day sleeping. The lions and snow leopard were also sleeping when I saw them.

Like many other zoos, Potawatomi Zoo has a display of Chinese lanterns from Tianyu Arts & Culture for their Zoo Luminate event. There was a strong aquatic theme for many of their lanterns. While most of the lanterns were fairly average, the most notable ones were a giant blue anglerfish and a blue dragon.

Comparing Potawatomi Zoo to other zoos:

5 stars:

San Diego Zoo (San Diego, CA)
Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
Taipei Zoo (Taipei City, Taiwan)

4 stars:

San Diego Safari Park (San Diego, CA)
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH)
Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma City, OK)
Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI)
Houston Zoo (Houston, TX)
Oakland Zoo (Oakland, CA)

3 stars:

Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free)
Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)
Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA)
International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)
Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free)
Indianapolis Zoo (Indianapolis, IN)
Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento, CA)
Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara, CA)
Fort Worth Zoo (Fort Worth, TX)
Fort Wayne Zoo (Fort Wayne, IN)

2 stars:

Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA)
Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA)
Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL)
Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free)
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA)
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)
Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)
Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)
Taylor-Bray Farm (Yarmouth Port, MA, Free)
Racine Zoo (Racine, WI)
Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo, WI, Free)
John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)
Potter Park Zoo (Lansing, MI)
Antalya Zoo (Antalya, Turkey)
Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA, Free)
Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA)
San Antonio Zoological Society (San Antonio, TX)
Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, TX)
Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX)
Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX)
Peoria Zoo (Peoria, IL)
Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL)
Scovill Zoo (Decatur, IL)
Potawatomi Zoo (South Bend, IN)

1 star:

Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL)
Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)
Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek, MI)
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose, CA)
CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, CA)

RED PANDAS

Himalayan Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens fulgens

Potawatomi Zoo has two red pandas on display along with a muntjac. The red pandas are Raya, a 5 year old female born at this zoo, and EJ, a relatively new addition who was selected as a mate for Raya by the Red Panda Species Survival Plan. It sounds like Raya's parents (Justin and Maiya) may still be present at the zoo but off-exhibit. Maya's sister Sisu is now at Zoo Knoxville, which I visited recently. In fact, I saw Sisu along with one of her 1 year-old cubs!

20260425_105235(0).jpg

Reeves’s Muntjac
Muntiacus reevesi

KITTIES

Sand Cat
Felis margarita
(Located in the Learning Center)

Amur Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica
(Located in Asia)

Amur Leopard
Panthera pardus orientalis
(Located in Africa)

Bobcat
Lynx rufus
(Located in the Americas)

African Lion
Panthera leo
(Located in Africa)

Snow Leopard
Uncia uncia
(Located in the Africa section even though the animal is really found in Asia)

BEARS

Andean Bear
Tremarctos ornatus
(Located in the Americas)

Potawatomi Zoo is home to 3 Andean bears. Muniri is an older (11 years old) bear, while Ian and Sean are a pair of brothers (4 years old) who came to the zoo two years ago. Historically, the zoo has kept Muniri apart from the brothers since Andean bears are normally solitary but recently, they have started to try introducing the bears to each other. On my visit I only saw Muniri.

AUSTRALIA

Western Grey Kangaroo
Macropus fuliginosus

Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae

Laughing Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineae

Red-Billed Blue Magpie
Urocissa erythroryncha
(Located in Australia section even though the animal is really found in Asia)

AMERICAS

Giant Anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla

Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus

Black Howler Monkey
Alouatta caraya

Squirrel Monkey
Saimiri sciureus

20260425_111122(0).jpg

American Bison
Bison bison

Southern Screamer
Chauna torquata

American Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

Galapagos Tortoise
Chelonoidis niger

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

AFRICA

Masai Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi

Plains Zebra
Equus burchellii boehmi

Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

African Painted Dog
Lycaon pictus

Greater Kudu
Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Black and White Colobus Monkey
Colobus guereza

Diana Monkey
Cercopithecus diana

Ring-Tailed Lemur
Lemur catta

Ostrich
Struthio camelus

Saddle-Billed Stork
Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Fish in a feeding frenzy

ASIA

Southern White Rhinoceros
Ceratotherium simum simum

Sichuan Takin
Budorcas taxicolor tibetana

Common Peafowl
Pavo cristatus

Koi fish

LEARNING CENTER

Fennec Fox
Fennecus zerda

Two-Toed Sloth
Choloepus didactylus

Banded Mongoose
Mungos mungo

White-Faced Saki
Pithecia pithecia

White-Fronted Marmoset / Geoffroy's Marmoset
Callithrix geoffroyi

Golden Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus rosalia

Sunbittern
Eurypyga helias

Axolotl
Ambystoma mexicanum

Red-tailed Boa
Boa constrictor

Northern Blue-Tongued Skink
Tiliqua scincoides

Tokay Gecko
Gekko gecko

Radiated Tortoise
Geochelone radiata

Veiled Chameleon
Chamaeleo calyptratus

Waxy Monkey Tree Frog
Phyllomedusa sauvagii (information) or Phyllomedusa bicolor (website)

Frilled Lizard
Chlamydosaurus kingii

Prehensile-Tailed Skink
Corucia zebrata

Emerald Tree Boa
Corallus caninus

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Gromphadorhina portentosa

ZOO FARM

Miniature Donkey
Equus asinus

Jersey Cow
Bos taurus

Goats (Nubian, Nigerian Dwarf, and Lamancha)
Capra hircus

Alpaca
Vicugna pacos

North American Porcupine
Erethizon dorsatum

Zoo Luminate

OTHER

Restroom Doors

Carousel

Train

Scarlet macaw mural

Lion Sculpture
Ryan & Erin Harding
In recognition of their roaring dedication to the Zoo's Lion Pride
December 2022

Giraffe Mother & Calf Sculpture
Joyce Newton's Dream
"A mother's love for her child is incomparable. It knows no boundaries or laws. It dares to go against everything that is in its path."