SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Zoo is set to welcome gorillas back to its grounds and expand its conservation efforts with a new coral conservation lab. The zoo’s latest initiatives aim to enhance visitor experiences, educational opportunities, and conservation efforts.
A new 937-square-foot facility, named the Brewer Ocean Conservation Lab, will showcase coral conservation work that has been ongoing behind the scenes for years. Visitors will have the chance to observe the restoration efforts as staff work to reintroduce coral into the wild to help sustain coral reefs.
The centerpiece of this expansion is the return of gorillas, who will inhabit a new habitat called Congo Falls. Eight gorillas will soon call the habitat home, with a family unit made up of one silverback and three females and another group of four males. As gorillas remain a threatened species, the San Antonio Zoo is stepping up to aid in their conservation and education.
“All of these improvements are to be able to provide the opportunity to learn about these animals and the struggles and the strife that they go through, and what we can all do daily to make things better and to help with the conservation, to understand it and to learn it and to love it is to be able to make a change,” said Hope Roth, vice president of marketing at the San Antonio Zoo.
Animal care specialists have already visited the gorillas that will soon call San Antonio home, learning their preferences to ensure a smooth transition.
Congo Falls is expected to open before the end of 2025, with The Ralston, an event space above the enclosure, ready for reservations. The coral reef lab is slated to open in May 2026.