Who is paying for the capybaras to come back, and when do they arrive? When the Little Rock Zoo broke ground on its $12 million remodel in June 2025, Arkansas Times reported that the work was expected to finish in the fall of the following year, which is this fall. Fall 2026 is here. The fences are still up near the front gate, and the Zoo now gives a different date.
In a September 15 release, the Zoo said the grand opening for Project Zoo: Wildly Reimagined is set for spring 2027. The live capybaras are tied to that opening, since they return when the project is complete. So the Zoo you can visit between now and the new year is a working construction site that stays open. The evening events on its calendar have also become part of how the remodel gets paid for.
The Money Behind the Spring Date
Most of the funding comes from Little Rock voters. The same September release describes more than $11 million in approved bond funds behind Project Zoo. On top of that, the Arkansas Zoological Foundation has committed $1.2 million, and the Zoo calls it one of the Foundation's largest gifts. That $1.2 million includes a $250,000 leadership gift from the Laura P. Nichols Foundation and contributions from individual, corporate and community donors. Part of it also came from the Zoo's own events. The release names revenue from Wild Wines, Zoo Brew and Cocktails, Too, and GloWild as contributors.
The Foundation describes the gift as a milestone and says fundraising will continue through the grand opening. Lisa Buehler, who chairs the Foundation's board, said in the Zoo's announcement:
"This is a milestone, but it is not the finish line. There is still an opportunity for our community to be part of this extraordinary transformation."
The after-dark events on this fall's calendar feed the same fund that is still raising money for the new habitats.
What the Fences Are Hiding
The construction covers a group of habitats and one rebuilt gathering space. According to the Zoo, the project builds:
- New habitats for the Zoo's lemurs
- A new mixed-species habitat for capybaras and squirrel monkeys
- A new habitat for anteaters
- A new tortoise habitat where guests can feed the tortoises
- A renovated amphitheater
Earlier construction updates also listed a revamped entry plaza in the scope. That's why most of the disruption is concentrated at the front of the Zoo, the part every visit has to pass through.
To keep the capybara story going until the animals arrive, the Zoo placed 22 capybara sculptures by the Cracking Art collective around the grounds in early June 2026. KARK reported them as a placeholder ahead of the live animals' return.
How a Visit Runs Right Now
The Zoo stays open throughout construction. Its Know Before You Go page lists the current changes, and a few of them reshape the usual loop:
Noise. Construction sound is mostly near the front of the Zoo and usually happens on weekdays. Construction generally does not take place on most weekends.
Great Apes. The ape habitats are reached through the entrance next to the orangutans. You can still see the orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas, but the Great Ape pathway no longer connects to the front entrance. It dead-ends, and you walk back the way you came.
Lemurs. While their exhibit is being rebuilt, the lemurs are staying in the Colobus Monkey Habitat. They don't share space with the colobus monkeys, and the Zoo says they're often easiest to spot in the afternoon.
Leaving. Exits run along the main path between Penguin Pointe and the kudu habitat. You leave through the Gift Shop or the After Hours gate to its left.
The weekend pause matters for planning. Members' Day falls on Saturday, October 17, and Howl-O-Ween falls on Saturday, October 31. Both biggest days of the month land when crews are usually off, so a quieter front of the Zoo is the likely, though not guaranteed, condition on those days.
Daytime admission is $12.95 for adults, $9.95 for children 3 to 12, and $10.95 for seniors 60 and up and military with ID. Children 2 and under get in free. Parking is $3 per vehicle, and online tickets add a $3 processing fee.
Twelve Days From Members' Day to the Lanterns
October's calendar builds toward a handoff from daytime to evening that happens on Halloween itself.
| Date | Event | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 16 to 31 | Beloved Pet Ofrenda | Nature Playground during regular hours; staffed activities Fridays and Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon, Sundays noon to 2 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 | Members' Day | Member-only early access at 8 a.m.; complimentary rides among the perks |
| Oct. 29 | GloWild opens | Select nights, 5 to 9 p.m., last admission 8:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 31 | Howl-O-Ween at the Zoo | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., last admission 3:30 p.m.; activities included with daytime admission |
| Oct. 31 | GloWild that evening | Gates open at 5 p.m.; separate ticket required |
| Jan. 3, 2027 | GloWild's final night | Closed Nov. 8, Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and 25, and Jan. 1 |
Howl-O-Ween has a set schedule. From 9 to 10 a.m., crafts, fall games and a Zoo mascot are at the Entry Plaza. Happily Ever After characters greet guests from 10 a.m. to noon. Costume contests run at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Civitan Pavilion, where kids walk the Scaredy Cat Carpet, and every participant takes home a prize. The Zoo asks adults not to wear costume masks.
The handoff has a firm gap in the middle. The Zoo closes at 4 p.m., and daytime guests are asked to leave at closing. GloWild ticket holders enter at 5 p.m. Families doing both on October 31 have an hour to fill and need two separate tickets.
GloWild, Season Six
GloWild isn't new. The Zoo called the 2024 run its fourth season, and Little Rock Soirée called 2025 the fifth. Counted year by year, the 2026 to 2027 run is its sixth. The 2026 promotion describes a new collection of dozens of handcrafted, silk-covered lanterns showing larger-than-life animals, wildlife, nature and imaginative scenes.
Pricing, per the GloWild hours and pricing page:
- Members: $19.50 per person ages 3 and up, or $64 for a family four-pack
- General admission: $22.50 per person ages 3 and up, or $72 for a family four-pack
- Children 2 and under: free
Tickets are sold online and at the gate. The event runs rain or shine, rain checks aren't offered, and all sales are final. GloWild uses its own route and closes some animal areas and pathways for the evening. All proceeds benefit the Arkansas Zoological Foundation, which exists only to support the Little Rock Zoo. That's the same foundation whose $1.2 million gift is now going into the new habitats, so a lantern ticket this winter lands in a fund that's building toward spring.
What Arrived While the Habitats Were Being Built
The animal collection has kept changing during the construction. In February 2026, the Zoo welcomed Cinza, a four-year-old male maned wolf from Audubon Zoo, who joined Jordan at the maned wolf habitat. In March, the Zoo announced that four young male cheetahs would come to the Cheetah Outpost, following the departing Padfoot and Prongs. KJNB later reported that the four brothers had arrived from Nebraska and were settling in, and that two had been named Sonic and Blaze.
The staff has changed too. On September 16, the Zoo named Dr. Jessica Scott assistant director and Hannah Baker general curator. Six days later, on September 22, the Zoo announced an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Quarter Century Award for 25 years of continuous accreditation. The Foundation's release describes it as Arkansas's only AZA-accredited zoo.
The lemurs are still at the Colobus habitat, the capybaras are still sculptures, and GloWild's last night is January 3, 2027. The grand opening that brings the live capybaras back is set for spring 2027.
At Capital Sotheby's International Realty, we follow the places that shape a weekend in Little Rock, from a lantern-lit walk past Penguin Pointe to a new habitat opening next spring. If you'd like to talk about how places like the Zoo factor into where you live, schedule a complimentary market consultation with our team.
