Brevard Zoo is a 75-acre nonprofit facility located in Melbourne, Florida, United States, that is home to more than 900 animals representing more than 195 species from Florida, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The zoo features animal feedings, kayak tours, behind-the-scenes tours, and a train ride, along with the attraction Treetop Trek. The zoo has also featured a dinosaur exhibit several times in its past, including one titled "Dinosaurs are Back", which ran from November 2017 to April 2018. Brevard Zoo is a nonprofit organization accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo is divided into five loops: Expedition Africa, Lands of Change: Australia and Beyond, Wild Florida, Rainforest Revealed, and Paws On. These loops are accessed off of the main loop that encircles the flamingo pond. History In 1986, the East Coast Zoological Society of Florida, Inc. (ECZS) formed. One of their goals was to build a zoo for Brevard County to "serve as a conversation hub where people could gather to learn about animals and nature. A place to escape from the manmade world and reconnect with the diversity of the life with which we share this planet." In 1992, construction of the zoo began, with over 16,000 people coming together to help build the zoo. The Brevard Zoo claims to have had "The World's Largest Volunteer Community Build". Brevard Zoo celebrated its grand opening on March 26, 1994. A record 328,973 visitors attended in 2007. This included 175,046 paid daily guests. The others included reciprocal members of other zoos, and annual members. The zoo has an annual budget of $5 million most of which is earned and not raised through fundraising or grants. In 2007, the zoo started renovations on their Paws On exhibit, with it reopening in April 2009. Renovations included a shallow swimming area and an aquarium. The Contact Yard (petting zoo) was updated and reopened as “The Barnyard”. In October 2012, one of the southern white rhinos from this zoo was transferred to Alabama's Birmingham Zoo to take part in a breeding program with its two female southern white rhinos. In 2014, the black-throated monitor died. It was donated to the zoo when it was two years old in 2005. In 2017, the zoo renovated their Australia and Asia exhibits and reopened them as "Lands of Change: Australia and Beyond". In 2019, the zoo renovated their La Selva exhibits and reopened