BATON ROUGE - If you haven't been to BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo in a hot minute, the cooler fall weather is a perfect time for a walk on the wild side.

Over the last three and a half years, the zoo has undergone a series of major renovations that were designed to enhance the guest's experience and improve the habitats of the animals who reside there. Now that they're all ready to go, you 'otter' see how awesome it is!

“All totaled we built seven brand new exhibits, we renovated 11 exhibits, and then we built 11 brand new buildings so that’s a lot to happen," Jim Fleshman, zoo director, said. “We transitioned from a taxonomic to a zoogeographical (approach)…and what that means is we’re taking you to different regions of the world.”

From monkeys to mountain goats, and from Africa to Asia, the zoo takes you on a world tour with stops at exciting and educational exhibits. One of their most popular attractions is the newly-built pygmy hippo exhibit.

And if you're looking for some Halloween fun, their annual Boo at the Zoo event takes place this weekend on Oct 26 and 27. This year they are expecting around 13,000 children dressed in their favorite costumes. 

After the spooky fun is over, the zoo will transition into the holidays with Zoo Lights, where the whole campus will be decked out in beautiful twinkling lights and displays-- all for a good cause. 

“We’re doing that in association with the food bank again this year so if you bring a non-perishable food item, you get discounted admission," Fleshman said.

Any suggestions of where we should go for our next One Tank Trip? Email us at onetanktrips@wbrz.com