Hi!
This is my next (third) post covering Wisconsin zoos:
E1: Racine Zoo
E3: Ochsner Park Zoo (this post)
E4: International Crane Foundation
This is a short post about the tiny Ochsner Park Zoo in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me.
OCHSNER PARK ZOO
903 Park Street
Baraboo, WI 53913
Websites: https://baraboowi.gov/?SEC=5043BD1C-3698-469B-9726-CC333B6676E8
https://friendsofbaraboozoo.org/
Hours:
Summer
9 AM - 5:30 PM
Spring / Fall
9 AM - 5 PM
Winter
9 AM - 3:30 PM
Cost (as of 2025): FREE!
Ochsner Park Zoo is one of just five small municipal free zoos in the state of Wisconsin.
Estimated Time: 30 minutes.
I spent 45 minutes because I was taking a lot of pictures. I also spent extra time with the arctic foxes and the otters.
SUMMARY
Ochsner Park Zoo is a free but tiny zoo located in Baraboo, WI. Baraboo is about an hour north of Madison and is just south of Wisconsin Dells. I had trouble deciding whether to rate the zoo as 1 or 2 stars. I ultimately went with 2 stars mainly because it is a free opportunity to see arctic foxes and otters. If it wasn't free, it would definitely be a 1 star zoo (much like other tiny zoos such as Cosley Zoo). There are only a handful of animals here so you will probably spend less than an hour there - probably more like 30 minutes. It's small enough that there isn't even a formal map of the zoo.
Keep in mind that there are very few employees around. Throughout most of my visit, I didn't see a single employee though there is a house on the premises for an intern. At the end of my visit I saw an employee in the otter exhibit cleaning the water. I tried asking her a question but she was wearing earbuds and couldn't hear me. There is no giftshop or information/help center. The zoo has only a barebones website with hard-to-reach contact info (e.g. the Parks & Recreation Department). For updates and questions, their Facebook page is probably your best bet. There is also an associated non-profit, Friends of Baraboo Zoo, with a better website but which hasn't been updated since 2019. The zoo isn't the cleanest or best maintained, which makes sense given that a local park district (with limited funds and personnel) is running it. There were flies outside and inside the bathroom building, and the smelly bathrooms were typical of a park bathroom that is only occasionally serviced. While the exhibits were not filthy, I would hardly call them clean or well-maintained either.
I'm not sure if visitors are supposed to but there were people petting the donkeys and the goats. Those animals seemed very friendly and in excellent health though attention-starved. The donkeys readily came up to me and with their cute donkey eyes seemed to be begging for some tender love and care. I was tempted to pet them but didn't, mainly because of the lack of easily accessible hand-washing facilities.
Most of the zoo animals are rehabilitated animals that cannot be released into the wild or rescues from the illegal wildlife trade. This accounts for the eclectic selection of animals and is reminiscent of Sarasota Jungle Gardens.
As previously mentioned, I rate Ochsner Park Zoo as 2 stars because it is free but otherwise it would be 1 star. Comparing to other zoos:
5 stars:
4 stars:
3 stars:
2 stars:
1 star:
ARCTIC FOX
Arctic fox
Vulpes lagopus
I don't get to see a lot of arctic foxes at other zoos because they are usually sleeping or hiding in a non-public indoor area. I would guess that given the time of the year and the geographical locations, the temperature may be a bit high for the fluffy critters.
However, the two arctic foxes at the Ochsner Park Zoo were out and about, allowing me to get some good pictures.
Initially, I thought the arctic foxes were simply next door to the black bear but I eventually realized that they were in the same enclosure! I wanted to ask a zookeeper whether or not this was dangerous for the arctic foxes but the one zookeeper I found couldn't hear my question through their earbuds.
When I got home, I had to research this on my own. Apparently in the wild, foxes do like to hang out with bears. Red foxes, as small predators, stay close to large predators like bears because it keeps them safe from medium predators like coyotes. Under normal circumstances and when food is plenty, bears typically don't eat foxes though when food is scarce, the foxes do need to be on the lookout! However, coyotes are regular predators of foxes. Thus, a bear is a much smaller threat to foxes than a coyote. Meanwhile, foxes are small enough that the bear doesn't view them as a threat and will tolerate their presence. However, coyotes are big enough that bears will view them as competition and drive them away. When it comes to arctic foxes, they will hang out around polar bears to scavenge. Polar bears prefer to hunt and eat fattier animals like seals. After the polar bears eat the blubber, they leave the meat behind for the arctic foxes. When food is plentiful, polar bears will ignore arctic foxes but when food is scarce, arctic foxes could be in danger. Under these circumstances, polar bears may follow arctic foxes and dig them out of their dens!
This is the second arctic fox, who was all white:
Black Bear
Ursus americanus
Here is the last member of the triad. The black bear was very shy and tried to stay out of view of people.
OTTER
North American River Otter
Lontra canadensis
The otters were friendly and pretty interested in people. They weren't quite as eager as the Capron Park Zoo otters who would run to the window every time a human was nearby, but the Ochsner Park Zoo otters were sufficiently curious to come investigate humans about half the time.
WOLF
Mexican wolf
Canis lupus baileyi
Ochsner Park Zoo has several Mexican wolves through an arrangement with the Mexican government. These are not normal gray wolves that you would naturally find in North America. I saw at least 3 Mexican wolves lounging about.
CANADA LYNX
Canada lynx
Lynx canadensis
The Canada lynx was sleeping in a corner. There was a sign asking visitors to not bang on the glass because the lynx gets very territorial when people do that! I guess I would feel similarly if someone were to do the same in my habitat!
EMU
Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae
You could get pretty close to the emus.
PRAIRIE DOGS
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus
FARM ANIMALS
Domestic Goat
Capra aegagrus hircus
Although you couldn't enter the goat enclosure, the goats were willing to come up to the fence and be petted by visitors.
Miniature Donkey
Equus asinus
The donkeys actively sought out people and seemed to enjoy human touch and affection.
This is Goliath:
This is George, who recently moved to the zoo in April 2025:
ART
Mural at the entry gate:
PARK
There is a small Ochsner Park right next to the Ochsner Park Zoo. There is a small playground, picnic area / pavilion, and public restrooms.
