I'm here with Diane Villa, the Chief Communications director at the North Carolina Zoo.

Diane, congratulations on 50 years of being one of the world's premier zoos.

- Oh, thank you so much, Deb.

We are so excited to have you here at the North Carolina Zoo and show off our beautiful zoo.

- Well, you know, I love this place.

Tell me what you think have been some of the major accomplishments over the last 50 years.

- Well, I think the most important one was the original vision for the North Carolina Zoo, and you see that in action here right now.

So we are the world's largest natural habitat zoo, and that was the vision that the founders had for the North Carolina Zoo.

So we are now 2,800 acres, 500 of which are developed, and we're growing.

- Now, how many visitors would you say come through here on a daily basis?

- On a daily basis through the week, we have around 5-6,000.

On the weekends, this past April, we had as many as over 14,000 on a Saturday.

So last year we had over a million guests come to the zoo, and we're expected to grow to 1.5 million with the opening of Asia in 2026.

- [Deborah] That is so exciting.

I can't wait to see that opening.

- Oh, it's gonna be fantastic.

It's already 82% complete from the contractor side.

And over the next year or so, our staff will get into the Asia habitat, and we'll be planting and theming and putting up educational graphics and introducing the all important animals.

- I just love seeing the gazelle and the antelope out here.

What's the role of conservation out here at the zoo?

- Conservation is incredibly important to us here at the zoo.

It's in our DNA.

And, again, talking about the founding of the zoo, we always wanted to have that wildlife conservation element to what we do no matter where we are.

So in Africa, we have African vulture programs.

African vultures are the steepest declining bird in the world right now.

So that's critically important that we work with them.

We help those animals.

African elephants, of course, you know, we've been working in Cameroon and Kotdwar for many, many years working on elephant poaching.

Our smart program spatial monitoring and reporting tool is used in over 120 countries, over 1200 sites around the world, every continent except the Antarctic.

That's incredible because it really is making a difference for the animals in the wild.

Here in North Carolina, we work with the American Red Wolf, the most endangered canid in the world, and only found here in North Carolina, in the eastern part of North Carolina.

We breed them here in the hopes of returning them back to the wild.

We work with hellbenders in the mountains of North Carolina.

We work with gopher frogs.

So these are all species that are around you that are important to the circle of life, and that's what we do.

We do that best.

Our team is boots on the ground out there trying to do the work for all the citizens of North Carolina.

- When I talk to people about the zoo, one of the things they love is the natural setting.

Why is that so important here?

- It really sets the North Carolina Zoo apart from most other zoos.

So many zoos are city zoos, and they would fit inside of this one habitat here that we're looking at, 40 acres for the animals of the grasslands.

That's phenomenal.

But why do people want to be out in nature?

Why are people seeking that?

I think it's something that's so important for human beings to be a healthy person being out in nature.

There's something about the greenery and seeing wildlife and as we hear now, all the cicadas that have descended on us.

But, no, we connect people quite well to nature here at the North Carolina Zoo.

- [Deborah] And the animals love it.

- [Diane] They do.

- [Deborah] They need it.

- [Diane] They absolutely do.

We pride ourselves on our large habitats to give them the room to display their natural behaviors.

And, again, when people come out, they see that.

And when they look out across these habitats, you see greenery, you see trees, you don't see city skyscrapers.

And that resonates with people.

They want to be outside in nature and in the natural world.

- Indeed.

Diane, tell me about the visitor experience.

- When you come to the North Carolina Zoo, you're going to be greeted with famous southern hospitality.

So we have got lots of fun experiences.

We get people out on habitats on safari, and you can actually go in with the rhinos.

You can get up in the trees with air hike and do a like a challenge course for yourself.

- [Deborah] I bet the kids love that.

- [Diane] Kids love that.

Teenagers.

- [Deborah] Even the older kids.

- [Diane] Yes, they do.

Kids of all ages.

We have the carousel, which is perfect for littles to ride an endangered animal on that wonderful carousel ride.

We also have a kaleidoscope butterfly garden with exotic, gorgeous butterflies from all over the world.

- [Deborah] Sounds fun.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

There's so much more to do here than just see the animals.

It's a full day experience, and it's really quite affordable.

- And people need to wear their sneakers.

- Yes.

- Because you will do some walking out here at the North Carolina Zoo.

- We guarantee two things.

One, you're gonna get your steps in, your 10,000 steps.

And two, your kids are gonna drop like flies on the way home.

- [Deborah] So plan to stay the day.

- Plan to stay the day.

Absolutely.

- [Deborah] The North Carolina Zoo is at 4401 Zoo Parkway in Asheboro, and they're open every day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Plan your visit by giving them a call at [336] 879-9000, or go online to nczoo.org.