It is accessible via Calgary's C-Train light rail system, by car via Memorial Drive, and by bicycle and footpath via the Bow River pathway.

The zoo is operated by the Calgary Zoological Society, an independent not-for-profit organization that is Alberta's oldest registered charity.

The 120-acre zoo is organized by seven distinct zones: Destination Africa, Canadian Wilds, Penguin Plunge, Dorothy Harvie Botanical Gardens and ENMAX Conservatory, TransAlta Rainforest, Eurasia, and Prehistoric Park.

[13] In a 12-hour period, with flood waters rising, zoo staff managed to move 140 animals to higher ground.

The zoo fully reopened in November 2013[16] with new animals, exhibits, and features unveiled in 2014, including mandrills and Komodo dragons.

The African Savannah building is home to hippos, Masai giraffes, red river hogs, and a baobab tree.

In the warmer months, the doors lift to connect the building with the rest of the Savannah exhibit, home to Hartmann's mountain zebras, grey crowned cranes and ostriches.

In the TransAlta Rainforest, there are primates such as western lowland gorillas, eastern black-and-white colobus, and mandrills, and a number of reptiles including leopard tortoises, Malagasy tree boas, a panther chameleon and a pair of dwarf crocodiles, as well as an aviary containing various species of African birds.

The Canadian Wilds were built in the 1990s to house the majority of zoo's collection of North American birds and mammals.

The ENMAX Conservatory was completely renovated in 2009 and features an increased emphasis on teaching visitors the importance of plants and improving energy efficiency.

[21] The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo's six-acre Prehistoric Park features life-sized dinosaurs in their re-created geographical environment, including replicas of an inland sea and volcanic mountain, and more than 100 species of living plants.

Dinosaurs include Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Centrosaurus, Corythosaurus, Deinonychus, Dilophosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Elasmosaurus, Euoplocephalus, Iguanodon, Metriacanthosaurus, Nothosaurus, Omeisaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Protoceratops, Pteranodon, Pterosaur, Stegosaurus, Struthiomimus, Styracosaurus, Tanystropheus, Triceratops, Tylosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Yangchuanosaurus.

In summer, the outdoor exhibit holds the warm-weather South American Humboldt penguins which are housed inside during the winter.

Indian peafowl are allowed to venture around openly and freely across the zoo grounds, and are taken to an off-site facility for the winter months.

Prior to the 2013 flooding, the zoo also had an area section dedicated to South American animals such as giant anteaters, red-bellied piranhas and various New World monkeys, as well as a number of birds including several species of macaw and two Andean condors.

The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo uses a team of educators including animal keepers, interpreters, teachers, and volunteers to increase awareness among visitors about the beauty of nature and threats to wildlife.

The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo is home to a team of biologists who have earned international recognition as North America's leaders in the science of species recovery and reintroduction.

The zoo focused on saving eight highly endangered Western Canada species: whooping crane, Vancouver Island marmot, swift fox, black-footed ferret, black-tailed prairie dog, burrowing owl, northern leopard frog and greater sage grouse.

In 2014, it became necessary to separate Vasili and Samkha, the two male tiger cubs, now almost full grown, from sister Kira and mom Katja (12 years old).

Based on the Species Survival Plan recommendation, which manages genetics for future breeding, they were moved to Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg.