The zoo closed to the public after the impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and fully ceased operations in 2023 after much scrutiny in its final years due to questionable health and treatment of their animals.

[3] Committed to animal welfare, especially those facing extinction, the zoo had several conservation programs for the Puerto Rican crested toad, the plain pigeon and the Andean condor.

[11] One of the zoo's most popular and well-known animals was Mundi, a female African savanna elephant, born in the wild in 1982 at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

After the zoo ceased operations in February 2023, Mundi was transported and escorted to Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla on May 11, 2023 and flown to Jacksonville, Florida the next day.

She was then transported by ground to Buckley's sanctuary, to live the rest of her lifetime with two rescued Asian elephants Tarra, a female, and Bo, a male.

[15] On February 27, 2023, the permanent closure of the zoo was announced,[16] by order of the United States Department of Justice, following much scrutiny due to questionable health and malnourishment of their animals, as well as the treatment they were receiving.