Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, Rainforest zoo in Hilo, Hawaii.

Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo is a facility in the Hilo area built within a natural rainforest setting, not as a separate structure from the landscape. The zoo houses more than eighty different animal species distributed across the grounds, where tropical plants and gardens blend with the surrounding woodland.

Hilo's first zoo opened in February 1969 at the entrance to Onekahakaha Beach Park, a 1-acre site judged temporary because of tsunami risk and lack of room to expand. Construction at the Panaewa Recreational Complex finished in 1978, and the zoo opened there in September under the name Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo. In September 2006 the Hawaii County Council renamed it Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, and a renovation in 2020-2021 rebuilt the main entrance with restrooms and a gift shop.

The zoo dedicates space to birds found nowhere else in the world, with a focus on helping these species survive and thrive. Visitors can see how local conservation work directly supports these animals.

The zoo is open daily except for certain holidays and one day each week when it closes. Admission is free, though visitors should wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for muddy paths since the tropical setting receives regular rainfall.

The zoo's best-known resident was Namaste', a white Bengal tiger born in Las Vegas on September 30, 1998. The magician Dirk Arthur had planned to sell him, but after seeing the zoo's one-acre tiger enclosure he donated the animal instead; Namaste arrived in Hilo on April 16, 1999, and died there on January 16, 2014, at 15.