By tomorrow, I will be in New York City. My plan is to be in the area for at least 3 weeks, and probably a little longer with work being slower during the summer. I will almost certainly be visiting Philadelphia as well (family) and I also am looking into going to Boston, and hopefully Rhode Island as well. I will be looking to add zoos to my itinerary. This thread will be a place where I'll post questions/comments and where people can leave suggestions and tips. To start, I am most definitely going to revisit the Bronx Zoo, probably by next week if possible. I want to focus on the World Of Birds, Sea Aviary and Childrens Zoo as I was unable to do those on my last trip (some were closed). Asia Monorail is a definite as well, as is Madagascar. Hopefully I can also see as much of the remaining exhibits as possible. Here are some questions I have on my revisit. 1. Any special rarities I should look out for at World Of Birds? Anything unsigned? 2. Are the Peruvian Pelican, Storm's Stork and Lesser Adjutant still by the Sea Aviary section and if so any tips to ensure I see them? 3. When is the best time and part of the enclosure to see the Madagascan Ring-tail Mongoose? I missed them the last two times I went. 4. Is the Malay Chevrotain still being displayed and if so, where is it? Haven't seen it the last couple of visits. 5. Does anyone know if Asia Monorail has a set schedule as to when they rotate the animals exhibited? I have yet to see the Indian Muntjac and want to check it off my list. I also would prefer going at a time where the Sambar and Himalayan Tahr are on display; I've seen both before but never got photos. If I can think of any other questions, I'll ask them but as of now those are the only ones. Any advice and answers appreciated. EDIT: I will also use this thread to make progress updates and leave reviews of any zoos I visit/re-visit, if you guys like.
I visited twice in late May so can answer/contribute to some of your questions Didn't see the pelican or adjutant on my visits but there was a Storm's stork visible inside the Aquatic Birds building (second enclosure if I remember correctly). I went on opening (around 11am) and saw two vontsiras very well, fairly active but not so much that they were impossible to photograph. They were at the front and on a log in the middle. Saw one individual in World of Birds with one of the birds-of-paradise, and another in JungleWorld near the tree shrew. Both showed well. Don't know about a set schedule, but although the sambar (and tahr?) were visible on my monorail tour, the train was moving too quickly to get a photo. Same for barasingha and tufted deer.
Check out Elmwood Zoo if you have the chance. I dont know what section of Philadelphia you will be in, but I live in the NorthWest section of the city and its about a 20 min drive from me. Really wonderful small zoo.
Thanks for the suggestion. I've actually been to Elmwood Park a few months ago, I uploaded some pictures in the gallery
There are a ton of rarities in World of Birds The pelicans are usually exhibited in a non-descript pond behind the children's zoo near the raptor aviaries. They have been off-exhibit due to HPAI lately, though. Same with the adjutant. I've never had an issue seeing the vontsira during any time of day, they're very active and diurnal animals. As stated the chevrotain are currently in the last bird-of-paradise habitat in WoB and in a small enclosure in the middle window of the JW free-flight near viewed near the treeshrews. The North Indian Muntjac were recently back on-exhibit with the hog deer, Nilgai, and Sambar during my last visit. ~Thylo
Is HPAI still frequently affecting most bird exhibits? I know that WOB was closed a couple of days last week, not sure if it was flu-related or maybe had to do with the recent celebrations.
Idk why WoB was closed l, it's been open all year up until this so I don't think it has to do with HPAI. Some birds that were off-exhibit due to the virus have gone back on-show (swans, flamingos) but most remain off-exhibit (most waterfowl exhibited outdoors, the cranes, pelicans). The adjutant are most likely still off-exhibit sadly, though I don't really see a reason why they'd need to be. The Pheasantry has remained open and fully stocked as has both bird houses and the other exhibits which feature prominent bird displays. Aside from the adjutant, it's really just the open-topped bird habitats which have been impacted. As a general tip, you can typically spot the Black-Necked Crane in its yard behind the adjutant stork aviary by looking through the aviary. ~Thylo
Ok, I just finished not one, but two small zoological facilities on Long Island. The "road trip" has officially commenced! I'm on my way home, will post reviews later tonight.
Review time! I'm not sure all the zoos I visit on this trip will have as detailed reviews since most other people here covered them, but we'll see. Depends on time and what I have to say I guess Anyways, after a few days of being in New York and chilling with family, I took the first of hopefully many Northeast trips this summer out to the Long Island area. Technically this wasn't supposed to be a "zoo" visit as I just wanted to do some nature trails in the Long Island Pine Barrens region; this habitat is a remnant piece of formerly more widespread ecosystem found in the region. There just so happens to be a wildlife refuge with exhibits that also has trails around the area, so it was an ideal place to go to. I drove over an hour in the early morning, making sure to beat the inevitable Hamptons weekend traffic that would cause standstill levels of congestion. Lets get into it: QUOGUE WILDLIFE REFUGE (QUOGUE, NY) This facility is free to enter and has trails that go into the pine barrens. A cool morning turned the walk into an enjoyable experience. The best part of the nature trek was seeing what must have been over 100 tiny frogs! Later identified by a ranger as Spring Peepers, these little guys were everywhere on the trails; I thought they were just large ants at first! But I’m sure you guys are all waiting for the real meat of this visit, the animal exhibits Quogue has one outdoor exhibit area with an opossum and several birds of prey, all of which are non-releasable rescues. There are also some empty, unsigned enclosures in this area that, based on information from the facilities website, probably belonged to a Great Horned Owl and some species of fox (I assume given they were now unsigned, the individuals either passed away or were transferred to a different facility). These enclosures are all very large and spacious. The exhibit housing a single opossum (unseen) was bigger than what would be more than adequate for a Bobcat and was filled with many branches and little tunnels to hide in. With the exception of a pair of Barred Owls that shared a large space, all BOPs were in their own individual spaces. Near the main animal exhibits, there was a small tropical greenhouse that housed a few tortoises in open pens. Then there was the nature center, a very nice building that housed several animals in standard tanks, many not native to the area. A butterfly garden was apparently present within the trails, although I didn’t care to look for it. While many of the animals I saw were common sanctuary denizens, there were also a few species I hadn’t seen in captivity before, such as the Merlin Falcon, Veiled Chameleon and Yellow Mud Turtle. I can't say whether these species are actually rare in zoo institutes, but it was nice to finally see them personally and check them off my list. I also saw and photographed an Amboina Box Turtle, a species exhibited in at least two zoos I visited but a no-show each time. Here is the complete species list. Outdoor exhibits Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginianus) – UNSEEN Merlin Falcon (Falco columbarius) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperi) Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) - UNSEEN Barred Owl (Strix varia) Greenhouse Sulcata Tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius) Indoor Nature Center Common Chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) Amboina Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis) Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon flavescens) Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius) Central Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps) Veiled Chameleon (Chameleo calyptratus) Common Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus guttatus) Ball Python (Python regius) Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus) Death Feigning Beetle (Asbolus verrucosus) – UNSEEN Madagascan Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) Indian Walking Stick (Caraousius morosus) Smokey Oak Millipede (Narceus gordanus) – UNSEEN OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The animal exhibits, while not large in number were all large in size and well-done. I probably would not have driven all the way out here if I wasn't doing the nature walk, but having the positive zoological aspects added into the trip no doubt enhance the overall experience. This was one of the better nature centers/sanctuaries I’ve visited. I'd recommend checking this place out if you're in the area or want to see the Pine Barrens, but if you do decide to drive out here in the summer, make sure to do so either in the early weekday (Mon-Wed) or early morning any other day because traffic will get very, very heavy later on. The day wasn't done, as there was another facility I stopped over on my way back to Brooklyn. HOLTSVILLE WILDLIFE & ECOLOGY CENTER (HOLTSVILLE, NY) The Holtsville Ecology Center (aka Brookhaven Ecology Site) was a small local facility that wasn’t out of the way on my trip back home. I figured it would be a good idea to visit a place I otherwise would not likely drive out of the way for. The center is free to enter, though non-residents of the township need to pay a small parking fee ($3 for an hour, you won’t need longer). In addition to a zoological section that I believe is mostly filled with rescue animals, there’s a small garden and a playground for kids among other amenities. The facility features many domestic animals, some of which you can pet. A few wild animals are here, most native to North America. Most were commonly kept species that I had already seen numerous times; this includes a second daily dose of Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel and Barred Owls (I’m not complaining though). The one species I never saw which is probably a rarity is what I’m certain is supposed to be an American Marten (labelled as a “Pine Martin” with no scientific name attached). Unfortunately, it will remain on my unseen list because it was a no-show today. It wasn't the only unseen animal here on my visit. The best parts of the center are the exhibits for the Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and American Black Bear. The enclosures are large and very nicely done, and they wouldn’t be out of place at a true zoo. The bear exhibit has a natural pool, logs and toys for enrichment, several real trees for climbing/scratching, a large hammock and a den built into a hilly part of the enclosure. Too bad I didn’t see the bear chilling in his crib as he was off-scene. The remaining exhibits were generally alright, with maybe a couple of small/outdated ones but nothing I found glaringly bad. There was quite a bit of wasted space in this place at the moment, with many ugly, outdated cages laying vacant along the paths. There is a sign at the entrance saying they are in the process of renovating exhibits; if they are building new enclosures in the vein of the eagle/bear ones, they are on the right track. One thing that bugged me about this facility was the exhibit signage. Besides the “Pine Martin” sign, many others didn’t have scientific names or info on the species. Some enclosures had no signage at all, so your average visitor would probably have no idea what he’s seeing. Anyways, here is a species list (only wild animals): Indoor front exhibits Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) Unsigned lizard (probably a Leopard Gecko) Unsigned snake (barely seen, can't even guess species) Outdoor exhibits Groundhog (Marmota monax) - UNSEEN Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus) Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes – one individual is a “hybrid”) “Hybrid” Wolf (Canis lupus? Sign only says hybrid wolf) – UNSEEN American Marten? (Martes americana? Sign only says “Pine Martin”) – UNSEEN Northern Coati (Nasua narica) American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) – UNSEEN Bobcat (Lynx rufus) American Bison (Bison bison) White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) Barred Owl (Strix varia) Florida Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) – UNSEEN? Saw a turkey in a different enclosure but usure its wild. Emu (Dromaius novaehollandia) OVERALL EXPERIENCE: If you’re a resident of the area with kids, this is a very good place to kill a day. Kids can go to the playground after seeing the animals, all for basically no cost. The place seems kind of disorganized at the moment, but they are renovating so its excusable. I was impressed by some of the exhibit quality at least, but if it was out of the way from my drive home, I doubt I would have visited. This place is alright for what it is, but not really worth travelling to if you aren’t already in the area. Of the two facilities visited today, I liked Quogue more despite it being “smaller”. I'll try to upload some of the pictures I took of both places over the next few days.
Does Holtsville no longer have muskrat, then? I've been wanting to get up there but they only recently started doing more normal hours, they were closed for a really long time with covid and then opened for weird hours (with 15 minute timed entry slots and no late entry, which is super hard to plan when you're coming from 3-4 hours away!). The American marten is also known as the American pine marten. It's a local animal, so yes, Martes americana. A couple of places have them, most notably ZooAmerica, but yeah they're rare. The Merlin Falcon is unusual, as well.
There was no Muskrat on display. Maybe it once occupied one of the many empty cages around the place. I haven't seen the species yet, but the Trailside Museum at Bear Mountain is supposed to have one on display, and I do hope to visit them at some point on this trip. If you're coming in from far to visit Holtsville, you should definitely add Quogue to your visit as well. Both places are within 30 minutes from each other assuming normal traffic.
Depending how long you end up in the providence/Boston area I’d recommend checking out southwick’s zoo in Mendon, Ma. In my opinion it’s the only other zoo in New England worth checking out that aren’t in the cities. The other smaller places are quite nice but southwick’s should be your pick besides Roger Williams and the places in Boston
Thanks. I've heard of Southwicks and its collection looks impressive. Want to see those Vicunas. The only issue is that if I'm going to Boston it will be with someone who isn't as much of a zoo enthusiast as me. I'll probably be able to do Franklin Park and hopefully Stone as well, but not sure about any others. I suppose if I take a second trip to Rhode Island, it will be possible to drive up to Mendon so I'll look into that once the time comes. Mystic is another must-stop if I do end up driving out to RI.
Trailside does, but it's iffy on if it'll be out. I'm not sure if it's in a new exhibit or not, they started replacing them last year.
I purchased my tickets and will be visiting the Bronx Zoo tomorrow, going to drive in when they open. Good thing I didn't book for today as many exhibits are closed due to bad weather. Hopefully everything is fully open tomorrow. One other question, are the Cheetahs and Clouded Leopards in any way viewable under normal circumstances? I never even knew these were held at Bronx until I saw you can book special encounters with them a number of months back.
Visit done. Bronx Zoo was phenomenal as expected. Thanks to all contributors for the info on where to see certain species, I saw nearly everything I wanted to.
Here's a more detailed review of yesterday's visit to the Bronx. I was debating whether I should even post it because there are probably hundreds of others. But to keep it consistent with the rest of my thread, here goes. BRONX ZOO (NEW YORK, NY) Upon walking to the entrance gate, I was asked by a zoo employee if I'd like to be a WCS member for only $45. Since I will more then likely be revisiting my New York family at some other point in the coming year and I might try to return to Central Park Zoo (last visit was pre-COVID) and Prospect Park (if they re-open Hall Of Animals in the next 3 weeks) during this road trip, I figured this was a worthwhile investment even as a Florida native; if I visit the above two institutions or even squeeze in a second Bronx visit on this trip, the membership has already paid for itself. With an early start and careful planning ahead, I was able to for the first time that I can remember see pretty much everything in one day (except ambassador animal shows and the closed butterfly garden). Here's a small rundown of the exhibits, in the order I visited them. World Of Birds: I neglected this exhibit on my past couple of visits; in fact I don't think I went here since 2018. But with new interest in birding, this was going to be my first stop. Absolutely stunning place, with the second floor walkthroughs the best part. Many educational pieces surrounds the countless tropical enclosures. While signage exists, the species are rarely inside the enclosure that the sign is placed on; some species on signs are not even in WOB but are present in other locations, and vice versa. Unlike Zoo Miami's aviary, I was unable to get a zookeeper to give me a list of everything here But I saw a lot, probably a good majority of species kept here. I got to see my first Malay Chevrotain and Andean Cock-of-the-rock here, among others. Madagascar: Another standout exhibit with a particularly wonderful dry forest enclosure filled with lemurs and other species. I saw a Ring-tailed Mongoose and Gray Mouse Lemurs for the first time that I can remember. Even the Collared Brown Lemur, a species that always alludes me at every zoo I visit that has them was out and about. Unsigned species I saw here were some species of Vasa Parrot. Aquatic Bird House + Sea Bird Aviary: Like World Of Birds, I haven't been to this facility in a while and was determined to finally return. While nowhere near as nice as the WOB aviary, this was still a good exhibit with many interesting species. I didn't have much luck with some the rarities here; Lesser Adjutant was off-exhibit and the Brown Kiwi was of course impossible to see in the darkness of it's enclosure (has anyone ever seen this guy?) Several non-aquatic birds like Crested Coua, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sulawesi Hornbill and the aforementioned Kiwi are present here. Most species were identifiable to me, but signage as in WOB was not very accurate in terms of what was held at current enclosure and there were a couple of unsigned duck species that I'm not 100% sure about. Overall, a solid exhibit but in comparison to the many great ones at Bronx this one falls in the middle to lower end in my opinion. Children's Zoo: I missed this on my last visit, so I made sure to see it early on. This is the one major exhibit at the Bronx that feels like it can belong at any run-of-the-mill zoo. It's not to say its bad, just that so many other exhibits here are truly standout and this one is kind of on the forgettable side. I liked it, though. There's are many smaller animals that are popular to casual visitors like Squirrel Monkeys, Coatimundi, Fennec Fox, various tortoises including the Aldabra Giant and others. Plus at the end there is domestic animals that can be petted and fed. My pet peeve here is that since this is a "children's zoo", they have little storybook blurbs about the animals rather than signage with interesting facts and scientific names. As such, several animals were hard for me to identify. This is a perfectly fine part of the zoo, but more for the kids. I'd probably skip it if I was running low on time. Zoo Center: This building holds a Komodo Dragon (individuals are also at Children's Zoo and Reptile House as well) and several other monitor lizards. There's also indoor viewing for the White Rhinoceros, but they were out when I went. Nothing much to say about this exhibit. Birds Of Prey/Pheasant Aviaries: These are also on the weaker end of Bronx's exhibit tier, more so the Pheasant Aviary with functional but ugly cages. By no means bad or anything, but again this is the Bronx Zoo we're talking about so its going to be held to a higher standard. Birds Of Prey only has a few species, but some interesting ones like Andean Condor and Cinereous Vulture. Wish they'd add some more small/mid-sized BOP's. Snowy Owl was off-exhibit due to summer season, and there was also a Golden Eagle that I hadn't seen on my previous visits. Asia Monorail: After a string of middling exhibits, we get back to greatness with the Asia Monorail ride. While habitat is not as big as what you might find at a safari park, its still vast and unlike with say San Diego Zoo Safari Park, there's actually a chance you can see everything. I pretty much got a glimpse of every species except by the main deer enclosure; there are five species kept in a single large field and they are pretty identical looking from afar. I know I saw Hog Deer, Indian Muntjac (first time I believe) and Nilgai, but there was also Sambar, Sika and I believe Chital as well; I might have seen the former but that's about it as far as I'm aware. I ended up riding the monorail twice on this visit and enjoyed both rides. JungleWorld: The trio of JungleWorld, Congo Gorilla Forest and Madagascar are the best exhibits, imo, and I'm leaning towards JungleWorld as the top one. Just an amazing tropical walkthrough environment filled with interesting species that can sometimes be hard to spot, but which you will anyways want to spend much time in to see the incredible flora and architecture. A few unidentified duck species, but aside from that I could tell what I was looking at. Himalayan Highlands + Grizzly Bears: Good outdoor exhibits. Snow Leopard was barely visible this visit, but I've seen them many times in the past. African Plains + Giraffe Building + Gelada Reserve: This was always my go-to exhibit in the past, but as someone who has begun to become a veteran zoo visitor, I actually saved this for nearly last. The plains and reserve are nice outdoor enclosures with a number of species. The Giraffe Building has nice Dwarf Mongoose and nocturnal-style Aardvark exhibits. The Aardvark is hard to see at times, but this visit he was active and digging like crazy. Congo Gorilla Forest: Many will consider this the crown jewel of the Bronx Zoo and it's indeed either my favorite or second favorite exhibit right behind JungleWorld. The Gorilla habitat is probably the best in the country, and there are a host of other species here, like Mandrill, Red River Hog, Wolf's Guenon and supposedly De Brazza Monkeys, though I think the last time I've seen them here was way back when was a child. Many interesting educational and artistic pieces as well. Besides an Okapi exhibit that has a weak viewing area, this one has nothing I can complain about. Mouse House + Outdoor Enclosures: The enclosures just outside the Mouse House are pretty crappy when compared to the rest of the zoo, imo. They'd actually be fine for some random nature center, but again I'm holding Bronx to a very high standard. I'd say they are the worst exhibit currently at Bronx, and the only one that's average even when comparing it to smaller and less famous zoos. White-faced Saki, Southern Pudu and Red-rumped Agouti were on display. The Mouse House itself is a wonderful little exhibit that looks at the smallest and most overlooked of mammals. I wish that they can add some more species, I remember they had a couple of other interesting species like a ground squirrel and armadillo over the years, but they're not there anymore. Several enclosures also display the same species. That's just a small nitpick, though. Reptile House: A nice house for herps. They seem to have changed the species of snakes on exhibit since my last visit about a year ago. I'm not adding a species list for this place since it will take up too much space, and I'm sure someone already added a recent one. But if someone wants it, I can look into making a different thread with what I saw. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: As always, this was a wonderful visit. That's no surprise to anyone, obviously. I have a hard time imagining a zoo enthusiast putting Bronx out of any Top 5 US zoo list. I ranked Bronx Zoo as my #3 all-time favorite zoo visited behind San Diego and Zoo Miami, but returning after nearly a year and being able to complete the entire zoo this time, I can hear an argument for moving it higher. Bronx is almost like the ex that you loved but kind of forgot about and moved on to a new wonderful relationship (my current hometown zoo, Miami), but then you meet her again and all the feelings of how great she is come back and you get conflicted. Luckily since this is just arbitrary zoo rankings, its a pretty damn good conflict to have I'm lucky both my ex-home and current home zoo are so awesome.
Appreciate the review, especially since I'll be taking a fellow colleague who's never been, in a few weeks. Even though it's been down graded in my opinion ( Rapunzel the Sumatran rhino was a highlight the first 3 times I visited, WOD, multiple elephant exhibits, etc.) its still a staple for zoo enthusiasts.
