I'm heading to Manhattan for the first and possibly only time this trip to meet an old friend for lunch. Gonna try to complete Central Park Zoo before, doesn't cost anything for me now. Will be back with update later. Thank you, I'm happy that these reviews help people in whatever way they can. Good luck with trip!
Yesterday was my first visit to Manhattan this year. I was meeting a friend for a late lunch but since she wasn't going to be ready until around 4 and I was bored, I decides to head out to Central Park in the morning and take in the zoo. Now being a WCS member it would be absolutely no cost. I hadn't been since before COVID actually, so it would be good to refresh my memory of it. CENTRAL PARK ZOO (NEW YORK, NY) This historically famous zoo is located in the heart of New York City and is a tourist magnet. This zoo's theme is climates, with tropical, temperate and arctic sections. It's quite a small facility, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality. The best exhibit is by far the Tropic Zone in my opinion. There's a beautiful walkthrough aviary that feels like a smaller version of Bronx Zoo's World Of Birds, but with more interaction from the birds. The vast majority of species are in this part (nearly 40); several like the Chinese Hwamei and Plush-crested Jay were not signed, so there may have been more species I didn't see. I spent at least an hour trying to observe as many birds as possible, sweating buckets in the heated tropical building (good thing I brought another shirt for later). Tropic Zone also has several window enclosures that are all fine. The Banded Mongoose are the rarity to see here. Temperate Territory and Arctic Circle are much smaller exhibits, but have good Snow Leopard and Grizzly Bear enclosures and a nice building with a bunch of penguins and puffins in them. There's also a children's zoo located a little further from the main zoo, something I never bothered to look at last time. As a "children's" section it doesn't quite match the quality of the rest of the zoo, but is perfectly fine in its own right. A few wild animals are here in addition to some sheep, goats and cow. Since this a more famous institution, I posted a species list in it's own thread. Click here to view. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The very best zoos have a mix of both quality and quantity; Central Park certainly hits on the first aspect but the second is a bit lacking in my opinion. Tropic Zone is a really great exhibit that most people will spend the majority of time in. All the non-Bronx NYC zoos are small but solid facilities that are neck-to-neck in my personal rankings, but I still feel with all factors considered I'd personally keep Central Park in last place (admittedly with a personal bias for Prospect Park Zoo). Most would probably say its the best non-Bronx facility, so I understand I'm in the minority here. Since most tourists will be staying in Manhattan and seeing Central Park, this zoo will probably be visited, although outside of historic significance I don't feel its a truly essential zoo to visit. If you only have time to see one zoo in New York, wake up early and save some money for the Bronx Zoo instead. That's a truly can't-miss zoo.
A couple of updates on my trip plans. I want to visit some zoos in New Jersey and I'm wondering if Bergen and Turtleback Zoo can be done in a single day, assuming I don't want to be very rushed and photograph most if not all the species that are out? I also know of the Raptor Trust that's about a 20 minute drive from Turtle Back, so thats a potential squeeze-in as well, but not sure I'll be up to it. Any other facilities in that vicinity within less than an hour drive? I kind of want to start heading back to New York around 3-ish so not to get stuck in rush-hour traffic. On Thursday, I might have time to go to Prospect Park Zoo and check it out if Hall Of Animals still remains open on their interactive map. On another note, I will be going to Boston next week for a few days and will probably be doing a couple of zoos besides the other tourist stuff. Mystic Aquarium is a planned stop-over and I'll probably be doing one of the zoos in the Boston area itself, either Franklin Park or Stone Zoo. Guy I'm going with is not as into zoos as me so I'm not sure I can do both unless theres a really early admission and one of them is only a 1-2 hour zoo, in which case I might be able to wake up early and drive there myself to complete it. I kind of want to do Stone because of the Bush Dogs (never seen), but Franklin Park seems bigger and is closer to other tourist attractions. Any advice and info on rare species at both zoos so I can determine what to do?
I’d suggest taking a look at this other thread about Massachusetts zoo visit plans, which you might find useful: Zoo New England Trip To directly address some of your questions, the Franklin Park Zoo is 70+ acres, but the entire zoo can be seen much faster than one may expect for a park of that area size, as most of the space is unused / behind the scenes. Some of the zoo’s rarer species include the Brown Kiwis and Pottos, but there might be other rarities I’m forgetting. Coincidentally, these happen to both be nocturnal species (what are the odds? ), so make sure to give your eyes time to adjust— especially for the kiwis. In my experience, they have always been very active, so long as you are patient. At Franklin Park, I’d also recommend checking out the new outdoor gorilla habitat, which opened earlier this year. The gorillas were previously relegated to an indoor area only, after a series of escapes in the early 2000s. On my last visit, the gorillas were still getting accustomed to their new digs, so I’d be curious if they are comfortable and on display outside during your visit. Construction of the new gorilla habitat is no small feat considering that Zoo New England (the non profit which runs Stone and Franklin Park) has a history of major fundraising issues. These fundraising issues are part of why so much land at Franklin Park remains unused in the first place. But while Franklin Park and Stone Zoo have had to make do with limited resources, I will say that they also have incredibly talented, knowledgeable, passionate, and caring staff. The Franklin Park Zoo is my home zoo and a very sentimental place for me, so if you have any other questions about it, I’d be happy to answer them. Hope you enjoy your visits!
In New Jersey now. Completed Raptor Trust and Turtle Back Zoo. Gonna pull a three-in-one day with Bergen County Zoo. Will post more details later.
Having finished my New Jersey trip, I'll begin adding some reviews and species lists over the next couple of days. We'll start with The Raptor Trust. THE RAPTOR TRUST (MILLINGTON, NJ) Located with the Great Swamp National Refuge, The Raptor Trust is a rescue and rehabilitation center for birds of prey and other avian species. The facility does not charge any admission and one can also hike some trails and see wildlife within Great Swamp area if they'd want to make a day of it. The facility is small compared to traditional zoos, but quite sizeable for a center that specializes in native birds of prey. There were many good-sized enclosures featuring a variety of species, some species having individuals kept in separate enclosures throughout the facility. I was able to see my first Northern Harrier and Rough-legged Hawk here, and they also keep a couple of other rarities like Merlin Falcon. Besides birds of prey, there is also a raven and albino robin, as well as several other species held behind the scenes for rehab. My biggest complaint was that many the birds were a bit hard to clearly view because of very thick colored netting around the enclosures in addition to the standard sanctuary chain-link fencing. Photos were especially challenging to get, and I'll really have to be selective as to which I can upload on here. Still, I was able to see every species on display, and it was a small but nice little first stop on my day trip. The Raptor Trust conveniently opens up at 9 AM, so I was able to compete it before 10, the time that the other two zoos on my trip open. It's about a half hour away from Turtle Back Zoo, my next stop, and I got to that one only around 15 minutes after it opened. This gave me plenty of time to complete the 3 zoos. Species List American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - ALBINO INDIVIDUAL Common Raven (Corvus corax) Merlin Falcon (Falco columbarius) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) Barred Owl (Strix varia) Barn Owl (Tyto alba) *I also got a glimpse several enclosures behind the scenes. They were unsigned and hard to see, but I could identify Blue Jay, Starling, and Canada Goose as some of the inhabitants. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: The Raptor Trust features a nice collection of local BOP's, ranging from some I've seen countless other times to a couple of first-timers. I'd rank it high on my list of free sanctuaries I've visited. As a lover of taking animal photos my only peeve is the obscuring netting, but otherwise there's little to complain about from a facility dedicated to rehabbing wildlife. This can be a great and quick pitstop for any Northeast-based zoo roadtrippers, as well as anyone visiting the Great Swamp refuge for other recreational activities. I'll cover Turtle Back and Bergen in later posts.
Some updates: 1. In the above review, I said Raptor Trust keeps an albino American Robin. The actually keep a Leucistic individual. 2. Visited Prospect Park Zoo this morning and with Hall Of Animals reopened, I experienced the full zoo once again. 3. My trip to Boston/Mystic is postponed until July 17 due to work-related emergency. I'm still going, but it will be a week later then originally planned. 4. Instead of Boston next week, I'll hopefully do some smaller trips when I have time. I should be going hiking at Bear Mountain on Sunday and plan on visiting Trailside Museum, which is now only opened on weekends. Any other suggestions nearby are welcome. I wouldn't want to drive more than 90 minutes from Bear Mountain, however. 5. Perhaps later next week when I have time, I'll visit family in Philadelphia and revisit Philly Zoo especially if McNeil Aviary is reopened. Would also like to squeeze in some other nearby zoos or nature centers in Pennsylvania or south New Jersey as well. Suggestions welcome. 6. I'll be staying in New York until at least August 3 for a family celebration. Probably will return to FL shortly thereafter.
A review: ESSEX COUNTY TURTLE BACK ZOO (WEST ORANGE, NY) After my visit to The Raptor Trust, I drive about a half hour to Essex County Turtle Back Zoo (aka Turtle Back Zoo for short). I arrived less then half an hour after it opened, and paying only around $7 thanks to AZA membership, I was off to experience my first "official" zoo in New Jersey. Despite growing up in New York, I never thought of NJ as having much in the way of zoos, yet there's a surprising amount of facilities in the state. Turtle Back is what I'd consider a mid-sized zoo. It has a decent collection of different species from around the world, set to several geographically-themed exhibit areas. While many small and mid-sized zoos tend to focus on only one or a two geographic areas as to make their smaller exhibits stand out and seem larger, Turtle Back tries to diversify its collection as much as possible; theres even a mini-aquarium and touch tank here. In some ways though, I get a bit of a "jack-of-all trades, master-of-none" feeling with this one, as unlike some smaller zoos that have a truly awesome exhibition focused on a single general theme or two, this one feels more fragmented. That's not to say Turtle Back is bad, far from it. African Adventure is the best area in my opinion, with nice enclosures for the lions, hyenas and giraffes. A nice indoor African Penguin exhibit rounds out the section, strangely featuring a bushbaby within. Because AA in totality is a rather small section, it feels weird seeing penguins (an animal not often associated with Africa) together with a jungle primate and charismatic savannah megafauna. It just feels like the entire exibit is still incomplete with the odd transition. But, nonetheless a very nice area that can hopefully expand. The worst exhibit is Australian Outback which is really just a single basic pen housing some macropods and an (off-exhibit) emu. It's right next to the pony rides, currently-closed aviary and the (no-show) ambassador cheetah enclosure, and really doesn't give any sort of "Australia" vibe. The remaining exhibits are all fine, with a really spacious Andean Condor enclosure I was impressed by that unfortunately had the bird off-exhibit due to HPAI. I suppose my least favorite enclosure was the mixed Anteater/Maned Wolf exhibit, as its built on a really steep hill and has very unkempt grass making already elusive species even harder to spot. Overall, fine pieces to the zoo but nothing especially stand-out over here. Among rarities, this was one of only two zoos I've been to that had an Aardvark on display. Bontebok are another relatively rare species I enjoyed seeing, and they had a Blue Spiny Lizard, seen here by me for the first time. As I alluded to with the closed aviary, emu and condor exhibit, birds were almost entirely off exhibit due to bird flu risk. I did get a little peak at many Budgerigars flying in the aviary, and the whole section seemed small and uninteresting so I'm not sure it would of added much to the experience. The Birds Of Prey loop was a sad little closure, as if I didn't get my BOP fill with The Raptor Center . Besides most birds gone, the Tropical Currents Aquarium house was closed and a number of smaller outdoor enclosures were empty and without signage. For more information on species held, look at the species list I posted. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: While I acknowledge that its possible the Tropical Currents Aquarium or any of the other closed/empty exhibits could've held something that would of really added to my experience, I feel like I more or less got the most out of my visit. Overall, Turtle Back is a good zoo that is worth visiting for anyone in New Jersey or the surrounding area. However, I don't feel any exhibit truly shines to make it a standout facility. African Adventure is definitely the area that has the most potential to put the zoo on the map in my opinion, and hopefully if there is an expansion, they'll add similar thematic exhibits in that area of the facility.
A review of my final zoo from 7/5/22. BERGEN COUNTY ZOO (PARAMUS, NJ) About a half an hour drive from Turtle Back, my final stop of my first New Jersey trip was Bergen County Zoo. This is a small zoo that focuses only on animals from the Americas (with possibly Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches being the lone exception) and has a small barn/petting zoo with domestic animals as well. The small size is reflected in its inexpensive admission, $8 standard and only $4 for Bergen County residents or AZA members such as myself. For a small additional fee, you can ride a choochoo train around the zoo but as I'm over the age of 5 and without kids I passed on that opportunity. The facilities main draw for zoo enthusiasts will no doubt be the Red Brocket. Bergen and Phoenix Zoo are the only two zoos in the US to hold these little deer; I actually saw the brocket at Phoenix a couple of years earlier, so I have now seen all populations of this species in the country. Bergen County Zoo also holds a Red Wolf, my first time seeing this species. Beyond some aspects of the collection, nothing is particularly interesting here. The enclosures are overall ok I guess, but not really stellar. The Goeldi's Marmoset and sloths are kept outdoors in a very large enclosure during the summer, but the vegetation is so unkempt, and poor viewing windows combined with the species small size makes observing them extremely difficult. The spider monkey enclosure on the contrary is on the small size, certainly for the three indivuals sharing the space. There is a small wetland aviary that's basically just a room, but all the birds were off-exhibit, presumably due to HPAI (species are all commonly seen ones, so nothing that I was sad to miss out on). The only part of the zoo that I was unable to experience was the Discovery Center building which houses some herps and invertebrates, but again, I don't think there was anything truly special I missed. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Bergen County Zoo is likely to attract two types, local families who need a diversion for their little kids, and zoo freaks (like myself) looking to check-off a certain tiny Mexican cervid from their species-seen lists. This is not a bad zoo, but is very small and otherwise forgettable.
I'm heading to Philadelphia later this week to stay with family and I plan on visiting Lehigh Valley Zoo on the way and probably will also visit Philly Zoo again, even though the aviary is closed. Are there any unsigned animals I should be aware of at either facility? I heard Philadelphia currently keeps several species of nocturnal primates together with the Aye-aye. Also, where is the Sifaka exhibit? Are there any nature centers that are on the way that anyone can recommend to try and squeeze in? The next day, I will probably head to Cape May in New Jersey for the beach and will do the zoo there as well so any advice on that one would also be helpful.
Do you remember which other animals the exhibit was next to? And is there any other primates in the Aye-aye enclosure?
It's a small building and the animals sometimes rotate. They didn't have other primates in there on my last visit, just the rat, but I think they sometimes put a loris or something in there. I find it very difficult to see in the lighting.
I'm in Boston for the next few days. I did Mystic Aquarium today and loved it. Walked around the Boston harbor and historic sites. I want to try to squeeze in both Stone and Franklin Park but there's just so much non-zoo stuff I want to do here I'm not sure I can get them in.
Did you see the seven pinniped species on your Mystic visit? I may be stopping there in about a month
You won't see the harp. I only saw 5 at the beginning of the month, as they were doing some work in the Steller's area, but you'll definitely see some grays.
The stellers should be back out, it was some minor rock work and then painting/letting it dry. That was a disappointment though, I've seen them before (and the only pinniped I've seen wild!) but my dad was with me and thought the other seals were huge, I wanted him to see the male Steller's They have spotted seal too, if you haven't seen that species.
I saw 5 out of the 7 species. I didn't see the Harp or Gray Seal. They are held in off-exhibit trailers but can sometimes be seen popping their heads out. I was unable to see them on my visit, though.
They keep at least one gray seal in the pool by the kennels. There were several in there on my visit.
