This is Rattlesnake Country! - A Staten Island Short Review and Species List
Hello ZooChat, I am back with yet another species list for a facility I visited for the first time last year, the Staten Island Zoo. It has been a while since this visit, but I noticed that no species list has been posted for this facility and there hasn't been too much movement in the news thread, so I'd figured that I would provide one for reference, as well as provide my thoughts on this little suburban zoo. This review won't be too in depth, mainly because this is a fairly small facility. My visit came on 06/22/2024, just a week after I finished surviving New York City.
The Staten Island Zoo was established in 1936 on the grounds of an estate formerly owned by a Spanish-American war veteran. While the zoo is located within the New York City metropolitan area, it is not run by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Instead, the Staten Island Zoological Society was also established to run and administer the zoo. The zoo's collection initially focused on reptiles. While the zoo has broadened its collection to include other types of wildlife, reptiles remain a strong focus of the zoo, and in fact, the zoo is probably most well-known for its collection of reptiles, particularly its collection of rattlesnakes.
Today, the sites on a 8-acre plot in the New West Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island. Despite it's small size, the zoo boasts an impressive collection of around 180 species in its care. The larger species, such as kangaroos, emus, waterfowl, birds-of-prey, leopards, and otters, are housed in a variety of exhibits outdoors throughout the property. But perhaps more significant is the indoor exhibit building on the east side of the zoo, which contains most of the reptiles, birds, and nearly all of the amphibians and fish.
The zoo features two entrances; one off of Broadway Str (which is presumably the main entrance) and one off of Clove Rd. However, the Broadway entrance appears to be closed, so visitors must enter through Clove Rd. Free parking is available just across the street from the Clove entrance. The zoo also features an on-site cafe and gift shop with a (wildly botched) Africa mural/poster.
Overall, the Staten Island Zoo is a decent, if somewhat uneven, little zoo. On the one hand, the outdoor exhibits were mostly forgettable, as many of the enclosures were pretty basic, outdated and boring, and the collection was nothing to write home about. The one exception was the Amur Leopard exhibit, which was actually fairly nice and modern, as well as being pretty lush and densely-planted. In fact, it really sticks out for how good it is and kind of makes the rest of the zoo look a little worse as a result. I don't think it's as good as Philadelphia's, but it easily surpasses the leopard exhibits at Greenville and Turtle Back.
The indoor exhibits in the main exhibit building, on the other hand, are the real reason you come to this zoo, as that is where most of the action is. The building features an aquarium room and 3 wings that are home to a wide variety of creatures, with some legit standouts, particularly in the reptile wing. The 3 wings are also very well-furnished and landscaped, with exhibits integrated in the rock work. Granted, some of the exhibits are definitely on the small side, but overall, they are just more engaging than any of the outdoor habitats.
The species list proper will begin the next post, and I will split the list into 2-3 parts since the indoor exhibits are quite species-dense. As usual, I also compiled a species list on iNaturalist that you can view here -> [VISIT] Staten Island Zoo Species List - June 2024. Do note that common/scientific names used by iNaturalist may differ from what is displayed at the zoo. Any significant differences will be noted.
To Be Continued...
