Is this gorilla exhibit all-indoor? How long would it take to tour this zoo? Is it feasible to tour the New England Aquarium on the same day? Has anyone visited Stone Zoo recently? I hope to be in the Boston area in the middle of July (another Snowleopard road trip) and I'd like to definitely see the aquarium and Franklin Park Zoo.
I believe the gorilla exhibit also had an outdoor yard but was closed for renovation when I was there so they were stuck indoors; however the indoor exhibit was fairly nice. I think combining this zoo with the New England Aquarium in one day is a possibility since this zoo is small and the aquarium is average. I have not been to Stone Zoo.
I don't recall being particularly pushed for time! The aquarium is pretty nice, but nowhere near the standard of the big ones that generate a great deal more publicity. The zoo - back then - was poor. The rainforest building, in which the gorillas were to be found, was an enormous white elephant, with none of the elan of, say, the Lied Jungle (love it or loathe it). I think it's improved greatly since then - but it's not a zoo to which I will be rushing back, I must admit!
@snowleopard: Have you seen the movie "Next Stop Wonderland"? It is a romantic comedy starring Hope Davis and some of it takes place at the New England Aquarium. One of the plot threads is about the kidnapping of the aquarium's superstar fish mascot, which I think was played by a pufferfish.
When you visit the Franklin Park Zoo if you happen across the elephant skeleton that they apparently have rotting out in the sun (http://www.zoochat.com/566/elephant-skeleton-2009-a-214836/) can you please explain the context for what this is exhibit is supposed to be, if there is any? I'm curious if it is an anti-ivory poaching display. Gracias!
Thanks for all of the help guys! It is rather astonishing that the main zoo in the city of Boston only receives around 350,000 visitors per year, a puny amount considering how many tourists pour into the area each year. On this summer's road trip the plan is to drive all across the width of America until reaching Boston, where I would definitely like to tour Franklin Park Zoo and New England Aquarium. Whether we do the two in one day or not will more than likely be a decision made on the day (two small kids in tow alters life completely) but Stone Zoo will probably not be visited by us as it is even smaller than Franklin Park. After Boston the plan is to drive down the entire eastern coast of the United States, all the way down to practically the bottom of Florida. There are many zoos, and even more aquariums, in that part of North America that we have never visited.
Did the "Bachelor Group" outdoor exhibit shown here ever get built? As depicted, it appears the plan was to have a visitor tunnel through the enclosure--which I would guess would be a highlight that someone on this site would have photographed if indeed it had been constructed.
the bachelor group exhibit has never been built but there is now a nice outdoor exhibit for the girls and one male at a time. They have two males so each male switches off being with the girls outside or having the entire indoor exhibit to themselves.
