Really unfortunate how much the zoo has lost recently. Capybara, Baird’s Tapir, Golden Lion Tamarin, Porcupine, Bobcat, Screech-Owl, one of the Brocket Deer, and to my knowledge some of the aviary birds are gone.
Progress on the Ocelot exhibit has been slow, and the new Red Wolf exhibit is mostly inaccessible half the time.
I know most of this isn’t the zoo’s fault but man, it hurts to see it decline in the past few years.
This zoo seems to be rudderless.
In 2023 they lost their AZA accreditation and I don’t know if they ever regained it.
This would, I believe, make ineligible to participate in SSPs with AZA member institutions.
Baird’s tapirs are held by 18 other U.S. institutions and acquisition of a breeding pair - considering their success in maintaining a specimen for three decades - would have been possible .
Bergen County Zoo has a cohesive , zoogeographic thematic in its approach to specializing in Nearctic and Neo Tropical species of the Americas. What it sufferers from is financial neglect from the city of Paramus , Bergen County and the State of New Jersey .
I would guarantee 99% of all New Yorkers (8,300,000+) - city fifteen miles away - know nothing of its existence
There is no awareness of this zoo that is within walking distance of, what once was, “Mall City” - one of the shopping destinations in America.
No marketing, no advertising , no funding and no attendance because no one knows it is there
I am recall specifically going there to see the Baird’s tapir.
Judging by the longevity the administrators must have taken good care and likely would have had breeding success - given an opportunity.
Blame local government for doing nothing to add substantial enough funding for Capitol improvements and operating costs
