Bronx Zoo review:
This is not going to be a definitive, comprehensive review of the Bronx Zoo, as I've done with hundreds of other zoo reviews, but instead a general overview because this is already a zoo that is well known on ZooChat. I visited the Bronx Zoo in 2008, and it was eerie to come back 17 years later, and my tour of the zoo's grounds was almost identical!
My biggest stressor beforehand was the time limits imposed by the zoo itself, as opening at 10 a.m. and closing at 5:00 p.m. meant that I had to show some pace in order to squeeze it all in within a single day. I was with my wife and therefore didn't make exhaustive lists of species in each building, as that would have meant a second day for sure. I still took a ton of photos and recently uploaded more than 120 images to this site. We saw everything except the animatronic dinosaurs (only a temporary summer display anyway), the butterflies and the budgies, which I would have likely skipped anyway. Boring. Everything else was seen, done and photographed by me and it was a wonderful day at a legendary zoo.
The zoo is able to be seen in a day, at a reasonable pace, by chunking it up into time slots and it worked out well on August 12th. We were first in line at the Asia Gate at 10:00 a.m. and we spent 30 minutes inside JungleWorld, then hit up the Wild Asia monorail right when it opened and that was approximately another 30 minutes. Then it was 30 minutes inside World of Darkness, 30 for Congo Gorilla Forest, 30 for lunch, 30 for the World of Reptiles, etc., and we left the zoo exactly 7 hours after we entered it.
Here are some cursory thoughts and highlights, in the order that we did the zoo:
JungleWorld - This has some spectacular moments (Gharials, the curving pathway, the different primates), but also some lows (Small-clawed Otters, Matschie's Tree Kangaroos and Malayan Tapirs all have puny enclosures). I loved seeing all the small jungle creatures represented, and it's good to see the Leopards are gone, but this building could use a slight renovation in places. It's very good, but with some obvious flaws.
Wild Asia Monorail - Seeing animals for seconds is of course always an issue for any zoo nerd, but the expansive exhibits make up for the speed of the ride. Other than the Asian Elephant and Red Panda enclosures, everything else is exemplary and the Markhor herd is impressive.
World of Darkness - A fun time was had by us in here, as Nocturnal Houses are such a rare sight these days. I saw every species except for the tarantula, which is a little alarming as some of the exhibits could be larger for their occupants. One of the Aye-ayes was badly pacing, wretchedly spinning round and round for ages, and the exhibit is quite narrow and so that was sad to see. Do the Sand Cats and Cacomistle have enough space? It's no Omaha or Frankfurt, but this is still a very good building and pretty much as I remembered it from 2008 except for the updated graphics. I particularly enjoyed the Broad-snouted Caiman exhibit with the mist wafting out into the swamp. Very cool.
African Plains - Lions is too small, Carter Giraffe House is the same because those Giraffes are inside for most of their lives, but the rest of the exhibits are all top-notch. The big Nyala field is gorgeous.
Congo Gorilla Forest - Still a classic exhibit, although I was a bit shocked at the copious amount of hotwire that is absolutely everywhere. Just like with JungleWorld, there's some megafauna and then a great representation of smaller critters, plus the educational component is wonderful. The signs and interpretative material throughout the zoo are world-class.
Pheasantry/Flamingos/Dancing Crane Cafe - Pheasants and other birds are solid, flamingos need to be netted, and the cafe is ultra-expensive for what you get. Very basic food offering, and the Somba Village Cafe (by the Geladas) was where we ate in 2008, but it was closed this time around.
Mouse House - A joy but of course a bit dated. Black and Rufous Giant Elephant Shrews in a small space, with several adjoining enclosures, is a highlight. The Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rats are also a bit cramped, but the rest is delightful and how many zoos have a building such as this one? Long may it remain.
World of Reptiles - Pleasant enough but also showing signs of age much like every structure at the Bronx Zoo. Exhibits for the larger species (Cuban Crocodile, Dwarf Crocodile, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Green Anaconda) wouldn't look out of place at a roadside zoo in Arkansas or a privately-run Indonesian zoo, far below the Bronx's usual high quality, but the terrariums for smaller lizards and snakes are nicely landscaped.
Gelada Reserve/Himalayan Highlands/Dholes/Grizzlies/Tiger Mountain - All very solid exhibits. Gelada/Ibex/Rock Hyrax hillside enclosure is excellent, the Snow Leopard complex is superb, bears are just okay, Dholes tight on space, Tigers are terrific.
World of Birds - Better than I remembered it to be, especially the first floor. Lots of beautiful murals, brilliantly designed aviaries, and an older building that holds up nicely. Great Hornbills lack space, it was great to see an active Kagu, and I can fully understand why bird nerds adore this complex. It's no Singapore Bird Paradise, but nowhere else is.
Aquatic Bird House/Sea Bird Aviary/Birds of Prey - The house is not as strong as World of Birds, but much smellier! Sea Bird Aviary is packed with Inca Terns pooping everywhere and is an iconic structure. The Lesser Adjutant aviary is splendid. Birds of Prey a slight afterthought and not very memorable. It's a bit like the row of antiquated monkey cages near the Mouse House...they could be torn down and no one would complain.
Madagascar! - Better than I remembered it to be, with some outstanding landscaped exhibits. Lots of active animals, tainted a little by the Bronx Zoo TV series showing how the lemurs spend 17 hours a day in little, off-show metal cages. From a public viewpoint, it's all fantastic, but it's tough for me to compliment it too highly when I've seen huge outdoor lemur walk-throughs in European zoos that probably offer the animals a much better life.
Children's Zoo - Skipped this in 2008 (ran out of time!) and so it was great to tour it this time around. Lots of smaller creatures (Coatis, Squirrel Monkeys, North American Porcupines, Striped Skunks) and it's an okay experience without ever being anything more than average.
Zoo Center - Komodo Dragons, some monitor lizards, White Rhino exhibit, lots of historic architecture in this general area. A nostalgic zone and we watched the California Sea Lion feeding presentation in the late afternoon.
OVERALL:
It's kind of crazy that I visited Bronx Zoo in 2008 directly after Madagascar! opened and then I came back 17 years later just after World of Darkness reopened. The Rare Animal Range, Monkey House and Skyfari ride all closed in the interim, and so it was genuinely odd to stroll around a major zoo from open to close and it was nostalgic in many ways. It's probably fair to say that Bronx has regressed since then and the closure of those 3 attractions helped me squeeze everything into a single day.
If you look at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, that place since 2008 has opened the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion, Skyfari, Expedition Madagascar, Scott Aquarium renovation, the enormous 28-acre African Grasslands, the Alaskan Waterpark, the 5-acre Children's Adventure Trails, Asian Highlands, Glacier Bay Landing, Sea Lion Shores, and even updated their Gorilla, Orangutan and Simmons Aviary complexes. It's like an entirely new zoo!
San Diego Zoo has opened (again since 2008) Elephant Odyssey, Outback, Africa Rocks, the enormous Bashor Bridge walkway, Reptile Walk, Komodo Kingdom, Hummingbird Habitat and added 80 species to the zoo after the opening of Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.
For me, my personal opinion from visiting more than 600+ zoos in my lifetime is that San Diego and Omaha are clearly the top two zoos in North America with no one else challenging them. Bronx and Saint Louis would be my next two, still excellent facilities but not at the same level as San Diego or Omaha.
I had an amazing day at the Bronx Zoo, and for my money it is clearly the #3 or #4 best zoo on the continent, but there is definitely a sign of stagnation. Is that too strong a word? JungleWorld, the Mouse House, World of Reptiles, the Children's Zoo (even with the renovation from around a decade ago), several of the aviaries here and there, etc., all need a little more TLC than they've received in recent years. It's such a great zoo, but a little freshening up in places wouldn't go amiss and for me to have almost an identical experience 17 years later is just not how a major zoo should be. I fully realize that it all comes down to funding, as the Wildlife Conservation Society has its hands full with 5 facilities and its conservation projects, but the Bronx Zoo could definitely use a lick of paint in a few zones and why not reopen the Monkey House as some kind of new complex as the next big addition?
Thoughts on my review?
This is not going to be a definitive, comprehensive review of the Bronx Zoo, as I've done with hundreds of other zoo reviews, but instead a general overview because this is already a zoo that is well known on ZooChat. I visited the Bronx Zoo in 2008, and it was eerie to come back 17 years later, and my tour of the zoo's grounds was almost identical!
My biggest stressor beforehand was the time limits imposed by the zoo itself, as opening at 10 a.m. and closing at 5:00 p.m. meant that I had to show some pace in order to squeeze it all in within a single day. I was with my wife and therefore didn't make exhaustive lists of species in each building, as that would have meant a second day for sure. I still took a ton of photos and recently uploaded more than 120 images to this site. We saw everything except the animatronic dinosaurs (only a temporary summer display anyway), the butterflies and the budgies, which I would have likely skipped anyway. Boring. Everything else was seen, done and photographed by me and it was a wonderful day at a legendary zoo.
The zoo is able to be seen in a day, at a reasonable pace, by chunking it up into time slots and it worked out well on August 12th. We were first in line at the Asia Gate at 10:00 a.m. and we spent 30 minutes inside JungleWorld, then hit up the Wild Asia monorail right when it opened and that was approximately another 30 minutes. Then it was 30 minutes inside World of Darkness, 30 for Congo Gorilla Forest, 30 for lunch, 30 for the World of Reptiles, etc., and we left the zoo exactly 7 hours after we entered it.
Here are some cursory thoughts and highlights, in the order that we did the zoo:
JungleWorld - This has some spectacular moments (Gharials, the curving pathway, the different primates), but also some lows (Small-clawed Otters, Matschie's Tree Kangaroos and Malayan Tapirs all have puny enclosures). I loved seeing all the small jungle creatures represented, and it's good to see the Leopards are gone, but this building could use a slight renovation in places. It's very good, but with some obvious flaws.
Wild Asia Monorail - Seeing animals for seconds is of course always an issue for any zoo nerd, but the expansive exhibits make up for the speed of the ride. Other than the Asian Elephant and Red Panda enclosures, everything else is exemplary and the Markhor herd is impressive.
World of Darkness - A fun time was had by us in here, as Nocturnal Houses are such a rare sight these days. I saw every species except for the tarantula, which is a little alarming as some of the exhibits could be larger for their occupants. One of the Aye-ayes was badly pacing, wretchedly spinning round and round for ages, and the exhibit is quite narrow and so that was sad to see. Do the Sand Cats and Cacomistle have enough space? It's no Omaha or Frankfurt, but this is still a very good building and pretty much as I remembered it from 2008 except for the updated graphics. I particularly enjoyed the Broad-snouted Caiman exhibit with the mist wafting out into the swamp. Very cool.
African Plains - Lions is too small, Carter Giraffe House is the same because those Giraffes are inside for most of their lives, but the rest of the exhibits are all top-notch. The big Nyala field is gorgeous.
Congo Gorilla Forest - Still a classic exhibit, although I was a bit shocked at the copious amount of hotwire that is absolutely everywhere. Just like with JungleWorld, there's some megafauna and then a great representation of smaller critters, plus the educational component is wonderful. The signs and interpretative material throughout the zoo are world-class.
Pheasantry/Flamingos/Dancing Crane Cafe - Pheasants and other birds are solid, flamingos need to be netted, and the cafe is ultra-expensive for what you get. Very basic food offering, and the Somba Village Cafe (by the Geladas) was where we ate in 2008, but it was closed this time around.
Mouse House - A joy but of course a bit dated. Black and Rufous Giant Elephant Shrews in a small space, with several adjoining enclosures, is a highlight. The Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rats are also a bit cramped, but the rest is delightful and how many zoos have a building such as this one? Long may it remain.
World of Reptiles - Pleasant enough but also showing signs of age much like every structure at the Bronx Zoo. Exhibits for the larger species (Cuban Crocodile, Dwarf Crocodile, Reticulated Python, Burmese Python, Green Anaconda) wouldn't look out of place at a roadside zoo in Arkansas or a privately-run Indonesian zoo, far below the Bronx's usual high quality, but the terrariums for smaller lizards and snakes are nicely landscaped.
Gelada Reserve/Himalayan Highlands/Dholes/Grizzlies/Tiger Mountain - All very solid exhibits. Gelada/Ibex/Rock Hyrax hillside enclosure is excellent, the Snow Leopard complex is superb, bears are just okay, Dholes tight on space, Tigers are terrific.
World of Birds - Better than I remembered it to be, especially the first floor. Lots of beautiful murals, brilliantly designed aviaries, and an older building that holds up nicely. Great Hornbills lack space, it was great to see an active Kagu, and I can fully understand why bird nerds adore this complex. It's no Singapore Bird Paradise, but nowhere else is.
Aquatic Bird House/Sea Bird Aviary/Birds of Prey - The house is not as strong as World of Birds, but much smellier! Sea Bird Aviary is packed with Inca Terns pooping everywhere and is an iconic structure. The Lesser Adjutant aviary is splendid. Birds of Prey a slight afterthought and not very memorable. It's a bit like the row of antiquated monkey cages near the Mouse House...they could be torn down and no one would complain.
Madagascar! - Better than I remembered it to be, with some outstanding landscaped exhibits. Lots of active animals, tainted a little by the Bronx Zoo TV series showing how the lemurs spend 17 hours a day in little, off-show metal cages. From a public viewpoint, it's all fantastic, but it's tough for me to compliment it too highly when I've seen huge outdoor lemur walk-throughs in European zoos that probably offer the animals a much better life.
Children's Zoo - Skipped this in 2008 (ran out of time!) and so it was great to tour it this time around. Lots of smaller creatures (Coatis, Squirrel Monkeys, North American Porcupines, Striped Skunks) and it's an okay experience without ever being anything more than average.
Zoo Center - Komodo Dragons, some monitor lizards, White Rhino exhibit, lots of historic architecture in this general area. A nostalgic zone and we watched the California Sea Lion feeding presentation in the late afternoon.
OVERALL:
It's kind of crazy that I visited Bronx Zoo in 2008 directly after Madagascar! opened and then I came back 17 years later just after World of Darkness reopened. The Rare Animal Range, Monkey House and Skyfari ride all closed in the interim, and so it was genuinely odd to stroll around a major zoo from open to close and it was nostalgic in many ways. It's probably fair to say that Bronx has regressed since then and the closure of those 3 attractions helped me squeeze everything into a single day.
If you look at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, that place since 2008 has opened the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion, Skyfari, Expedition Madagascar, Scott Aquarium renovation, the enormous 28-acre African Grasslands, the Alaskan Waterpark, the 5-acre Children's Adventure Trails, Asian Highlands, Glacier Bay Landing, Sea Lion Shores, and even updated their Gorilla, Orangutan and Simmons Aviary complexes. It's like an entirely new zoo!
San Diego Zoo has opened (again since 2008) Elephant Odyssey, Outback, Africa Rocks, the enormous Bashor Bridge walkway, Reptile Walk, Komodo Kingdom, Hummingbird Habitat and added 80 species to the zoo after the opening of Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.
For me, my personal opinion from visiting more than 600+ zoos in my lifetime is that San Diego and Omaha are clearly the top two zoos in North America with no one else challenging them. Bronx and Saint Louis would be my next two, still excellent facilities but not at the same level as San Diego or Omaha.
I had an amazing day at the Bronx Zoo, and for my money it is clearly the #3 or #4 best zoo on the continent, but there is definitely a sign of stagnation. Is that too strong a word? JungleWorld, the Mouse House, World of Reptiles, the Children's Zoo (even with the renovation from around a decade ago), several of the aviaries here and there, etc., all need a little more TLC than they've received in recent years. It's such a great zoo, but a little freshening up in places wouldn't go amiss and for me to have almost an identical experience 17 years later is just not how a major zoo should be. I fully realize that it all comes down to funding, as the Wildlife Conservation Society has its hands full with 5 facilities and its conservation projects, but the Bronx Zoo could definitely use a lick of paint in a few zones and why not reopen the Monkey House as some kind of new complex as the next big addition?
Thoughts on my review?
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) I also agree that there are many subpar exhibits, however now that the Leopard is gone I believe that exhibits for animals such as the Gorillas, Tigers, Geladas, Asian Hoofstock, and much more outshine the bad ones. I also generally agree with the feeling of nostalgia I get from the zoo and honestly I haven’t really though about it before. A majority of the zoo has remained unchanged with some minor renovations since I was a kid with the only major change being the fact the Polar Bear is gone, and I don’t get that same feeling of nostalgia at any other zoo, including Bergen County and Turtle Back, both of which have changed a lot since I was little, the latter especially.
