Good Day, ZooChatters! I am back with another zoo review and species list. As I mentioned in my thread for the Bergen County Zoo, I embarked on what might have been my most ambitious road trip yet; I took on the Big Apple itself, the one and only New York City, and with one goal in mind; to experience all 5 facilities under the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The WCS operates 4 zoos and 1 aquarium in the New York Metropolitan area; the Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Bronx Zoo, and the New York Aquarium. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be diving into each of these wonderful facilities and providing a review and species list for each (assuming I don't fall behind. Again).
This small zoo is located within the iconic Central Park, in the park's Southeastern corner, adjacent to the Arsenal. The zoo originally opened as a menagerie in 1864, which would technically qualify it as the actual oldest zoo in the United States. However, it's worth mentioning that nothing from the original menagerie remains at the zoo today; the zoo in its current form first opened in 1934.
The zoo was created as from gifts and donations of exotic animals given to the park. The park was initially very popular, but come the 20th century, it had fallen into disrepair and neglect. The zoo would undergo a complete reconstruction in the 1930s which saw most, if not all, of the original structures demolished. The new zoo opened in 1934.
The newly-opened zoo proved popular and attracted high attendance. A children's zoo (located behind a separate gate) was opened in 1961. Unfortunately, the zoo would once again fall into disrepair in the 1970s. The zoo would undergo another major reconstruction in the 1980s, during which control of the Central Park Zoo, along with the Prospect Park and Queens Zoos, were transferred to the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society). The newly-newly renovated zoo opened in 1988. Unlike the previous reconstruction, this one preserved some of the historic structures in the zoo, although outdated and antiquated enclosures were demolished to make way for larger and more naturalistic exhibits. In addition, with the zoo's reopening in 1988, the zoo would charge admission for the first time in its history. Even the Children's Zoo was not spared; that area also underwent a major renovation and reopened in 1997.
Today, the Central Park Zoo sits on just 6.5 acres, actually making it one of the smallest accredited facilities I have visited, and is home to just over 100 species. The zoo's layout is notable for retaining its historic roots, and consists of 3 major exhibit areas surrounding the central Sea Lion exhibit. The Zoo's current exhibits include an indoor rain forest with free-flying birds and a Penguinarium.
Overall, I found the Central Park Zoo to be excellent, and in fact, I would consider it to be one of the best small zoos I have visited. It may not be very big, but it manages to pack just over 100 species onto its grounds while still keeping a high standard of exhibit quality, and that collection includes quite a few species that I either have never seen or rarely see. In addition, I really liked how the zoo maintains its historic architecture and design language, yet blends it perfectly with top-notch and naturalistic landscaping. It's simply put, a VERY beautiful zoo (it helps that I visited on a sunny day, which allowed all the greenery and rock work to really pop). Even the children's zoo was very high quality, and I actually liked how most of it is inside a large free-flight aviary with many kinds of waterfowl.
Of course, the Central Park Zoo is not without its flaws. A few exhibits in the Children's Zoo area I felt paled in comparison to what's offered at the Main Zoo. But my biggest complaint regarding the zoo is that none of the WCS facilities allow re-entry after you leave. This wasn't an issue for the Bronx Zoo or New York Aquarium as both of those have dining on zoo grounds and were both easily full-day experiences for me.
But the other three facilities have no real dining options within their gates (Prospect Park and Queens have what amount to "gas station fridge-aisle food" in their gift shops), and Central Park Zoo has literally nothing inside its gate; you need to leave the zoo to dine at the Dancing Crane Cafe or shop at the Gift Shop, after which point you cannot re-enter on the same ticket. Also, the Children's Zoo is behind a separate admission gate, meaning you cannot just bounce between the two. Honestly, this kind of irked me as it makes spending more than a few hours here difficult to pull off.
But on the same token, I do realize my complaints above are mainly a personal issue specific to me and will likely be of no consequence for most visitors as I am far from normal when it comes to timing and pacing zoo visits; I have managed to stretch places like Riverbanks, Greensboro, and even Sylvan Heights to full day affairs, and of course, I also spent 12-straight hours in the Georgia and National Aquariums (but just wait until we get to the Bronx Zoo). I just get a little annoyed when these facilities implement policies and operational quirks that make it difficult, undesirable, or impossible to spend full days (as in, rope-drop to close) at these places (and this will not be the last time I bring this up).
Still, the Central Park Zoo is an excellent little zoo that I highly recommend checking out.
I will start my per-exhibit review and species list in the next part. I will be dedicating a part to each of the zoo's three main exhibit zones. And as usual, you can also find my species list here on iNaturalist -> [VISIT] Central Park Zoo Species List - 2024/06/10. Please note that iNaturalist may use different English names or synonyms from what the zoo lists.
To be Continued...
Astrom3000's Big Apple Adventure
Part 1 - Will the Real OG Zoo Please Stand Up?
For this thread, we will be taking a look at the Central Park Zoo, a small zoo located in the heart of Manhattan. This was the first of the 5 WCS facilities I visited on my trip. My review and species list will be based on my visit from 06/10/2024. I do not see that any significant collection changes occurred in the news thread.Part 1 - Will the Real OG Zoo Please Stand Up?
This small zoo is located within the iconic Central Park, in the park's Southeastern corner, adjacent to the Arsenal. The zoo originally opened as a menagerie in 1864, which would technically qualify it as the actual oldest zoo in the United States. However, it's worth mentioning that nothing from the original menagerie remains at the zoo today; the zoo in its current form first opened in 1934.
The zoo was created as from gifts and donations of exotic animals given to the park. The park was initially very popular, but come the 20th century, it had fallen into disrepair and neglect. The zoo would undergo a complete reconstruction in the 1930s which saw most, if not all, of the original structures demolished. The new zoo opened in 1934.
The newly-opened zoo proved popular and attracted high attendance. A children's zoo (located behind a separate gate) was opened in 1961. Unfortunately, the zoo would once again fall into disrepair in the 1970s. The zoo would undergo another major reconstruction in the 1980s, during which control of the Central Park Zoo, along with the Prospect Park and Queens Zoos, were transferred to the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society). The newly-newly renovated zoo opened in 1988. Unlike the previous reconstruction, this one preserved some of the historic structures in the zoo, although outdated and antiquated enclosures were demolished to make way for larger and more naturalistic exhibits. In addition, with the zoo's reopening in 1988, the zoo would charge admission for the first time in its history. Even the Children's Zoo was not spared; that area also underwent a major renovation and reopened in 1997.
Today, the Central Park Zoo sits on just 6.5 acres, actually making it one of the smallest accredited facilities I have visited, and is home to just over 100 species. The zoo's layout is notable for retaining its historic roots, and consists of 3 major exhibit areas surrounding the central Sea Lion exhibit. The Zoo's current exhibits include an indoor rain forest with free-flying birds and a Penguinarium.
Overall, I found the Central Park Zoo to be excellent, and in fact, I would consider it to be one of the best small zoos I have visited. It may not be very big, but it manages to pack just over 100 species onto its grounds while still keeping a high standard of exhibit quality, and that collection includes quite a few species that I either have never seen or rarely see. In addition, I really liked how the zoo maintains its historic architecture and design language, yet blends it perfectly with top-notch and naturalistic landscaping. It's simply put, a VERY beautiful zoo (it helps that I visited on a sunny day, which allowed all the greenery and rock work to really pop). Even the children's zoo was very high quality, and I actually liked how most of it is inside a large free-flight aviary with many kinds of waterfowl.
Of course, the Central Park Zoo is not without its flaws. A few exhibits in the Children's Zoo area I felt paled in comparison to what's offered at the Main Zoo. But my biggest complaint regarding the zoo is that none of the WCS facilities allow re-entry after you leave. This wasn't an issue for the Bronx Zoo or New York Aquarium as both of those have dining on zoo grounds and were both easily full-day experiences for me.
But the other three facilities have no real dining options within their gates (Prospect Park and Queens have what amount to "gas station fridge-aisle food" in their gift shops), and Central Park Zoo has literally nothing inside its gate; you need to leave the zoo to dine at the Dancing Crane Cafe or shop at the Gift Shop, after which point you cannot re-enter on the same ticket. Also, the Children's Zoo is behind a separate admission gate, meaning you cannot just bounce between the two. Honestly, this kind of irked me as it makes spending more than a few hours here difficult to pull off.
But on the same token, I do realize my complaints above are mainly a personal issue specific to me and will likely be of no consequence for most visitors as I am far from normal when it comes to timing and pacing zoo visits; I have managed to stretch places like Riverbanks, Greensboro, and even Sylvan Heights to full day affairs, and of course, I also spent 12-straight hours in the Georgia and National Aquariums (but just wait until we get to the Bronx Zoo). I just get a little annoyed when these facilities implement policies and operational quirks that make it difficult, undesirable, or impossible to spend full days (as in, rope-drop to close) at these places (and this will not be the last time I bring this up).
Still, the Central Park Zoo is an excellent little zoo that I highly recommend checking out.
I will start my per-exhibit review and species list in the next part. I will be dedicating a part to each of the zoo's three main exhibit zones. And as usual, you can also find my species list here on iNaturalist -> [VISIT] Central Park Zoo Species List - 2024/06/10. Please note that iNaturalist may use different English names or synonyms from what the zoo lists.
To be Continued...
