Review
Hello ZooChat, I am back with another zoo review and species list. This thread will focus on a smaller facility that I visited back in May on this year. In fact, because this facility is so small, this review will be shorter that my previous threads. Also, since this particular facility doesn't organize its animals cleanly into different zones like other zoos do, I will dedicate one post to my overall thoughts and one post to just the species list.
For this review, I will be talking about the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, PA, which I have visited on 05/19/2024. This is a small zoo that's nestled inside the Trexler Nature Preserve, a large nature park found in eastern Pennsylvania that protects over 1000 acres of hilly forests and open grasslands (a habitat otherwise not naturally found in PA) alongside Jordan Creek. Along with the zoo itself, the park also features recreational opportunities such as hiking and fishing. The park itself is free to enter, while the zoo charges admission.
Probably the most unique aspect of the park itself are the herds of bison and elk housed at the park itself, outside the zoo. Both animals are visible from vehicles as well as pathways (the bison and elk are held inside their own enclosures, so it's not like a drive-through). These exhibits are not part of the zoo and thus require no admission to access.
The zoo itself, established in 1975, is situated right at the heart of the reserve. The zoo has its own parking lot and charges admission. The zoo is fairly small, no more than 25 acres, and consists of a simple loop with a variety of exhibits. With a few exceptions, the collection is outdoors and is not organized into zones.
Overall, the Lehigh Valley Zoo is a decent little zoo that does have a nice little zoo charm to it. The exhibts and species lineup are, on the whole, nothing to write home about. That said, even this small zoo gave me some first observations of species that seem to be rare or even absent from the East Coast, such as Canadian Lynx, Aoudad, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Red-eyed Crocodile, Mexican Gray Wolf, and Fisher (Western Pond Turtle would have been here as well, had they actually been on exhibit). The exhibits are decent, but there is nothing that really stands out, for good or for ill. The zoo itself is also very well-maintained and kept.
For me, the standout exhibits include the Mexican Gray Wolf exhibit and the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery (RAD) Center, which actually manages to have an solid herptile collection for a building of its size. The penguin, river otter, birds of prey, and lorikeet exhibits were decent but unspectacular.
While the zoo on its own is a bit forgettable and it certainly couldn't hold a candle to other similarly-sized zoos, the Lehigh Valley Zoo's real strength comes from its location; it is an excellent complement to the Trexler Nature Preserve, which itself could provide an entire day's worth of fun. Combining the zoo with the numerous hiking, sightseeing, and other recreational opportunities offered by the preserve make for an enriching day out. The zoo may not be worth making a trek over there for just on its own, but when combined with the preserve, it makes for a complete package.