Prospect Park Zoo Prospect Park Zoo Review

[GraysonDP]

Prospect Park Zoo Review

Date of Visit: June 5, 2015

The Prospect Park Zoo is the smallest of the WCS zoos and the one with the least megafauna: only sea lions and baboons can be found. To be honest, it often feels like a glorified children’s zoo and primarily focuses on small animals. There ultimately is not a lot here and it can easily be seen in an hour.

Best

Hamdryas Baboon- The only exhibit of any significance at the zoo. While the Baboon Reserve at Bronx is much better, this rocky habitat is relatively good. The size is not enormous but it has excellent use of mock rock, a waterfall in the background, some nice enrichments and a very entertaining troop. The viewing windows provide a great view into the habitat.

Average

Discovery Trail- The highlight is a relatively spacious river otter exhibit. Red pandas, dingos, emus, tufted deer and prairie dogs live in average typical habitats.

Poor

Hall of Animals- All indoor exhibit featuring mongoose, gecko, big-head turtles, lorises, posion dart frogs, parrot finches and fennec foxes in exhibits that are too small. (Does anyone know if the zoo still has meerkats? What happened to the kangaroos?)

Sea Lion- Much like the one at Central Park both in its location at the center of the zoo and in its size and quality. It is probably a bit rockier than the one at Central Park and is even smaller in size. I don’t like how enclosed it feels.

Animal Lifestyles- Excluding the above mentioned baboon exhibit this building sucks. The Pallas cat exhibit is ridiculously small and marmosets, golden lion tamarins and aracaris don’t fare much better.

 

[bigfoot410]

The Prospect Zoo was originally designed to be a large Children's Zoo with a focus on smaller, entertaining animals. The meerkats and kangaroos have left the collection and it is disappointing at this time that the old kangaroo/wallaby exhibit remains empty.

I do agree that this is the weakest of the WCS zoos, but it does have an interesting collection. I feel the Discovery Trail exhibits are all decent (especially the dingoes and tufted deer) while the Animal Lifestyles Building (excluding the terrible Pallas Cat exhibit) I feel is at least average ( the tamarins and marmosets at least have decent climbing opportunities and the reptile exhibits and aquarium are adequate). I do wish they could expand the sea lion pool and completely renovate the Hall of Animals. In that section I feel only the amphibian exhibits are of sufficient size. The cichlid tank used to be a nice addition, but that has also been gone for a couple of years. I also feel the outdoor bird cages (for pheasants, monals and hornbills) are also quite small.

Another great review. What would you change/add/renovate to the Prospect Zoo?

 

[GraysonDP]

The Prospect Zoo was originally designed to be a large Children's Zoo with a focus on smaller, entertaining animals. The meerkats and kangaroos have left the collection and it is disappointing at this time that the old kangaroo/wallaby exhibit remains empty.

I do agree that this is the weakest of the WCS zoos, but it does have an interesting collection. I feel the Discovery Trail exhibits are all decent (especially the dingoes and tufted deer) while the Animal Lifestyles Building (excluding the terrible Pallas Cat exhibit) I feel is at least average ( the tamarins and marmosets at least have decent climbing opportunities and the reptile exhibits and aquarium are adequate). I do wish they could expand the sea lion pool and completely renovate the Hall of Animals. In that section I feel only the amphibian exhibits are of sufficient size. The cichlid tank used to be a nice addition, but that has also been gone for a couple of years. I also feel the outdoor bird cages (for pheasants, monals and hornbills) are also quite small.


Another great review. What would you change/add/renovate to the Prospect Zoo?

When and why did the meerkats and kangaroos leave? They're popular animals and it would be great to have them back in the collection.
I've actually suggested building an Australian section on Discovery Trail featuring kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and koalas. Also turning Hall of Animals into a reptile house, expanding the sea lion pool and adding the long-talked about Amur leopard exhibit would be great moves. Perhaps also adding siamangs or gibbons.

 

[bigfoot410]

The walkabout when the dingoes opened about 3 years ago had already dwindled to a single grey kangaroo and a pair of rock wallabies. So I think possibly 2015 they finally closed the exhibit that 4-5 years prior was probably the best exhibit at the zoo (with a very entertaining Cape Barren Goose!). The meerkats left in the past 2 years and the dwarf mongoose moved into their exhibit.

I agree that one idea would be for the zoo to try focusing on Australian animals (at least on 1-2 areas) so that it would really stand out from WCS zoos. As for your other ideas I do not know where it would all fit. I believe the Amur leopard exhibit will eventually be built on the footprint of the former kangaroo exhibit and I wish they would allow the Pallas Cat to them be moved into an outdoor exhibit alongside it. I think the Hall of Animals could work if it was more organized and focused and have larger exhibits for mammals and birds if they are going to keep them there.