Queens Zoo Queens Zoo Review

[GraysonDP]

Queens Zoo Review

Date of Visit: July 25, 2014

For my money the Queens Zoo is the second best zoo in New York City (although I haven’t been to Staten Island.) Unlike the others it solely focuses on animals from the Americas although I wish it had more tropical species like new world monkeys, jaguars and anteaters. It is a very small zoo but generally a high quality if forgettable one.

Excellent

Andean Bear Habitat- The zoo’s premier exhibit and the only Andean bear in New York City. The exhibit is fairly large and has plenty of trees for the bears to climb. It is nicely vegetated and rocks and deadfalls are nice touches. A classic immersive WCS exhibit and brings much needed starpower to the zoo.

Bison/Pronghorn- These hoofstock roam a fairly large open grasslands with unobstructed viewing. Not as good as the bison exhibit at Bronx but a good one.

Elk- These large deer live in a decently sized wooded paddock.

Coyote- Good yard for these carnivores. They have a good amount of space, a good amount of vegetation and places to hide.

Pudu- A very nice exhibit is provided for these small deer.

Bald Eagle- A nice wooded clearing is perfect for these birds.

Thick-Billed Parrot- Excellent habitat loaded with great vegetation.

Snowy Owl- This exhibit is one of the best I have seen.

Average

Sea Lion Pool- Better than the ones at Central Park and Prospect but not large enough and I really don’t care for the way it uses mock rock.

Peccary- These pigs have an average simple yard that isn’t that large or special.

Cougar- Lush and naturalistic but too small for my liking and lacking climbing opportunities.

Lynx- Relatively plain and unimaginative habitat.

Alligator- Your typical exhibit.

Aviary- An average structure that is quite forgettable but nice enough.

 

[bigfoot410]

I absolutely agree that even for me the Queens Zoo is the 2nd best WCS Zoo, and having been to the Staten Island Zoo the QZ second place ranking holds up; however I disagree with some parts of your review.

The Aviary is a historic relic from the 1964 World's Fair and for me in the best exhibit in the zoo- especially now in warmer months they have macaws and Amazonian parrots able to fly freely. It has a lot of space and I love how the path loops up in the canopy and then down into the marsh area.
The Andean Bear habitat is decent- but I think it actually lacks climbing opportunities and the bears often display stereotypic behavior. I feel the cougar any lynx habitats work a little better.
I agree that the pudu, eagle, coyote and thick billed parrot (and now roadrunner and burrowing owl) exhibits work really well. The farm area (not everyone's cup of tea) is also the best out of any NYC zoo.
Interesting fact- the current pudu exhibit used to house prairie dogs and the bald eagles used to be in the peccary exhibit. Eventually jaguars are supposed to be added to the collection; however do not know where they would go and agree some of the smaller South American species (coati, giant anteater, capybara, rheas) could one day be added. Unfortunately like all the zoos (other than the Bronx Zoo) space is limited. I will be curious to find out if one day the zoo no longer has the prairie- that exhibit is great; but that large space could probably incorporate the jaguar exhibit and several other species.