Since I also visited three American zoos this year, and cannot post about them in my European thread, I'm just going to make a new topic for them here.
New York City
I visited NYC this summer, mostly as a trip to meet some online friends. A nice bonus was that I got to visit one of America’s finest zoos, Bronx. This wasn’t my first time in the USA, as I’ve already been there in 2016 to Miami. It was the first time I did an intercontinental flight alone, so that was cool I guess. It was a great introduction to travelling solo, and I hope to return to the States soon.
During our visit, NYC was experiencing a heatwave. I think the highest recorded temperature in that week was 38°C? Combined with the ridiculous humidity in the city, it was sweat galore. This was especially problematic during our visits to the Prospect and Central Park Zoos. It was much less of an issue in Bronx, as it had already cooled down quite a bit, and it was more cloudy.
Prospect Park Zoo
https://prospectparkzoo.com/assets/maps/prospectparkzoo-15e6087a6d3e58f02e4776641ce3e64c.png
Visited on July 20
Prospect Park Zoo is a nice little zoo. Its exhibits are mostly indoors, and generally also on the smaller side. However, it was not expensive ($10) which made it worth the money.
Statistics
I saw 76 species in Prospect Park Zoo: 19 mammals, 31 birds, 16 reptiles and 10 amphibians.
Prospect Park Zoo has 11 species that I didn’t see anywhere else this year. 5 of these were mammals, giving Prospect Park a better mammal collection than similar European zoos.
Prospect Park Zoo has a ZooScore of 1,26, putting it in the middle of the lower tier of zoos. That’s purely due to the collection size, as the collection quality is quite good.
General Overview
Prospect Park is a rather small park, which should not take more than 1,5 hours to anyone and can be seen in less than an hour for sure. We entered through the Flatbush Entrance, which led us right to the sea lion enclosure. This kind of enclosure was featured in all three of the NYC zoos. Then we first did the aviaries next to the Hall of Animals. These aviaries house some Asian birds, and Pallas’ cats. Up next was the Hall of Animals, which houses a variety of animals in all-indoor enclosures. Most were appropriate size-wise, and well-furnitured as well.
As it was ridiculously hot outside, we tried to limit our time outside to the minimum, and skipped the Barn area, which houses mostly (just?) domestic species.
Animal Lifestyles is also an indoor exhibit. The main hall has some terrarium-style enclosures. While these were mostly fine, the one for three or-so primate species (IIRC including golden lion tamarins and Bolivian grey titis) was undersized. Hamadryas baboons were exhibited outside, in a decently-sized mock-rock enclosure.
The Discovery Trail is outdoors and houses some more charismatic animals. We sadly missed the Styan’s red panda here, as this would have been a lifer for me. These enclosures are okay for the animals, but nothing special either.
Animal Highlights
Black-footed cat, North American river otter (common in the USA, but I’d never seen one before), kinkajou, Geoffroy’s tamarin, Bolivian grey titi, Central American agouti, red-knobbed imperial pigeon, lettered aracari, spiny-necked mangrove monitor, eastern box turtle, alligator newt.
Central Park Zoo
https://centralparkzoo.com/assets/maps/centralparkzoo-4fe34480e3da0e9caa8a5ca938325f4f.png
Visited on July 20
Central Park Zoo is situated in (duh) Central Park, and is probably the zoo that gets the most tourist visits. I think that’s probably why it’s rather expensive ($13,95), especially for a smaller zoo.
The zoo is really small, and unless you spend a lot of time in the Tropic Zone, it’s really not much more than a one-hour affair. It’s not a bad zoo for sure, but it’s just really small. That makes for a perfect combination with a visit to Central Park, but since it was ridiculously hot, we decided not to do that.
Statistics
I saw 68 species in Central Park Zoo: 12 mammals, 41 birds, 13 reptiles and 2 amphibians. This means that CPZ is officially the smallest all-round zoo I’ve done this year.
CPZ has 5 species that I didn’t see anywhere else this year.
With a ZooScore of 1,10, CPZ is the lowest scoring zoo this year (excepting smaller, specialised collections).
General Overview
The main highlight in CPZ is the Tropic Zone. This part of the zoo is basically a smallish tropical hall with free-flying birds and flying foxes. There are a couple side enclosures for some herps, which are very nice. All in all I think this is a good addition to the zoo, and the only one that could really take some time.
The other exhibits in the zoo are nice, but not great. I thought the grizzly bear enclosure was rather small. The penguins/sea birds building was very good though, with a very nicely constructed penguin enclosure.
The Tisch Children’s Zoo is a bit odd. It’s half duck aviary, half petting zoo. The duck aviary has some nice rare species, but the aviary did look like it could use some new vegetation.
Animal Highlights
Bolivian grey titi, Philippine duck, pink-eared duck, scaly-sided merganser, Atlantic and tufted puffins, Venezuelan troupial, chestnut weaver, chinstrap penguin, tentacled snake, Texas tortoise, smokey jungle frog.
Bronx Zoo
Map - Bronx Zoo
Visited on July 23
I was definitely not well-prepared for my visit to Bronx. I hadn’t read any reviews, or even looked at a map of the zoo. I definitely underestimated the time it would take to visit the zoo. We arrived around 11 AM, and the zoo starts closing at 4.30 PM. That left us with 5,5 hours at the zoo. That’s not nearly enough to see the entire thing, at all. While we skipped the Children’s Zoo and by the time we arrived at Baboon Reserve most of the animals here (and at Himalayan Highlands) were already indoors. However, I do still think that we saw most of the important parts of the zoo.
As much as I’d have liked to revisit on the trip, with a ticket price of $39,95 I don’t think it would have been reasonable to spend two days at this place, especially with so much other things to see in the city.
Statistics
I saw 317 species in Bronx: 72 mammals, 153 birds, 76 reptiles and 16 amphibians. That makes it the third largest collection, third largest bird collection, second largest reptile collection and fourth largest amphibian collection this year.
I saw 76 species in Bronx that I didn’t see anywhere else this year. That’s the second most, after Walsrode.
With a ZooScore of 5,73, Bronx is a top-tier collection.
Enclosures
Slender-horned gazelle, barasingha, sambar deer, Sulawesi babirusa, greater Malay chevrotain, Matschie’s tree-kangaroo, Wolf’s mona monkey, Moholi bushbaby, Coquerel’s sifaka, Damaraland mole-rat, North Island brown kiwi, black oystercatcher, Forster’s tern, common tern, Storm’s stork, lesser adjutant, Guam kingfisher, white-throated bee-eater, maleo, giant wood rail, buff-crested bustard, plush-crested jay, lesser and Raggiana bird-of-paradise, plate-billed mountain toucan, little penguin, anhinga, golden-headed quetzal, Malagasy hognosed snake, giant horned lizard, Ethiopian mountan adder, Panamanian golden frog, Kihansi spray toad, eastern hellbender.
New York City
I visited NYC this summer, mostly as a trip to meet some online friends. A nice bonus was that I got to visit one of America’s finest zoos, Bronx. This wasn’t my first time in the USA, as I’ve already been there in 2016 to Miami. It was the first time I did an intercontinental flight alone, so that was cool I guess. It was a great introduction to travelling solo, and I hope to return to the States soon.
During our visit, NYC was experiencing a heatwave. I think the highest recorded temperature in that week was 38°C? Combined with the ridiculous humidity in the city, it was sweat galore. This was especially problematic during our visits to the Prospect and Central Park Zoos. It was much less of an issue in Bronx, as it had already cooled down quite a bit, and it was more cloudy.
Prospect Park Zoo
https://prospectparkzoo.com/assets/maps/prospectparkzoo-15e6087a6d3e58f02e4776641ce3e64c.png
Visited on July 20
Prospect Park Zoo is a nice little zoo. Its exhibits are mostly indoors, and generally also on the smaller side. However, it was not expensive ($10) which made it worth the money.
Statistics
I saw 76 species in Prospect Park Zoo: 19 mammals, 31 birds, 16 reptiles and 10 amphibians.
Prospect Park Zoo has 11 species that I didn’t see anywhere else this year. 5 of these were mammals, giving Prospect Park a better mammal collection than similar European zoos.
Prospect Park Zoo has a ZooScore of 1,26, putting it in the middle of the lower tier of zoos. That’s purely due to the collection size, as the collection quality is quite good.
General Overview
Prospect Park is a rather small park, which should not take more than 1,5 hours to anyone and can be seen in less than an hour for sure. We entered through the Flatbush Entrance, which led us right to the sea lion enclosure. This kind of enclosure was featured in all three of the NYC zoos. Then we first did the aviaries next to the Hall of Animals. These aviaries house some Asian birds, and Pallas’ cats. Up next was the Hall of Animals, which houses a variety of animals in all-indoor enclosures. Most were appropriate size-wise, and well-furnitured as well.
As it was ridiculously hot outside, we tried to limit our time outside to the minimum, and skipped the Barn area, which houses mostly (just?) domestic species.
Animal Lifestyles is also an indoor exhibit. The main hall has some terrarium-style enclosures. While these were mostly fine, the one for three or-so primate species (IIRC including golden lion tamarins and Bolivian grey titis) was undersized. Hamadryas baboons were exhibited outside, in a decently-sized mock-rock enclosure.
The Discovery Trail is outdoors and houses some more charismatic animals. We sadly missed the Styan’s red panda here, as this would have been a lifer for me. These enclosures are okay for the animals, but nothing special either.
Animal Highlights
Black-footed cat, North American river otter (common in the USA, but I’d never seen one before), kinkajou, Geoffroy’s tamarin, Bolivian grey titi, Central American agouti, red-knobbed imperial pigeon, lettered aracari, spiny-necked mangrove monitor, eastern box turtle, alligator newt.
Central Park Zoo
https://centralparkzoo.com/assets/maps/centralparkzoo-4fe34480e3da0e9caa8a5ca938325f4f.png
Visited on July 20
Central Park Zoo is situated in (duh) Central Park, and is probably the zoo that gets the most tourist visits. I think that’s probably why it’s rather expensive ($13,95), especially for a smaller zoo.
The zoo is really small, and unless you spend a lot of time in the Tropic Zone, it’s really not much more than a one-hour affair. It’s not a bad zoo for sure, but it’s just really small. That makes for a perfect combination with a visit to Central Park, but since it was ridiculously hot, we decided not to do that.
Statistics
I saw 68 species in Central Park Zoo: 12 mammals, 41 birds, 13 reptiles and 2 amphibians. This means that CPZ is officially the smallest all-round zoo I’ve done this year.
CPZ has 5 species that I didn’t see anywhere else this year.
With a ZooScore of 1,10, CPZ is the lowest scoring zoo this year (excepting smaller, specialised collections).
General Overview
The main highlight in CPZ is the Tropic Zone. This part of the zoo is basically a smallish tropical hall with free-flying birds and flying foxes. There are a couple side enclosures for some herps, which are very nice. All in all I think this is a good addition to the zoo, and the only one that could really take some time.
The other exhibits in the zoo are nice, but not great. I thought the grizzly bear enclosure was rather small. The penguins/sea birds building was very good though, with a very nicely constructed penguin enclosure.
The Tisch Children’s Zoo is a bit odd. It’s half duck aviary, half petting zoo. The duck aviary has some nice rare species, but the aviary did look like it could use some new vegetation.
Animal Highlights
Bolivian grey titi, Philippine duck, pink-eared duck, scaly-sided merganser, Atlantic and tufted puffins, Venezuelan troupial, chestnut weaver, chinstrap penguin, tentacled snake, Texas tortoise, smokey jungle frog.
Bronx Zoo
Map - Bronx Zoo
Visited on July 23
I was definitely not well-prepared for my visit to Bronx. I hadn’t read any reviews, or even looked at a map of the zoo. I definitely underestimated the time it would take to visit the zoo. We arrived around 11 AM, and the zoo starts closing at 4.30 PM. That left us with 5,5 hours at the zoo. That’s not nearly enough to see the entire thing, at all. While we skipped the Children’s Zoo and by the time we arrived at Baboon Reserve most of the animals here (and at Himalayan Highlands) were already indoors. However, I do still think that we saw most of the important parts of the zoo.
As much as I’d have liked to revisit on the trip, with a ticket price of $39,95 I don’t think it would have been reasonable to spend two days at this place, especially with so much other things to see in the city.
Statistics
I saw 317 species in Bronx: 72 mammals, 153 birds, 76 reptiles and 16 amphibians. That makes it the third largest collection, third largest bird collection, second largest reptile collection and fourth largest amphibian collection this year.
I saw 76 species in Bronx that I didn’t see anywhere else this year. That’s the second most, after Walsrode.
With a ZooScore of 5,73, Bronx is a top-tier collection.
Enclosures
- Best in Class:
Congo Gorilla Forest is undisputably the best gorilla enclosure this year, and probably in the world. Loads of space and 20 gorillas, what more could you want?
Baboon Reserve for Nubian ibex, geladas, and rock hyraxes is a massive, grassy enclosure on a slight slope, imitating the habitat of the primates very well. - Upper Middle Class:
World of Birds is an amazing place and it only loses to Berlins because it looked a little less well-maintained. The enclosures here are marvellous, and the species line-up is even more so. Architecturally, the building is also very unique. However, the roof was leaking and I feel like the building could use some maintenance.
The Zoo Center, which is the renovated Elephant House, is also a really successful renovation in my opinion. The building houses a variety of monitor species, Aldabra giant tortoises, and southern white rhinos, all in good enclosures.
Madagascar!, even if it’s all-indoors, is still a great exhibit. The high quality of the main two enclosures combined with interesting side-enclosures for a variety of Malagasy fauna make for a really nice atmosphere.
Even though I’m usually not a fan of rides through animal enclosures, the Asia Monorail is very nicely done, with sprawling enclosures for a nice variety of species. Even if I’d liked to spend more time at some enclosures, I do feel like the monorail gave me a good view of everything there. - Lick of Paint:
I love the concept of the Mouse House, but in Bronx this building isn’t particularly great. The collection is very nice for sure, but the exhibits are small and very pet-shoplike.
The Aquatic Bird House has a superb species list, but it’s definitely starting to show its age, and could use a literal lick of paint. - Eyesores: Bronx does not have any eyesores that I recall.
Slender-horned gazelle, barasingha, sambar deer, Sulawesi babirusa, greater Malay chevrotain, Matschie’s tree-kangaroo, Wolf’s mona monkey, Moholi bushbaby, Coquerel’s sifaka, Damaraland mole-rat, North Island brown kiwi, black oystercatcher, Forster’s tern, common tern, Storm’s stork, lesser adjutant, Guam kingfisher, white-throated bee-eater, maleo, giant wood rail, buff-crested bustard, plush-crested jay, lesser and Raggiana bird-of-paradise, plate-billed mountain toucan, little penguin, anhinga, golden-headed quetzal, Malagasy hognosed snake, giant horned lizard, Ethiopian mountan adder, Panamanian golden frog, Kihansi spray toad, eastern hellbender.