Franklin Park Zoo Tips & Tricks To Visiting Franklin Park Zoo In Winter?

Sarus Crane

Sarus Crane

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I have a possible meeting in the Boston area in the first or second week of February and was wondering if Franklin Park zoo is worth a visit. I like the zoo's bird collection for certain large wading species such as Saddle-Billed Storks, Yellow Billed Storks, as well as Wattled, White-Naped & Hooded Cranes. I know it can be cold in Boston but since it seems right now that the Boston area is having a milder winter does that change whether the outdoor bird species will be on display? I think beginning of February is too early for avian flu risk and both hooded and White Naped Cranes are cold hardy. I'm really excited to see the Hooded Cranes as I've never seen one before and the population in the US is pretty small at only a handful of facilities. I suspect that the other furred zoo animals such as the camels and big cats will be out. I figure that the animals in the Tropical Forest will be accessible since it's an indoor exhibit. If anyone could give me some suggestions for my future potential visit I'd really appreciate it. If this won't work I'll probably go to the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts Boston) or Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum instead. Thanks for your help!
 
In my opinion the zoo would be worth a visit. The main animals that will be off-exhibit are likely the warthogs, giraffes, turtles, red river hogs, hyenas, and kangaroos. Most of the bird species you are interested in will likely be on exhibit, as they are all cold-tolerant and/or have indoor enclosures. The ones that will probably be hardest to spot are the Yellow Billed Storks, since they are free-flighted in the Tropical Forest building. The zoo website does currently list the Wattled Cranes and Hooded Cranes as being off exhibit due to bird flu, but I am not sure how up-to-date the website is. I am pretty sure I saw both species on my most recent visit, but am not certain, so it might be worth messaging the zoo to double-check if they will be off-exhibit before you go. I'd also add that if you're a big fan of birds, FPZ has some other rarities, including Keas and Kiwis, which I'd be sure to look out for.

The zoo also has a web page, all about tips and tricks for visiting in the winter, which you might find helpful: Zoo New England
 
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ZooElephantsMan said:
In my opinion the zoo would be worth a visit. The main animals that will be off-exhibit are likely the warthogs, giraffes, turtles, red river hogs, hyenas, and kangaroos. Most of the bird species you are interested in will likely be on exhibit, as they are all cold-tolerant and/or have indoor enclosures. The ones that will probably be hardest to spot are the Yellow Billed Storks, since they are free-flighted in the Tropical Forest building. The zoo website does currently list the Wattled Cranes and Hooded Cranes as being off exhibit due to bird flu, but I am not sure how up-to-date the website is. I am pretty sure I saw both species on my most recent visit, but am not certain, so it might be worth messaging the zoo to double-check if they will be off-exhibit before you go. I'd also add that if you're a big fan of birds, FPZ has some other rarities, including Keas and Kiwis, which I'd be sure to look out for.

The zoo also has a web page, all about tips and tricks for visiting in the winter, which you might find helpful: Zoo New England
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Thanks for your help! I also saw that for $200 they have a Red Panda behind the scenes experience! Do you think it'd worth it??? I see that they have both Grevy's Zebras and Somali Wild Asses in the giraffe yard. I wonder if they rotate them one day vs the other? In regards to certain animals I'll definitely contact them closer to the time.
 
Sarus Crane said:
Thanks for your help! I also saw that for $200 they have a Red Panda behind the scenes experience! Do you think it'd worth it??? I see that they have both Grevy's Zebras and Somali Wild Asses in the giraffe yard. I wonder if they rotate them one day vs the other? In regards to certain animals I'll definitely contact them closer to the time.
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One of the species that I really wanted to see at Franklin Park Zoo was the potto, which I'm not sure if any other zoo in the country has. They would be on exhibit in the winter as they are in the tropics building.

The New England Aquarium is excellent if you like aquariums. It is all indoors except for the harbor seal exhibit.
 
Yeah, FPZ is one you shouldn't be missing much by going in winter, all of the New England zoos have done rather good jobs of choosing cold tolerant species for most of the collection. A lot of the species would also be outside temperature-dependent, so if you get lucky and have a 50 degree day, most animals would be out. Whereas if it's a 20 degree day, some may not be out.

Plenty of the zoo is inside- with Tropical Forest, A Bird's World, and the Kiwi exhibit all indoors. Condors are cold tolerant, Wild Ass are cold tolerant (I still need to get back up to FPZ and see them), Cranes and Waterfowl are cold tolerant, as are Lions and Red Pandas. Kori Bustards may not be- but they are hard to spot in their exhibit anyways so not a huge loss. Even if the Hooded Crane aviary is closed, you should still be able to see the cranes and waterfowl through the mesh from the outside.

The only animals you'll definitely miss are the Turtles in the Children's Zoo who are moved elsewhere during the winter, and others who may be off exhibit include giraffes and kangaroos, but nothing that's rare/of particular note.

If it is looking too cold for the zoo, however, I noticed you mentioned the museums there, and MFA is a truly incredible museum that I could not recommend more highly. Granted, I also really like the zoo and would recommend it as well, but that museum is truly remarkable. You really couldn't go wrong with either of these two options for a day trip. I know you may be limited on time, but Boston has a lot of incredible museums and historical sights, so you'll surely be able to go to some really neat places in your free time.

@DavidBrown there should be three or four other potto holders in the US, including Cincinnnati, can't remember the others with the species. Regardless, it's still an awesome species that is rare in US Zoos. Certainly a highlight at FPZ for anyone interested in rarities.
 
Sarus Crane said:
Thanks for your help! I also saw that for $200 they have a Red Panda behind the scenes experience! Do you think it'd worth it??? I see that they have both Grevy's Zebras and Somali Wild Asses in the giraffe yard. I wonder if they rotate them one day vs the other? In regards to certain animals I'll definitely contact them closer to the time.
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The Somali Wild Asses are a new species for the zoo, and on my most recent visit they were on exhibit and the Grevy’s were backstage. Whether the two species are eventually mixed remains to be seen.

In regards to the red panda experience, I am not completely sure if it is worth it or not. I got to participate in the experience once, for free, around 5 years ago (I was volunteering in the red panda area at the time), but I don’t remember too many of the details. I don’t think visitors were allowed to touch the red pandas, but they might have been allowed to help feed them.

Also, I would agree with DavidBrown’s recommendation of the aquarium (most people would rank the aquarium more highly than the Franklin Park Zoo). The aquarium is also in a really nice part of Boston, right next to a really cool marketplace called Faneuil Hall with lots of fun shops and restaurants. But if you are a big fan of birds it makes a lot of sense that the zoo would be your priority.
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
The Somali Wild Asses are a new species for the zoo, and on my most recent visit they were on exhibit and the Grevy’s were backstage. Whether the two species are eventually mixed remains to be seen.

In regards to the red panda experience, I am not completely sure if it is worth it or not. I got to participate in the experience once, for free, around 5 years ago (I was volunteering in the red panda area at the time), but I don’t remember too many of the details. I don’t think visitors were allowed to touch the red pandas, but they might have been allowed to help feed them.

Also, I would agree with DavidBrown’s recommendation of the aquarium (most people would rank the aquarium more highly than the Franklin Park Zoo). The aquarium is also in a really nice part of Boston, right next to a really cool marketplace called Faneuil Hall with lots of fun shops and restaurants. But if you are a big fan of birds it makes a lot of sense that the zoo would be your priority.
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Although there are some really neat birds at the aquarium as well, notably being the only facility in the world with Semipalmated Sandpipers.
 
Personally I don't think the red panda encounter is worth doing especially for that much.

I will just echo that FPZ has always been very well set up for winter visits. The Tropical house alone is worth a visit
 
The outdoor crane, etc. species were all off exhibit because of flu on my visit last year, not sure if they still are.
 
TinoPup said:
The outdoor crane, etc. species were all off exhibit because of flu on my visit last year, not sure if they still are.
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The birds that were off exhibit because of avian flu were back on exhibit as of mid December 2022. The zoo announced this on Facebook on Dec. 22, 2022. I visited on New Year's Day 2023 and saw them all. For a winter visit on a warm-ish day, most everything was on exhibit. The most notable species off exhibit were the giraffes and kangaroos. I definitely recommend a winter visit if it's not especially cold.
 
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