Zoo America is a small zoo on 11 acres of land in Hershey, PA. I went when I was younger, but the only thing I could remember about the zoo was I was incredibly bored. Sadly, it didn’t make the greatest impression this time around either. I will divide up the review by talking about each section and the animals in them.
Southern Swamps: A very deceiving name, unless you’re supposed to just pretend you’re in southern swamps because of the animal inhabitants. List of animals are: roseate spoonbill, coastal estuary, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern indigo snake, tree frog (puny exhibit under construction), gopher tortoise, dusky pygmy rattlesnake, corn snake, barred owl, Florida gar, American crocodile, and American alligator. The entrance was a long hallway with terrariums on both sides, the center was in the circular shape with a tree in the middle and terrariums around it, and then it ends with another long hallway. The roseate spoonbill exhibit consisted of a pool, concrete flooring, plants and trees. The only problem is the windows aren’t tall enough to spot the birds when they’re on the top of the trees. You have to get up close and tilt your neck to get a good look. The reptile terrariums were small with heating lambs, rocks, trees, nothing amazing to see. The alligator and crocodile were in exhibits across from each other with concrete flooring, a pool, and a planted bank area that they probably never go on. The white walls were painted with blue and green swirls that made them look extremely outdated and out of place.
Great Southwest: You ventured down a ramp to another building. Before you got in it, there’s a thick billed parrot exhibit up on a hill top that’s very hard to see inside it. Animals consisted of the desert invertebrates, blue spiny lizard, desert box turtle, Gila monster, roadrunner, Gambler’s quail, burrowing owl, desert king snake, desert tortoise, banded gecko, Arizona mountain king snake, vampire bat, white-throated wood rat, sidewinder rattlesnake, western diamondback rattlesnake, desert rosy boa, black-footed ferret, ocelot, swift fox, ringtail, and coati. The only exhibit worth mentioning may be the desert area in a dome with a dirt floor, cactuses, rocks, plants, and skylights. The highlight was to see the roadrunners, as I have never seen them before. The second part of this building was for the nocturnal animals. Now I like nocturnal buildings similar to one at the Columbus Zoo. It’s dark for the inhabitants, but there’s still enough light for visitors to see the animals. I wanted to see the ocelot, but it was almost impossible. Almost a deception because their map has it on the cover in normal lighting so you expect it’s going to be an easy animal to find. I also wasn’t able to really see the black footed ferret and coati. Three mammals I was looking forward in seeing were lost in the night.
Eastern Woodlands: Outdoor exhibits with animals in caged sheds. Animals consisted of the red-tailed hawk, barn owl, bobcat, great horned owl, river otter, eastern screech owl, black bear, wild turkey, and white - tailed deer. The barn owl exhibited displayed some creativity having it in a room resembling a barn. There was hay on the floor, a ladder leading to the second floor loft, and an owl in a high corner. Exhibits coming off the river otter holding area of were the outdoor otter exhibit, bobcat exhibit, and great horned owl exhibit. The otter exhibit was on the slope with a small pool on one end and many rocks and tree limbs to maneuver over on the other end. The pool had hotwire around it so the otters weren’t allowed in the plant area right next to the viewing window. The bobcats were in a half pyramid shape exhibit with shelves on different levels for them to sleep on. The white-tailed deer and turkeys were in a fairly size paddock with grass on one side, dirt and many trees on the other side. The black bear exhibit had a viewing window right next to a deep pool full of fish, which I heard the bears hardly ever use. The rest of the grassy paddock is on a hill and probably one of the better exhibits at the zoo.
Big Sky Country: Animals consisted of the black-billed magpie, black-tailed prairie dog, American elk, mountain lion, long-eared owl, American bison, and turkey vulture. The prairie dogs were in a nice size dirt exhibit that used to be the area where they had their monkey island. The elk had a grassy paddock with a bottom level with mud and water. I saw on elk down there, but had no idea how it got there as there was no path wide enough to go down. The mountain lion was in a cage with rocks built on top of each other to resemble a mountain. A den area was incorporated so they at least had a resting area. The bison were in a big dusty paddock and the turkey vulture was in a barren area right in front of that.
Northlands: Animals consisted of the snowy owl, Peregrine falcon, gray wolf, bald eagle, porcupine, American Marten, and the Canadian Lynx. The gray wolf had a nice grassy paddock on a hillside that looked like they had a lot of space. However, there was an electric fence in the middle of it so the wolves couldn’t get in the back of their exhibit. The snowy owl was in a grassy exhibit in a semi circular building that reminded me of a green house. The porcupine had a tall tree in its exhibit where it slept, along with a box shaped den on the ground. The marten had a decent exhibit with nice vertical space. It looked like a house foundation with wooden beam supports and mesh around it. There were trees and ramps for the marten to climb up in and natural substrate on the bottom. The Canadian Lynx was in an outdated cage attached to the side of a building. There were overgrown trees, bushes, and plants to give the animals hiding spots. A stone wall in the back with grooves for the Lynxes to rest on.
If you and your family take a trip to Hershey Park and you have some time, it wouldn’t hurt to check out this little zoo. But I would not spend money on it, unless you had a reciprocal membership and can get in for free. I had an individual plus membership and they only honored it for me, but not my guest. Not that their admission prices are expensive, but I don’t think this zoo is worth more than $5 a person to see. I will be adding pictures of this zoo later in the week.
Southern Swamps: A very deceiving name, unless you’re supposed to just pretend you’re in southern swamps because of the animal inhabitants. List of animals are: roseate spoonbill, coastal estuary, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern indigo snake, tree frog (puny exhibit under construction), gopher tortoise, dusky pygmy rattlesnake, corn snake, barred owl, Florida gar, American crocodile, and American alligator. The entrance was a long hallway with terrariums on both sides, the center was in the circular shape with a tree in the middle and terrariums around it, and then it ends with another long hallway. The roseate spoonbill exhibit consisted of a pool, concrete flooring, plants and trees. The only problem is the windows aren’t tall enough to spot the birds when they’re on the top of the trees. You have to get up close and tilt your neck to get a good look. The reptile terrariums were small with heating lambs, rocks, trees, nothing amazing to see. The alligator and crocodile were in exhibits across from each other with concrete flooring, a pool, and a planted bank area that they probably never go on. The white walls were painted with blue and green swirls that made them look extremely outdated and out of place.
Great Southwest: You ventured down a ramp to another building. Before you got in it, there’s a thick billed parrot exhibit up on a hill top that’s very hard to see inside it. Animals consisted of the desert invertebrates, blue spiny lizard, desert box turtle, Gila monster, roadrunner, Gambler’s quail, burrowing owl, desert king snake, desert tortoise, banded gecko, Arizona mountain king snake, vampire bat, white-throated wood rat, sidewinder rattlesnake, western diamondback rattlesnake, desert rosy boa, black-footed ferret, ocelot, swift fox, ringtail, and coati. The only exhibit worth mentioning may be the desert area in a dome with a dirt floor, cactuses, rocks, plants, and skylights. The highlight was to see the roadrunners, as I have never seen them before. The second part of this building was for the nocturnal animals. Now I like nocturnal buildings similar to one at the Columbus Zoo. It’s dark for the inhabitants, but there’s still enough light for visitors to see the animals. I wanted to see the ocelot, but it was almost impossible. Almost a deception because their map has it on the cover in normal lighting so you expect it’s going to be an easy animal to find. I also wasn’t able to really see the black footed ferret and coati. Three mammals I was looking forward in seeing were lost in the night.
Eastern Woodlands: Outdoor exhibits with animals in caged sheds. Animals consisted of the red-tailed hawk, barn owl, bobcat, great horned owl, river otter, eastern screech owl, black bear, wild turkey, and white - tailed deer. The barn owl exhibited displayed some creativity having it in a room resembling a barn. There was hay on the floor, a ladder leading to the second floor loft, and an owl in a high corner. Exhibits coming off the river otter holding area of were the outdoor otter exhibit, bobcat exhibit, and great horned owl exhibit. The otter exhibit was on the slope with a small pool on one end and many rocks and tree limbs to maneuver over on the other end. The pool had hotwire around it so the otters weren’t allowed in the plant area right next to the viewing window. The bobcats were in a half pyramid shape exhibit with shelves on different levels for them to sleep on. The white-tailed deer and turkeys were in a fairly size paddock with grass on one side, dirt and many trees on the other side. The black bear exhibit had a viewing window right next to a deep pool full of fish, which I heard the bears hardly ever use. The rest of the grassy paddock is on a hill and probably one of the better exhibits at the zoo.
Big Sky Country: Animals consisted of the black-billed magpie, black-tailed prairie dog, American elk, mountain lion, long-eared owl, American bison, and turkey vulture. The prairie dogs were in a nice size dirt exhibit that used to be the area where they had their monkey island. The elk had a grassy paddock with a bottom level with mud and water. I saw on elk down there, but had no idea how it got there as there was no path wide enough to go down. The mountain lion was in a cage with rocks built on top of each other to resemble a mountain. A den area was incorporated so they at least had a resting area. The bison were in a big dusty paddock and the turkey vulture was in a barren area right in front of that.
Northlands: Animals consisted of the snowy owl, Peregrine falcon, gray wolf, bald eagle, porcupine, American Marten, and the Canadian Lynx. The gray wolf had a nice grassy paddock on a hillside that looked like they had a lot of space. However, there was an electric fence in the middle of it so the wolves couldn’t get in the back of their exhibit. The snowy owl was in a grassy exhibit in a semi circular building that reminded me of a green house. The porcupine had a tall tree in its exhibit where it slept, along with a box shaped den on the ground. The marten had a decent exhibit with nice vertical space. It looked like a house foundation with wooden beam supports and mesh around it. There were trees and ramps for the marten to climb up in and natural substrate on the bottom. The Canadian Lynx was in an outdated cage attached to the side of a building. There were overgrown trees, bushes, and plants to give the animals hiding spots. A stone wall in the back with grooves for the Lynxes to rest on.
If you and your family take a trip to Hershey Park and you have some time, it wouldn’t hurt to check out this little zoo. But I would not spend money on it, unless you had a reciprocal membership and can get in for free. I had an individual plus membership and they only honored it for me, but not my guest. Not that their admission prices are expensive, but I don’t think this zoo is worth more than $5 a person to see. I will be adding pictures of this zoo later in the week.
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(I'd even like to see the two birds as well...)
