The Zoos of New York

Though the Bronx Zoo is world famous, it’s not the only zoo in New York City. There are also exceptional zoos full of diverse animals in Brooklyn, Queens and even Manhattan! If you are looking for a fun family time, then the zoos are the place for you!

Central Park Zoo

The Central Park Zoo is a favorite here at Empire State Magazine, being only a quick subway or cab ride away. Though the new zoo in Manhattan was opened in 1988, it dates back to the 1860s. Its history truly shows the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s goal of moving animals from cages and menagerie-style exhibits to natural habitats that educate, involve and connect people to the natural world.

Since back in the 1800s, animals were kept in Central Park on 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, home of the zoo today. At first, the collection only consisted of 72 white swans and a single black bear, all donated. Then in 1864, the State Legislature authorized the first zoo in New York, the Central Park Menagerie. This style of zoo, which pre-dates the zoological garden efforts of our modern era, lasted until 1934 when then-Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses remolded the menagerie into the Central Park Zoo. Though it set the standard in animal exhibits for its time, by the 1980s it had become a woefully inadequate facility for its inhabitants.

In April of 1980, the wonderful people of the WCS came on board with the City of New York to renovate and operate the zoo for the Department of Parks and Recreation. They demolished most of the buildings and created the “newest/oldest” zoo in the city that attracts nearly 1 million visitors a year.

The Tisch Children’s Zoo, added in 1997, lets you and your family meet gentle creatures up close and personal. There are also a wide range of biospheres represented, included tropic, temperate and polar regions. From a steamy rain forest to an Antarctic penguin habitat, here is a lot to see! Don’t miss the polar bears, who are a crowd favorite. There are also year-round education classes and public programs, including the zoo’s “Wildlife Theater.”

As always, the WTC works with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Species Survival Program, and at the Central Park Zoo there are endangered species like rare tamarin monkeys, Wyoming toads, thick-billed parrots and even red pandas! So if you are visiting New York and can’t make it to the Bronx Zoo, take the whole family to Central Park, where the zoo is just the beginning of your adventures there.

Special events!

Migration Sensation
May 5–6
Come learn about our fine-feathered friends and the amazing journeys that migratory birds make each year to reach their spring nesting grounds.

Chill Out!
August 4–5
Chill out with the city’s coolest residents—polar bears, penguins and puffins. Special activities include music, games and crafts to help visitors beat the heat.

Prospect Park Zoo

Opened on October 5, 1993, Prospect Park Zoo became the fifth facility in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s astounding network of parks in New York City. As with the original Central Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Zoo has a long history and also started off as a menagerie in the late 1800s. These animals became the foundation for the collection of animals in the Prospect Park Zoo that reopened to the public at Flatbush Avenue on July 3, 1935. Parts of a Works Progress Administration project in the Great depression, then-Commissioner Robert Moses also lead the charge to update its image.

But as the times changed, so did the zoo when the WCS agreed to step in the 1980s. Though some of the architectural aspects of the old zoo were kept, the habitats for the animals went through a drastic overhaul and were transformed into more naturalistic settings. There are three major exhibit areas at the Prospect Park Zoo: The World of Animals, Animal Lifestyles and Animals in Our Lives. Each are designed specifically to engage children in the wonder of our world’s great wild areas.

In the World of Animals, children can meet prairie dogs nose-to-nose and walk among the wallabies. A crowd-favorite is the Animal Lifestyles building, which houses a rambunctious troop of hamadryas baboons. And to get the kids really involved, Animals in Our Lives exhibits encourage children to draw wildlife and interact with friendly, mother-approved species in a fun barnyard. As with all of WTC parks, there are year-round classes and programs to get you and your family closer to our fellow animals.

Queens Zoo

The least known of the zoos in New York City, the Queens Zoo is a tribute to American animals. Originally opened as Flushing Meadows Zoo, it opened on the grounds of the 1964 World’s Fair in 1968. But as with the Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos, the WTCs came in to radically update the zoo and facilities for the modern era. Reopened to the public on June 25, 1992, this quiet zoo has the feel of a natural park.

The entire zoo perimeter is a pathway that leads visitors to pockets of wild habitats, from the Great Plains to the rocky California coast to the woods of the Northeast. Some of America’s great animals call this home: American bison, mountain lions, California sea lions, American bald eagles and Roosevelt elk. There are also spectacled bears, an endangered species from the Andes Mountains in South America.
One of the special aspects of the zoo is its aviary. It is a geodesic dome originally designed by Buckminster Fuller for the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens. And the zoo is also home to the famous “Otis,” a coyote rescued from Manhattan’s Central Park in 1999. So don’t miss out on all the animals and structures at this lesser-known zoo.