Prospect Park Zoo

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Prospect Park Zoo

Date opened 1890 (a menagerie); July 3, 1935 [1]; October 5, 1993 (renovated) [1]
Location Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Accreditations/
Memberships		 AZA
Website
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The Prospect Park Zoo is a zoo located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York. Its precursor, the Menagerie, first opened in 1890. It was expanded in the 1930s as a WPA project, and rededicated on July 3, 1935 [1] as the Prospect Park Zoo. It was renovated once again in the 1980s and reopened on October 5, 1993 [1] as a wildlife conservation center. The Wildlife Conservation Society manages the zoo on behalf of the city.

Contents

[edit] Early History: The Menagerie

The forerunner of the Propect Park zoo was called the Menagerie, which began to take shape in the spring of 1890. The newly appointed president of the Parks Commission, George V. Brower, donated “three young cinnamon bears” in May, 1890, [2] [3] followed by State Treasurer Harry Adams donation of three white deer. By October 1890 two more bears and a fox were donated. By 1893, an observer noted that “seven seals arrived, one buffalo, from the estate of Samuel B. Duryea, three red foxes, three bears, one sacred cow, two white deer, five red deer, seven seals, and twelve to fifteen peacocks." [4] The animals were kept in pens on Sullivan Hill, east of the Long Meadow, near an area that had been housing sheep since the late 1860’s. The animal pens, sheep paddock, Dairy Farmhouse near the crest of Sullivan Hill formed the nucleus of the Menagerie. [5] [6] The original Deer Paddock moved across the East Drive and into the Menagerie, though the Water Fowl Pond remained on the east side in a low area now forming the northern part of the zoo. Together these were the park’s initial zoological offerings.

As the 19th century verged into the 20th, the Menagerie continued to accrue animals, generally donated by prominent individuals and institutions. By the opening of the Twentieth century, the Menagerie featured a varied collection of specimens housed in pens situated on the western flank of Sullivan Hill in an area that overlooked Battle Pass[4] [7].

[edit] Construction of the Prospect Park Zoo

In 1935, with funding from WPA in hand, Park Commissioner Robert Moses demolished the Dairy, sheep paddock, and Menagerie, and transformed area around the Water Fowl Pond and former Deer Paddock into a dedicated facility. Architect Aymar Embury II designed a half circle of brick buildings centered on a pool for aquatic animals; the buildings featured scenes from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Dedicated on July 3, 1935 as the Prospect Park Zoo, the buildings constituted an integrated facility designed to exhibit animals, and was seen at the time as a great improvement over the somewhat haphazardly developed Menagerie. Like the Menagerie, though, it was conceived primarily as an exhibition place for exotic animals, often far removed from their native locales.

Once constructed, the zoo received little in the way of development money and suffered chronic underfunding from the 1940’s through the 1980’s. It was renovated in the 1980's, essentially keeping the same mission it had since the mid thirties: that of displaying animals for the wonderment of the public. A fatal accident, [8] along with a growing public perception that zoos ought to be humane places, prompted calls for closure or extensive renovation. Through a partnership forged in the early 1980's with the City of New York, The Wildlife Conservation Society undertook to manage the facility in the late 1980’s, commencing a period of reconstruction and revival.

[edit] Renovation of a Re-purposed Zoo

Renovation for the new Prospect Park Zoo began in August, 1989, beginning a $37 million renovation for the badly deteriorated zoo. The exteriors of the Aymar Embury buildings were preserved, but interiors were gutted and new structures were built. By and large, the facilities were upgraded to support current practices of maintaining natural habitats for animals. The facility became more like a petting zoo for children.

[edit] The Zoo Today

Embury’s semi-circular arrangement of halls in the center of the zoo lend themselves to three thematic exhibits. The southern building features The “World of Animals”, the center building, once the Elephant House, now hosts “Animal Lifestyles”. The northern building hosts “Animals in our Lives”. The “World of Animals” aims to illustrate the diversity of species on the planet. The “Animal Lifestyles” exhibit illustrates large and small animal interacting with their habitats. The habitat for Hamadryas Baboons forms the centerpiece of this exhibit. The “Animals in Our Lives” features “every day” animals that frequently find their way into human society and commerce. In this exhibit, children are encouraged to observe and draw the animals.

All of these exhibit areas are designed to engage children and are based on WIZE (Wildlife Inquiry through Zoo Education), a program developed by Bronx Zoo educators. The Discovery Trail winds through the southern third of the zoo and augments the “World of Animals” exhibit. Visitors may find prairie dogs, Porcupines, Wallabies, Red Pandas, and other animals hosted in recreated natural habitats. Domestic animals are housed in a small petting farm to the north of the “Animals in our Lives” exhibit; the farm setting serves to remind visitors that animals have commercial importance in human affairs.

Currently the zoo is home to nearly 400 animals of more than 80 species. Red Pandas, Meerkats, Emerald Tree Boas, Capybaras, Cottontop Tamarins and other species from near and far constitute a fauna very different from the grey squirrels and rabbits inhabiting other parts of the park.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d http://www.prospectpark.org/dest/main.cfm?target=../dest/zoo_hist
  2. ^ "Doings at Today's Meeting of the Board", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1890-05-20, pp. Page 6, Column 4. Retrieved on 28 August 2006 03:09:42 PM. (in english)
  3. ^ References to acquisitions of three cinnamon bears, kept in pens near the Dairy, before dinner at (a then expanded, now demolished) Shelter (Concert Grove) House. "Guests of the Park Commissioners - Prominent Citizens Enjoy a Banquet and Inspect Recent Improvements", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1890-07-03, pp. Page 1, Column 8. Retrieved on 28 August 2006 05:29 PM. (in english)
  4. ^ a b Menagerie, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y., c.1900. (english). Prospect Park Alliance Photo Archive. Retrieved on 29 August 2006 09:46 AM.
  5. ^ Among other changes under way in the last decade of the 19th century, the Deer Paddock from the original park design merged with the Menagerie. The original Deer Paddock became a small meadow. This was later incorporated into Leffert's Homestead (1918) and the southern part of the present Zoo (1935) "Beauties of the Park - Many Improvements Contemplated by the Commissioners", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1890-03-23, pp. Page 13, Columns 1 and 2. Retrieved on 29 August 2006 09:35 AM. (in english)
  6. ^ In June, 1891, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle ran a front page interview with George V. Brower, President of the Parks Commission, referring to the Prospect Park Menagerie still as a contemplated future project. Mr. Brower did say a "nucleus" had been established, and goes on to inventory the holdings in this nucleus (see reference for details). "A Park Menagerie - Does Public Sentiment Favor One?", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1891-06-21, pp. Page 1, Column 3. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 14:05 EST. (in english)
  7. ^ "New Animals For The Park", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1902-05-04, pp. Page 54, Column 2. Retrieved on 10 December 2006 14:30 EST. (in english)
  8. ^ Juan Perez was an eleven year old boy who scaled a high iron picket fence separating the public area from the polar bear pit. Barron, James. "Polar Bears Kill A Child At Prospect Park Zoo" (Synopsis free; fee for full article), The New York Times, New York Times Company, 1987-05-20, pp. Late City Final Edition, Section A, Page 1, Column 1. Retrieved on 28 August 2006. (in english)

[edit] Books

  • Berenson, Richard J. (ed); deMause, Neil (text); (2001). The complete illustrated guidebook to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Silver Lining Books, New York ISBN 0-7607-2213-7 Pages 86 - 91

[edit] External links

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Zoos, Aquaria, and Aviaries

Conservation biology | List of zoos | List of zoo associations | Zoological Garden | Menagerie | Tourist attraction | Wildlife Conservation | Endangered species 
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