Bronx Zoo

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This article is about the zoo; for the TV series see The Bronx Zoo (TV); for the book "The Bronx Zoo" about the Yankees, see Sparky Lyle, its author.

Bronx Zoo
Wildlife Conservation Society that oversees the Bronx Zoo
Asia Gate Entrance
Date opened	November 8, 1899 ^[1]
Location	Bronx Park, Bronx, New York, USA
Accreditations/ Memberships	AZA
Website
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The Bronx Zoo is a world-famous zoo located within the Bronx Park, in the Bronx borough of New York City. The largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, the Bronx Zoo comprises 265 acres of parklands and naturalistic habitats -- home to over 4,000 animals, many of which are endangered or threatened species. Focused on conservation, it opened on November 8, 1899 ^[1], with 22 exhibits, 843 animals, and the goal to "advance the study of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the public". Entry fees help preserve the species housed in the exhibit. Heins & LaFarge designed the original permanent buildings as a series of Beaux-Arts pavilions grouped around the large circular sea lion pool.

1 Modern habitats
2 Recent news
3 Gallery
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Modern habitats

The Zoological Park (Bronx Zoo) was one of the first zoos in North America to move animals -- often organized by families in Linnaean classification -- from cages to more naturalistic environments (e.g., "The African Plains") and mixing species to replicate the region the species originate. Physical barriers such as moats, sometimes invisible to viewers, separate predators from prey. The zoo is especially known for its "Wild Asia" tramway, a monorail that allows spectators to observe Asian animals, and "Jungleworld", an indoor exhibit on plants and animals from tropical rain forests. The zoo also boasts the Congo Gorilla Forest, the largest manmade rainforest in the world at 6.5 acres. Other large indoor exhibitions include "World of Darkness", which showcases nocturnal animals including caimans, bats, and naked mole rats. The building is kept completely dark during visitor hours to keep the animals active. The lights are turned on after closing, letting the creatures sleep. The zoo is also home to several indoor bird houses including "World of Birds", the famous two-story bird house containing hundreds of species. Here visitors can see the keepers toss live crickets to white-throated bee-eaters, as the birds catch the crickets midflight. The feeding can be seen daily at 2:45 pm local time.

There are two other special enrichment sessions at the zoo. Visitors can watch keepers feed penguins at the Russel B. Aitken seabird colony, and see the special presentation at Tiger Mountain. At the latter, keepers perform daily checkups on the Siberian Tigers (as well as enriching them) through mesh, giving viewers an up close look at the tigers.

Other exhibits of note include the Birds of Prey Aviary sections, containing Andean Condors, the largest bird of prey, and the Aquatic Bird House. This indoor bird exhibition allows visitors to see larger, aquatic birds with no glass to inhibit photography.

The most recent exhibit finished is for African Wild Dogs, located near the cheetahs. Future expansion includes the rennovation of the Lion House on historic Astor Court, which is being transformed into a Madagascar exhibit, showing lemurs, fossas, and a crocodile. This project is expected to be complete sometime in 2008.

One of the zoo's most famous residents was a bison called Black Diamond which was the model used by James Earle Fraser for the buffalo nickel coin issued from 1913 to 1938, and more recently a one ounce gold bullion coin, the gold buffalo.

Congo Gorilla Forest

The Bronx Zoo is owned and operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, formerly known as the New York Zoological Society. WCS operates four other parks in New York City: Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and New York Aquarium.

[edit] Recent news

Bronx Zoo made the news recently when it agreed to enter a rare snow leopard cub, Leo -- found in northern Pakistan -- into its breeding program. The 13-month-old cub was found stuck in mud following a landslide in Naltar Valley which killed its mother. A Pakistani shepherd in the area found the cub with its female sibling, but the latter died a week later due to malnutrition. He then handed over the cub to Pakistani authorities who took care of him, but since there are no captive breeding programs or rehabilitation center for snow leopards in Pakistan, it was decided to hand over the cub to Bronx Zoo. The leopard will be returned to its place of birth following construction of a rehab facility in the Naltar Valley with US cooperation. [1] [2] [3]

In November, the Zoo opened up brand-new eco-friendly restrooms outside the Bronx River Gate. According to the Clivus Multrum company, which built the composting toilets chosen by the Zoo, these facilities will service 500,000 people and save 1,000,000 million gallons of water a year. [4] [5] In March 2007, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Fordham University Graduate School of Education announced they will offer a joint program leading to a Master of Science degree in education and New York state initial teacher certification in adolescent science education (biology grades 7-12). The program will begin in 2008 and is the first of joint degree program of its kind. [6]

[edit] Gallery

CONGO GORILLA FOREST: Western Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla	HIMALAYAN HIGHLANDS: Black-necked Crane, Grus nigricollis	JUNGLE WORLD: Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus	PHEASANT AVIARY: Silver Pheasant, Lophura nycthemera
WORLD OF BIRDS: Bali Starling, Leucopsar rothschildi	WORLD OF BIRDS: Lesser Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea minor	WORLD OF BIRDS: Palawan Peacock Pheasant, Polyplectron napoleonis	WORLD OF BIRDS: Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, Seleucidis melanoleuca