Turtle Back Zoo logo |
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Entrance to the Turtle Back Zoo |
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| Date opened | 1963[1] |
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| Location | West Orange, New Jersey, United States |
| Annual visitors | 420,276 (2008)[2] |
| Memberships | AZA[3] |
| Website | www.turtlebackzoo.org |
Turtle Back Zoo, is a zoo in West Orange, New Jersey. Situated on 18 acres (7.3 ha) the South Mountain Reservation, it is part of the Essex County Park System, the oldest county park system in the United States. Founded in 1963, the zoo was originally a showcase for animals indigenous to New Jersey, but currently features species from every continent except Antarctica. Located adjacent to the Richard J. Codey Arena, practice home of the New Jersey Devils, the zoo is open year-round.
The Turtle Back Zoo has been an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 2006.[1]
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Turtle Back Zoo, which took its name from a nearby rock formation, opened in 1963 with a collection of 140 animals representing 40 species. By 1973 the zoo was home to 850 animals representing 275 species.[1]
In 1975, the Zoological society of New Jersey was established to help promote the zoo and provide funding. Despite this, Turtle Back zoo fell into disrepair, and was almost shut down in 1995.
In 2000 the zoo created a master plan with the objective of improving the zoo enough to receive accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Between 2003 and 2006, Turtle Back received approximately $20 million in funding, which was used to improve the facilities, and in 2006 the zoo received its accreditation. New facilities included the Essex County Animal Hospital on zoo grounds, and a new 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) entrance/administrative complex with a 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) reptile center, classrooms, and an auditorium.[1]
On November 2, 2009, the Turtle Back Zoo broke an attendance record with over 420,277 tickets sold since the beginning of the year.
Recent additions to the zoo include Filipino "golden mantled" flying foxes, making Turtle Back the first zoo in the country to show this species of bat; an American Black Bear exhibit; the Essex Farm, which holds common farm animals and includes a petting zoo; and an animal-themed playground.
The $4.6 million reptile house and education center, the zoo's first indoor exhibit, opened in June, 2006. The 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) reptile center contains a pair of nine-foot-long "black dragons", a species of monitor lizard which was discovered in Malaysia in 2005 and has yet to receive a scientific name. The lizards at Turtle Back are believed to be the only "black dragons" on display in the world.
The Gibbon habitat is a 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) outdoor mesh tent habitat that is home to the zoos two gibbons. This $1.8 million exhibit was opened in 2009.[2]
The zoo has a train ride, carousel, and a playground. The trains were originally Iron Horses by Allan Herschell, but then those trains were replaced in the 2000s by CP Huntington trains. The carousel opened in 2008 and is in a large gazebo. On September 25, 2010, the Turtle Back Zoo opened the Turtle Back Zoo Safari Mini Golf course. Designed by French & Parrello Associates, P.A., the miniature golf course replicates three African regions: the Sahara Desert, the African Grasslands and the Congo located to the center is Mount Kilamanjave. The miniature golf course consists of 19 holes and contains various animal sculptures, such as a camel, an elephant, a gorilla, a lion and more. The golf course alone is projected to bring in $250,000 in revenue annually.[4] In September 2011, the zoo opened a "treetop adventure course."[5]
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