Big things come in small packages: open year-round, this wonderful 6.5 acre zoo in the midst of verdant Big Apple refuge Central Park, is no exception to this rule! What had its humble origins as a *menagerie* of gifted and donated exotic animals and pets in the mid-1800s soon evolved into a full-fledged, properly-housed zoo. As its population grew and times changed, old-fashioned accommodations saw much-needed upgrades and now the resident creatures happily thrive, play and court visitors to naturalistic habitat exhibits with their daily routines and antics. Would you have believed-if you hadn’t read it here-there exists a Sea Lion Pool in New York City, or that the Central Park Zoo is home to one of the most important collections of rare snow leopards in North America? Listen to lemurs’ territorial declarations and marvel at the Red Bird of Paradise’s elegant “Butterfly Dance”; observe an adorable Red Panda foraging for food, tally red-bellied turtles in the wetlands and trek around a tiny, rocky island populated by Snow Monkeys! Be a guest at a Penguin fish feed, catch silly sea lions showing off or giggle and gawk at tufted puffins. Stop for some healthy refueling at The Dancing Crane Café; in warmer weather, the Central Garden offers visitors a fabulous respite -be sure to stop and smell the heirloom roses!
Exploring America > U.S. Cities > New York City Tours
Big things come in small packages: open year-round, this wonderful 6.5 acre zoo in the midst of verdant Big Apple refuge Central Park, is no exception to this rule! What had its humble origins as a *menagerie* of gifted and donated exotic animals and pets in the mid-1800s soon evolved into a full-fledged, properly-housed zoo. As its population grew and times changed, old-fashioned accommodations saw much-needed upgrades and now the resident creatures happily thrive, play and court visitors to naturalistic habitat exhibits with their daily routines and antics. Would you have believed-if you hadn’t read it here-there exists a Sea Lion Pool in New York City, or that the Central Park Zoo is home to one of the most important collections of rare snow leopards in North America? Listen to lemurs’ territorial declarations and marvel at the Red Bird of Paradise’s elegant “Butterfly Dance”; observe an adorable Red Panda foraging for food, tally red-bellied turtles in the wetlands and trek around a tiny, rocky island populated by Snow Monkeys! Be a guest at a Penguin fish feed, catch silly sea lions showing off or giggle and gawk at tufted puffins. Stop for some healthy refueling at The Dancing Crane Café; in warmer weather, the Central Garden offers visitors a fabulous respite -be sure to stop and smell the heirloom roses!
