Central Park Zoo

The Central Park Zoo is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an integrated network of four zoos and an aquarium spread throughout New York City. Located at East 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, the zoo is situated on a plot in Central Park. Visitors may enter through the Fifth Avenue entrance or from within Central Park. However, the WCS cites much lower figures since it only counts patrons with tickets. In 2007, it recorded that 1.01 million people visited the Central Park Zoo, and in 2006, 1.03 million people. , the Central Park Zoo had 1,487 animals representing 163 species. Main zoo Trellised, vine-clad, glass-roofed pergolas link the three major exhibit areas—tropic, temperate and polar—housed in discrete buildings of brick trimmed with granite, masked by vines. The exhibit areas are centered around a square central garden that contains a square sea lion pool in its center. The sea lion pool is surrounded by glass fencing to allow visitors to observe the sea lions and their daily feedings. Exhibits and other buildings The structure at the central garden's southwestern corner is the "Tropic Zone", The Temperate Territory is located on the site of the 1934 zoo's cafeteria. Central Park Zoo also includes a 4D theater, located to the north of the Arsenal, The same artist created a pair of bronze statues for the original zoo, Dancing Goat and Dancing Bear, which now flank the zoo's southern entrance. Tigress and Cubs, one of the park's oldest statues, was created by Auguste Cain in 1867 and installed on a rock outcrop near the Lake, but moved to the zoo in 1934. The zoo coordinates breeding programs for some endangered species as part of the Species Survival Plan, such as thick-billed parrots and red pandas. In 2011, the WCS announced that the Central Park Zoo was the first North American zoo to hatch ducklings of critically endangered scaly-sided mergansers. In addition, the first example of whispering in non-human primates was observed at the Central Park Zoo in 2013, when tamarin monkeys were heard whispering around a staff member that they disliked. The zoo hosts educational venues as well as exhibits. The volunteer program at the Central Park Zoo engages members of the community; it is a combination outreach and educational program for adults. Volunteer guides conduct tours for visitors, while volunteer docents augment the educational program. Docents enroll in a four-month training program. The zoo also offers several programs for students. Children's Zoo The Children's Zoo is located north of the main zoo. The Children's Zoo contains a petting zoo with mini nubian goats (a crossbreed between Nigerian dwarf and Nubian goats), sheep, pigs, alpacas, Patagonian cavies, and the only cow in Manhattan, as well as the Acorn Theatre, a performing arts theater. Admission to the Children's Zoo is included with the purchase of tickets to the main zoo. They were donated by Herbert and Edith Lehman in 1960 in honor of their 50th anniversary, and as part of their donation toward the construction of the Children's Zoo itself. == History ==

Original menagerie Planning and creation The zoo was not part of the original Greensward Plan for Central Park created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. However, a menagerie near the Arsenal, on the edge of Central Park located at Fifth Avenue facing East 64th Street, spontaneously evolved from gifts of exotic pets and other animals informally given to the park. The first animal, a bear cub tied to a tree, was left in Central Park in 1859, followed by a monkey the next year. These animals were popular with the park's visitors even though there was no formal zoo at the time. Soon, people began donating other animals such as cranes, a peacock, and goldfish. The donations also included dead animals. The Central Park planning commission recorded all of these donations in its annual reports. The group began discussing possible sites for a zoo, among them Central Park. By 1862, were set aside for the construction of a future "zoological and botanical garden", later the Central Park Zoo. However, since the zoo's site was not yet formally designated, the animals were kept in the Central Park Mall. Popular animals included three bald eagles and a bald-headed monkey. In 1864, a formal zoo received charter confirmation from New York's assembly, making it the United States' second publicly owned zoo, after the Philadelphia Zoo, which was founded in 1859. By then, the park had over 400 animals. Popularity and decline The menagerie became popular because of its free admission and proximity to working-class Lower Manhattan; by 1873, it saw 2.5 million annual visitors. The menagerie reached peak popularity in the mid-1880s after a chimpanzee nicknamed "Mike Crowley" was imported from Liberia. Observers such as former president Ulysses S. Grant showed up at the Monkey House to see the chimpanzee, overfilling the building past capacity. Frederick Law Olmsted also disapproved of the menagerie, believing Central Park to be better suited for scenic vistas than for entertainment, though he admitted that the zoo was the most popular part of the park. Though wealthy residents hoped that people would travel to the Bronx Zoo for its superior facilities, the Central Park Zoo continued to be popular even after the Bronx Zoo opened in 1899. Subsequently, in 1932, a new concrete structure was built for the zoo's wolves because the previous steel enclosure was deemed insufficient to contain the wolves. By then, the zoo was extremely rundown, and its 22 cages were regarded as "flimsy and rat-ridden". Current zoo Construction of new zoo After assuming office in January 1934, New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia hired Robert Moses to head a newly unified Parks Department. Moses soon prepared extensive plans to reconstruct the city's parks, renovate existing facilities and create new swimming pools, zoos, playgrounds and parks. Moses acquired substantial Civil Works Administration, and later, Works Progress Administration funding and soon embarked upon an eight-year citywide construction program, relieving some of the high unemployment in New York City in this Depression year. Plans for the new Central Park Zoo were prepared by Aymar Embury II within a 16-day span in February 1934 and were announced the following month. Embury's plans called for nine terracotta and brick structures to replace the structures in the menagerie. These structures included seven new animal enclosures, as well as a comfort station and a garage. was to be located in the center of the new zoo, surrounded by the zoo enclosures on three sides. The buildings, to cost $411,000, were designed in conjunction with new enclosures at the Prospect Park Zoo. During the reconstruction, the previous structures were entirely demolished. The rebuilt zoo opened on December 2, 1934, at a ceremony where former governor Al Smith was given the honorary title of "night superintendent". By April 1936, the renovated zoo had seen six million visitors since its reopening. To prevent the recurrence of rat infestations, Moses also instituted a rat-elimination program in and around the zoo. Work began that November, and the children's zoo was officially opened on June 27, 1961. The children's zoo featured attractions like a petting area with ducks, rabbits, and chickens; a large fiberglass whale statue dubbed "Whaley" (which acted as the entrance to the small zoo); a Noah's Ark feature; and a medieval castle feature. The animals were housed in small storybook-style structures bordering an irregular pond. The same year, the zoo cafeteria was renovated after a new concessionaire took control of the cafe. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the New York City Subway's 63rd Street lines, the present-day , were being built directly underneath the zoo. A graffiti wall was erected along the line's length through Central Park. The tunnel provided a subterranean gathering place for very early subway artists who hung around together in Central Park, and was named Zoo York by ALI, founder of the SOUL ARTISTS graffiti crew. The name came about because it was in a zoo in New York, hence "Zoo York". The construction of the subway line itself was controversial because it called for of cut-and-cover tunneling, which required digging an open trench through Central Park and then covering it over. Eventually, the New York City Transit Authority, which operated the New York City Subway, agreed to reduce disruption by halving the length of the cut. A nature kiosk at Central Park Zoo was added in 1972, and a $500,000 renovation for the Lion House was proposed the following year. Even so, the zoo was one of the most popular attractions in Central Park through the 1980s, according to surveys taken during that era. The society proposed sending the larger animals to different zoos with more humane conditions, and animal-rights groups sued the city in an effort to close the two zoos and move the animals to the larger Bronx Zoo. A 1976 report by the World Federation for the Protection of Animals found that all three zoos were operating in "shameful conditions", and that the animals at the Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos were living in poorly maintained facilities. 1980s renovation The administration of mayor Ed Koch and the New York Zoological Society (renamed the Wildlife Conservation Society, or WCS, in 1993) signed a fifty-year agreement in April 1980, wherein the Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos would be administered by the Society. They proposed renovation plans for all three zoos in 1981. Starting in November 1982, the Central Park Zoo's animals were temporarily moved to other zoos while construction was ongoing. Most of the large animals were permanently rehoused in larger, more natural spaces at the Bronx Zoo. The zoo had three "problem animals" that few other zoos wanted to take, but even they found homes. though the children's zoo remained open. Demolition continued through 1984, though construction on the new zoo did not begin until the following year. Four of the original buildings were preserved in the redesigned zoo, though the cramped outdoor cages were demolished. The central feature of the original zoo, the sea lion pool, was retained. Of this, the city contributed $22 million while the Society contributed the balance. 1990s to present By the early 1990s, some of the structures at the Children's Zoo had collapsed, and there were reports that the animals were being neglected. Under threat of closure by federal regulators, the city closed the zoo in 1991. Though the WCS had a plan to renovate the zoo, it languished for years because the restoration needed approval from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which had designated several zoo buildings as landmarks. Furthermore, there were disputes over what the theme of the renovated Children's Zoo should be. The renovation was initially supposed to be funded by $3 million from Henry and Edith Everett, but the Everetts withdrew their gift due to disputes over how the money should be spent. In June 2009, the Allison Maher Stern Snow Leopard Exhibit opened with three snow leopards, moved from the Bronx Zoo. The exhibit, costing $10.6 million, was the first new feature in the zoo since its 1988 renovation. The zoo reopened that July. == Hoax ==

A famous hoax regarding the zoo is known as the Central Park Zoo escape and the Central Park menagerie scare of 1874. It was a hoax perpetrated by James Gordon Bennett Jr. in his newspaper, the New York Herald. J. I. C. Clarke was the primary writer of the hoax, under the direction and inspiration of the Heralds managing editor, T. B. Connery, who often walked through the zoo, and had witnessed the near-escape of a leopard. At the end of the lengthy article, which was divided across several pages of the newspaper, the following notice was the only indication that the story horrifying readers across the city was a hoax: "... of course, the entire story given above is a pure fabrication. Not one word of it is true." That was not enough to assuage critics, however, who accused Bennett of inciting panic when the extent of the hoax became widely known. The authors later claimed their intent was merely to draw attention to inadequate safety precautions at the zoo, and claimed to be surprised at the extent of the reaction to their story. == Notable animals ==

• In the early 20th century, Bill Snyder was hired at the zoo; he purchased Hattie, an Asian elephant, in 1920. Hattie died in 1922. • Pattycake, a female western lowland gorilla, was born at the zoo in 1972 and was thus the first gorilla successfully born in captivity in New York. Her handlers assumed she was a male and originally named her "Sonny Jim". She moved to the Bronx Zoo in 1982, where she remained until her death in 2013. • Gus, a male polar bear, lived at the zoo from 1988 to 2013, when he had to be euthanized after being diagnosed with an inoperable tumor. • Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl, was taken to the zoo in 2010. Flaco escaped when his enclosure was damaged in 2023; he was found dead outside the park in 2024. == In media ==

The Central Park Zoo is depicted in the 2005 DreamWorks animated film Madagascar as the place from which the main characters escaped, although each species the main cast are based off of are not in the real location as of today. == References ==