Central Park Zoo - New York City, New York

Central Park Zoo - New York City, New York

Situated in the beautiful Central Park in New York City is the 5 plus acres of the Central Park Zoo.  Here you will be able to see a giant Polar Bear or maybe you are interested in a Brazilian black tarantula! The two Polar Bears at the zoo are Ida and Gus.  Both were born in captivity in 1985. If they had been living in the wild they would have grown to about twice the size they are where a male Polar bear would weigh up to 1500 lbs.  Gus weighs just about 1000 lbs. since he doesn’t need to carry around the extra blubber which can be up to 5 inches thick.  Did you know that a Polar bear’s fur is actually hollow and it focuses sunlight down to the black skins of the bear which retains the heat. Their fur appears white because of the way the light reflects on the hair shaft.  Of all the bears, the Polar bear is the only one to be considered a marine mammal.

When you are visiting the exhibit you will see an area that is rocky and contains a waterfall, some ice, and 90,000 gallons of freshwater.  In the heat of the summer they can go into their air-conditioned dens to stay cool.

There is a large tank that houses three female California sea lions, Scooter, 20 years old, April, 15 years old and Clarice, 9 years old. 

Sea lions are agile on both the land and the water.  The male sea lion may reach up to 1000 lbs. while the female gets between 100 and 400.  They normally live about 17 years.

The Edge of the Icepack building is the home of 61 penguins, two different species make up this group, the Gentoo and the Chinstrap.

The Gentoo is the larger of the two and may reach just over 2 feet tall and weigh about 12 lbs.  They have a distinctive yellow-orange beak and white bans above each eye.  The Chinstraps are smaller and may reach 2 feet tall and weigh about 9 lbs.  They have the black strap of feathers under their black beak.

Maybe you will want to see the Two-Toed Sloth.  The zoo has this for you to see if you look up in the trees since they need about 15 hours of sleep a day due to their low metabolism and low body temperature.

The Temperate Zone houses a trio of Red pandas.  These pandas are a bright red color with a white masked face and a long, ringed tail resembling that of a raccoon.  They may get up to 13 lbs. and reach a length of 25 inches.

There are lots of other animals for you to see in the zoo as well as spending a day in a beautiful setting of the Central Park Zoo. 

Location: East Side between 63rd and 66th Streets

Hours: April - October Monday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm, Weekends 10 - 5:30 and November -March Daily from 10 am - 4:30 pm.

Admission to Wildlife Center includes admission to Children’s Zoo: Adults $8, Seniors (65+) $4 and Children 3 - 12 $3.  Children under 3 are free

General Information: 212-439-6500