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Zoological Parks

Central Park Zoo

East 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021-7001 Google Map
(212) 861-6030
Animal species: Polar bears, harbor seals, penguins, snow monkeys
Attractions: Tisch Children's Zoo
Direction by Subway: 4,5,6,N,R,W to Lexington Av/59 St; N,R,W to 5 Av/59 St; or 6 to 68 St/Hunter College
Admission fee: $10 including Tisch Children's Zoo
Overall Rating:

Central Park Zoo is operated by Wildlife Conservation Society. It is home to red pandas, polar bears, sea lions and penguins.

Rain Forest
Featuring chestnut mandibled toucans, black & white colobus monkey's, cotton-topped tamarins, fairy bluebirds and more. Rain Forest is an indoor exhibit. (Be ready for the smell!)

 Temperate Territory
Exiting from Rain Forest, there is a large pool but it's not for the sea lions. The pool is full with rock islands/shores and a waterfall for the snow monkeys. The water is designed to prevent the monkeys to get closer to the visitors. Walking up the hill, there are also red pandas and river otters.

Polar Circle/ Penguins and Puffins
Meet the two polar bears Ida and Gus. The two enjoy an outdoor exhibit filled with 90,000 gallon of water. Exiting from Polar Circle, you will see the penguins in a chilled-indoor exhibit. Central Park Zoo features Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins. The temperature of this exhibit remains between 32-34F, and the water at around 42F. Hmm, sounds cool in the summer!

Harbor seals
Feeding sessions of sea lions are held three times daily at 11:30am, 2 and 4pm in the center section of the zoo. After seeing the demonstrations, don't forget to take a visit of the harbor seals, right next to the Penguins and Puffins.

The Allison Maher Snow Leopard Exhibit (Spring 2009)
This exhibit is currently under construction.

Review
Good Things About the Central Park Zoo:
-The 6-acre zoo won't make your feet too tired.
-Easy to access: Two branches of subway lines can get there.
-Zootique: The gift shop is located outside the zoo without paying any admission. Walk right in and grab your stuffed penguins.

Not-Too-Good Things About the Central Park Zoo:
-Because Central Park Zoo is really small, you will finish seeing all the exhibits within an hour, unless you really like polar bears or puffins.
-The crowd: Many tourists choose Central Park Zoo because of its location, sometimes the entrance line can be long.
-Again, the crowd can stay at a certain exhibit for a long time so you will have to wait for your turn to view the animals.

Attractions Around the Central Park Zoo:
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Lexington Avenue Line 4 5 6 to 86 St.
-American Museum of Natural History; Central Park West Line B C to 81 St.

ZooGallery
For more information, visit Central Park Zoo's website at http://www.centralparkzoo.com

The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

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