The Queens Zoo is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) zoo located in the New York City borough of Queens, located in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park. The zoo is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
[edit] History
The zoo was constructed on the site of the 1964 New York World's Fair, and the zoo's aviary is a geodesic dome, designed by Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc and used during the 1964 Fair.[1]
The Zoo originally opened on October 26, 1968 as the "Flushing Meadows Zoo", with the ceremonial ribbon cut by Robert Moses.[3] It reopened in 1992 after a four-year, 16 million dollar, renovation, redesign, and reconceptualization.[4]
[edit] Animals
The zoo is home to animals native to the Americas. It is the only one of five zoos in New York City that exhibits Spectacled Bears. The zoo is also home to Cougars, California Sea Lions, Coyotes, Owl, Lynx, Pudú, Thick-billed parrots, Alligators, Roosevelt elk, Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle, the previously-mentioned Aviary, and a petting zoo with a variety of domestic animals.
- ^ a b c About the City Zoos, Wildlife Conservation Society. Accessed September 16, 2007.
- ^ "List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. Association of Zoos and Aquariums. http://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list/. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
- ^ Asbury, Edith Evans. "Moses Helps to Open First Queens Zoo", The New York Times, October 27, 1968. Accessed October 1, 2007.
- ^ Lyall, Sarah. "Zoo Story: A Q.-and-A. Stroll in Queens", The New York Times, October 22, 1993. Accessed June 11, 2009.
[edit] External links
