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Jungle Island

Coordinates: 25°47′10″N 80°10′27″W / 25.78611°N 80.17417°W / 25.78611; -80.17417
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Jungle Island
Jungle Island along the MacArthur Causeway
Map
25°47′10″N 80°10′27″W / 25.78611°N 80.17417°W / 25.78611; -80.17417
Date openedDecember 20, 1936; 88 years ago (December 20, 1936) (as Parrot Jungle)
June 28, 2003; 21 years ago (June 28, 2003) (at current location)
LocationMiami, Florida
Websitewww.jungleisland.com
Military/Greenwing Macaw with Blue-and-Golden Macaw in Jungle Island

Jungle Island, formerly Parrot Jungle, is a relaunched eco-adventure park on Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States.[1] The park is re-opened following a series of major renovations after the park incurred damage from Hurricane Irma.[2] The park features new pop-up waterslides, an outdoor wind tunnel flight experience, zip lines, escape rooms, a Nerf battle stadium and other attractions.

Photograph of Parrot Jungle (1990) by John Margolies who traveled the U.S. documenting architectural sights and roadside attractions

Originally named Parrot Jungle, it was moved from its original suburban location in Pinecrest, Florida to its present location just east of downtown Miami and after the site was purchased for Pinecrest Gardens in 2002. It was renamed as Parrot Jungle Island. In 2007, the park was again renamed to Jungle Island.

History

The entrance from the original location, where Pinecrest Gardens is now located.

Parrot Jungle was a zoological park south of Miami on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of property at Killian Drive and South Red Road.

Sir Winston Churchill with a sulphur crested cockatoo and a military macaw at Miami's Parrot Jungle in 1946.

Founded in 1936 by Francis "Franz" & Louise Scherr, Parrot Jungle is one of the oldest tourist attractions established in the Miami area.[3][4] Scherr would often visit another attraction, Monkey Jungle, owned by Joe Drummond.[3] On one visit when Scherr was again making one of his many suggestions for improvement, Drummond became fed up and told him, "Go start your own jungle."[3] Scherr, who owned and operated a feed and supply store in Homestead, became intrigued with the idea of building an attraction where birds would "fly free".[3] Scherr leased 20 acres (81,000 m2) of hammock land for US$25 (equivalent to about $549 in 2023).[3] The site was previously a naturist resort.[3] Parrot Jungle was built as a winding nature trail dug through the coral rock and hammock land, indigenous to the area. All the natural plants were left undisturbed, and the entrance was built on Red Road.

The attraction opened on December 20, 1936, to about 100 visitors. Each person paid 25 cents to see and hear Scherr talk about his birds, trees and flowers.[3] Since 1936, over a million visitors have visited Parrot Jungle.[5][page needed] Among its many famous visitors were Sir Winston Churchill,[5][page needed][6] film director Steven Spielberg, and former US President Jimmy Carter.[5][page needed]

In 1988 Bern Levine purchased Parrot Jungle from the Scherr family.[7] On December 17, 2002, the Village of Pinecrest purchased the Parrot Jungle site with the aim of developing the site as Pinecrest Gardens. On March 8, 2003 Pinecrest Gardens opened as a municipal park. The original site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011 as the Parrot Jungle Historic District.[6][8] The actual attraction moved to a new waterfront location on Watson Island, between downtown Miami and South Beach.[7] It opened on June 28, 2003 as Parrot Jungle Island.[9] Until 2004 exotic birds were sold.[4] On June 28, 2007, four years after the park first opened at its bayfront location, Jungle Island became the official name.[10]

Features

Front entrance to the park
Jungle Island's southern cassowary, Mama Cass, jumps in the air for an apple, which she swallows whole, in front of an audience.
Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos

As of 2003 there were 1,000 varieties of parrots among the 3,000 animals at Parrot Jungle Island.[9] The theme park's landmark is the sails covering the Jungle Theater, an arena where "Tale of the Tiger", featuring large cats and wildlife and other shows are presented. Hercules, a 900-pound liger, a cross between a lion and a tiger, is housed near the Jungle Theater. In the Parrot Bowl, the "Winged Wonders" show highlights birds from around the world, including the Andean condor, cassowary (the only trained cassowary in the world), and king vulture. In the "Serpentarium" (named in honor of Bill Haast's famed Miami Serpentarium), a wide spectrum of animals are presented from African penguins to alligator snapping turtles, boa constrictor snakes to lemurs.

Various other animal feedings, keeper talks and casual presentations occur throughout the park daily. There is a petting zoo where visitors can interact with a number of domestic and exotic animals, including an experience with red kangaroos. The park's "Everglades Habitat" recreates the ecosystem of the Florida Everglades, featuring much of the natural flora and fauna found in the natural environment.

A $20 million redesign with zip lines, swimming facilities and other new attractions and restaurants was planned for late 2017.[11]

Parrot Cove Beach

Jungle Island opened up a water park for guests with a view of downtown Miami.[12] The water park features several obstacle courses, riptide rapids, slides, and a climbing wall. During summer months, the park offers their "Summer Savings Ticket," granting entry into both the main park and the water park. Occupancy of the water park is usually restricted to 60 people at a time, with a duration of one to two hours. The section of the beach is privately owned by Jungle Island and is currently closed due to Hurricane Irma.

Environmental efforts

The landscaping for the new 18 acre (7.3 ha) site was begun in 2000 with a four foot elevation change.[13] The four year site development was designed to be environmentally sustainable, minimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides.[13] In well-traveled areas, vegetation was planted that stays healthy, green and stable despite heavy foot traffic, without the use of fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. Jungle Island also uses an integrated pest management system which employs biological controls, reducing the need for pesticides.[13]

Jungle Island has taken on a role in the greater Miami and the beaches environmental movement. Jungle Island purchased carbon credits to offset a special event.[14] Jungle Island also hosts environmental conferences and events including Gateway To Green,[15] Energy Smart Florida,[16] and Earth Miami.[14] Some of the proceeds from the Earth Miami event were to be donated to the Everglades Foundation.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Jungle Island in Miami". PlacesOnLine (Tourism marketing site). Valica. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ^ Davis, Craig (11 September 2017). "Hurricane Irma slams Jungle Island: popular attraction closed indefinitely". Sun-Sentinel.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lenox, Teresa B. (1991). "Parrot Jungle: Miami's postcard perfect attraction" (PDF). South Florida History Magazine. No. 1. Historical Association of Southern Florida. pp. 9–11. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b Blank, Dennis (22 February 2004). "Parrot attraction stops selling exotic birds". New York Times. p. TR3.
  5. ^ a b c Gittmer, Cory H. (2000). Miami's Parrot Jungle And Gardens: The Colorful History of an Uncommon Attraction. University Press of Florida. ISBN 9780813018171.
  6. ^ a b "Village of Pinecrest: Our Village: History". www.pinecrest-fl.gov. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Island near Miami new home for Parrot Jungle". USA Today. Associated Press. 22 July 2003. Travel News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
  8. ^ National Park Service (28 October 2011). "Weekly Highlight: Parrot Jungle Historic District, Miami-Dade County, Florida". National Register of Historic Places Program. National Park Service: US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. ^ a b Nash, Eric P. (27 July 2003). "Travel Advisory: Miami's parrots get a bigger Jungle Island". New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011.
  10. ^ Hanks, Douglas (29 June 2007). "The parrot has left the jungle: so long Parrot Jungle. The 71-year-old tourist attraction decided to part ways with its feather-centric image and become Jungle Island. The hope: Chimps". Business News. Miami Herald.
  11. ^ "Jungle Island getting $20 million makeover with rivers, zip lines". CBS Miami. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Jungle Island's Parrot Cove is Miami's only private beach". www.jungleisland.com. Jungle Island. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Environmental Protection Agency (September 2006). "Greenscaping from the Ground Up: Jungle Island's Holistic Approach to Landscape Site Development". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012.
  14. ^ a b c "Earth Miami on Jungle Island". www.miami.going.com (Event promotion site). Going Inc. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011.
  15. ^ Thomas, Vanessa (16 March 2009). "City of Miami and Dream in Green to host first annual Gateway to Green, April 7 and 8, 2009". www.miamigov.com (Press release). Office of Communications: City of Miami. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
  16. ^ Kent, Cindy (30 July 2010). "The Planner: Business networking in south Florida". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010.
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