Brandywine Zoo

About Brandywine Zoo

Brandywine Zoo is a small, 4.7-acre zoo along the Brandywine River in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, Delaware. It opened in 1905 and is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, part of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, with support from the nonprofit Delaware Zoological Society. The zoo has been a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1981 and has held continuous AZA accreditation since 1986, making it the only AZA-accredited zoo in Delaware. It is one of more than 240 accredited zoos and aquariums in North America.

The zoo features animals from the tropical and temperate regions of North and South America, Asia, and Africa, with a collection weighted toward smaller species. About 50 to 70 community volunteers and docents support the zoo each year across education, animal care, maintenance, and research. The zoo is currently carrying out a multi-year Master Plan, called Our Zoo Re-imagined, that has already added an animal hospital, a honeybee hive display, a children's nature play area, a barnyard experience, and the Madagascar exhibit, and most recently the Hidden Falls habitat.

History

The land that became Brandywine Park traces to March 1883, when the Delaware State Legislature formed the Wilmington Board of Park Commissioners, which hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to identify park sites; he recommended land on both sides of the Brandywine River. In 1904, Dr. James H. Morgan proposed starting a zoo to the Board, offering to donate animals if the commission would pay for shelters and fences. The organization was renamed the Wilmington Free Zoological Association in 1905, and the Wilmington Zoo was born. Early donations between 1921 and 1928 included eleven elk, three buffalo, five monkeys, two black bears, and three alligators; in 1928 the old bear pit was filled in and replaced with three new bear cages that still stand today, and the former comfort station became a monkey house.

In 1950, the zoo's supporting society decided to build a children's zoo on a Mother Goose storybook theme, with ground broken in 1952 with help from the Wilmington Lions Club and funding partly raised through Philadelphia Phillies family-night proceeds; it drew 46,000 visitors in its first year and lasted in its original form until the late 1970s. The main zoo fell into disrepair and closed in 1963 while the children's zoo stayed open. New Castle County took over operations in 1971, hiring Hans Rosenberg as zoo supervisor. In 1979, Tom Skeldon succeeded Rosenberg and founded the Delaware Zoological Society, during which time the Administration Building and a new tiger exhibit were built. The zoo gained AZA accreditation in 1986 and has held it continuously since. Nancy Falasco served as zoo director from 1981 until her retirement in April 2013, having joined the zoo staff in 1978.

The zoo marked its 100th anniversary in 2005 and its 120th anniversary in 2025 with a fundraiser dinner dance at the DuPont Country Club. Bald eagles returned to the zoo in early 2014 after two injured females arrived from the wild, and the zoo exhibited red pandas for the first time that same year. In 2011 the zoo acquired an Amur tiger named Zhanna from the Saint Louis Zoo; she was transferred to the Bronx Zoo in January 2017 under an AZA Species Survival Plan recommendation. The Madagascar exhibit opened in 2020, and an Animal Care Center opened in 2022. Most recently, the $2.5 million Hidden Falls habitat opened with a ribbon cutting during the zoo's 121st anniversary year, funded by the state of Delaware, the City of Wilmington, private foundations, and public donors.

Exhibits and habitats

Hidden Falls is the zoo's newest year-round, multi-species exhibit, combining a 320-square-foot outdoor area with a climate-controlled indoor building featuring naturalistic landscaping, a waterfall, and a filtered stream. It houses common squirrel monkeys, a prehensile-tailed porcupine, Patagonian mara, green iguana, and red-footed tortoises, most of them species affected by both the pet trade and habitat loss.

The Madagascar Habitat, opened in 2020, reflects the environment of Madagascar and holds three species of lemur alongside radiated tortoises, one of two endangered tortoise species endemic to the island. The zoo's Andean Condor habitat has been upgraded as part of the broader Master Plan, and a transparent honeybee hive display and a children's nature play area were added over the past decade, along with a barnyard experience where children can interact with animals. The zoo's historic bear cages, built in 1928, still stand in the Main Zoo next to the Administration Building.

Animal highlights

At least 28 species are listed on Brandywine Zoo's website, spanning mammals, birds, and herptiles. Named species include the Andean condor, binturong, black-and-white ruffed lemur, caracal, giant anteater, green tree python, Guianan squirrel monkey, North American porcupine, Patagonian mara, radiated tortoise, red panda, ring-tailed lemur, scarlet ibis, and white-faced saki, among others. Some animals are not on exhibit during the winter months. The zoo also cares for two bald eagles, and it introduced red pandas to its collection for the first time in 2014.

Conservation and programs

Brandywine Zoo founded the Delaware Kestrel Partnership in 2014, a project researching endangered American kestrel populations in the state in conjunction with the American Kestrel Partnership, Delaware Fish and Wildlife, and several other regional organizations. The zoo also runs an Urban Wildlife Monitoring Program in partnership with the Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute, researching wildlife within Delaware. Beyond its own programs, the zoo supports conservation projects for golden lion tamarins, Andean condors, and African vultures through the African Vulture SAFE program, along with Paso Pacifico and local wildlife rehabilitators, and works with state and regional organizations on broader conservation efforts.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, the zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with last admission at 3:30 p.m.; it is closed on Christmas Day and may close early for bad weather, construction, or special evening events. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, and the zoo does not offer refunds or rain checks.

Parking is free and located in Brandywine Park along the river, across from the zoo grounds, with handicapped spaces near the Education Building and in the general lot. The zoo and all exhibits are wheelchair accessible, though the sloped landscape means some areas are more accessible than others. A limited number of non-motorized wheelchairs are available at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis by leaving an ID at the ticket window. The zoo is KultureCity Sensory Inclusive certified, one of over 1,800 such locations nationwide, and offers sensory bags with fidget tools and noise-canceling headphones, along with designated headphone zones at Nature Play and the Barn Yard. Signs and maps are Google Translate compatible.

The Zootique Gift Shop is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from March through November and on weekends in December, and a Snack Bar on zoo grounds offers hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, and ice cream on a seasonal schedule; guests may also bring their own food to a picnic area in the zoo or the surrounding park. Discounted admission is available through library museum passes, the Wilmington & Brandywine Valley Discount Pass, and a $2-per-person rate for Delaware EBT and Art-Reach ACCESS cardholders. Confirm current hours, prices, and any closures on the official Brandywine Zoo website before visiting.