Cape May County Park & Zoo

About Cape May County Park & Zoo

Cape May County Park & Zoo sits in the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey, inside Cape May County's Central Park. The zoo provides free, year-round admission to a collection of more than 550 animals representing 250 species spread across 85 acres of exhibits; together, the zoo and the surrounding park cover about 220 acres. It opened in 1978 and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and it participates in a number of AZA species survival programs as part of that accreditation.

The zoo's principal exhibit areas are a 57-acre African Savanna, a free-flight aviary, and a reptile collection, giving the grounds a mix of large open-range habitat and more traditional enclosed exhibits. A carousel on the property is themed around zoo animals rather than the traditional horses found on most carousels, a detail that sets the ride apart from a typical park attraction. The Cape May County Zoological Society, operating under the name ZooFriends, is the zoo's official nonprofit support organization; since 1986 it has provided the private funding used to develop new exhibits, improve facilities, purchase equipment, and add to the animal collection.

History

The land that eventually became the zoo has its roots in 1942, when a 40-acre area of wooded land — formerly a plantation owned by the Matthews family — was donated to Cape May County. That land later hosted the county's 4-H fair. The Cape May Park Commission was established in 1967 to maintain the county's parks, and the original donated land grew into what became known as Park Central, eventually expanding to 200 acres. The Cape May County Park & Zoo was created within Park Central in 1978.

The zoo has weathered at least one significant weather event: during the North American blizzard of February 5–6, 2010, heavy snowfall destroyed the enclosure housing the zoo's bald eagle habitat, which has since been rebuilt. The Walter Trettin Snow Leopard Habitat was completed in 2016. In 2024, a frequent visitor named Charles Muller bequeathed $1.4 million to the zoo, the largest single donation in its history.

The zoo has also received some public recognition over the years: TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice named it the 13th best zoo in the world and the 5th best in the United States in 2015, after naming it the 3rd best zoo in the nation in 2012.

Exhibits and habitats

The zoo's exhibits are organized around three principal areas. The 57-acre African Savanna makes up the bulk of the zoo's footprint and gives large mammals room to range across open terrain. A free-flight aviary allows birds to move through a shared airspace rather than being confined to individual enclosures, and a reptile collection rounds out the zoo's named exhibit areas. The zoo-animal-themed carousel operates as a separate attraction on the grounds, distinct from the animal exhibits themselves.

The Walter Trettin Snow Leopard Habitat, completed in 2016, is the zoo's most recently named major exhibit addition on record, built specifically to house the zoo's snow leopards as part of its participation in AZA-coordinated breeding programs for the species.

Animal highlights

The zoo's own materials describe a collection of more than 550 animals representing 250 species, though the source material does not provide a detailed species checklist. Individual animals documented in the zoo's history include a mountain bongo antelope sent from the zoo's collection to Kenya's Mount Kenya World Heritage Site in 2004 to join a captive breeding population aimed at reestablishing a wild bongo population, and two snow leopard cubs, Kaba and Sabu, born at the zoo on May 10, 2010, to parents Himani and Vijay — the first snow leopard cubs born there and the first for their mother. The zoo notes that only eleven snow leopards were born and survived in the United States the year before this announcement was made. Kaba later moved to the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, and Sabu moved to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, both as part of the AZA Species Survival Plan Program for the species.

Planning your visit

Admission to Cape May County Park & Zoo is free and year-round, weather permitting; the zoo closes only for Christmas. As listed in available source material, hours run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in winter and 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in summer, shifting with daylight saving time — visitors should confirm current seasonal hours on the official zoo website before planning a trip, since hours like these can change. The zoo's animal-themed carousel offers an additional activity on site beyond the exhibits themselves.

Because the source material available for this page does not cover parking, food service, or accessibility details, visitors planning trips involving strollers, wheelchairs, or specific dining needs should check the official website directly for current information.