Prospect Park Zoo

About Prospect Park Zoo

Prospect Park Zoo covers about 12 acres inside Prospect Park at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which also runs the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and the New York Aquarium. The zoo lists 864 animals and 176 species, and it was designed for up-close animal viewing, which the zoo describes as well suited to families with young children.

The zoo's layout centers on the Discovery Trail, which takes visitors past red pandas, dingoes, and a range of birds, along with an area for small cats including Pallas's cats and black-footed cats. A sea lion pool anchors another part of the grounds, with scheduled feedings. As one of the WCS's network of five urban wildlife parks, Prospect Park Zoo is positioned as a Brooklyn-based entry point into that larger system, which the WCS says has educated more than 400 million visitors since it began.

History

A small menagerie existed in Prospect Park as early as 1890. The Prospect Park Zoo opened on its current site in 1935. The Wildlife Conservation Society took over management of the zoo in 1988 and closed it for a full renovation before reopening it on October 5, 1993, redesigned to allow the close-up animal viewing the zoo still offers today.

Exhibits and habitats

The Discovery Trail is the zoo's main route for exploring wildlife, leading visitors past red pandas, dingoes, and a variety of birds. A separate area houses two species of small cat: Pallas's cats, which the zoo notes are sometimes called "the original grumpy cats," and black-footed cats. The zoo's sea lion pool is a central stop, with feedings scheduled so visitors can watch while taking a break for their own lunch nearby at the Sea Lion Store and Café.

Animal highlights

Prospect Park Zoo lists 864 animals representing 176 species. Species named in the zoo's own materials include the red panda, dingo, Pallas's cat, black-footed cat, North American river otter, and sea lion, along with a range of birds seen along the Discovery Trail. The zoo has also highlighted its history with the Chinese big-headed turtle, an endangered species it was the first AZA-accredited institution to successfully propagate.

Conservation and programs

Prospect Park Zoo is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, an organization the zoo traces back 131 years to the founding of the New York Zoological Society. The zoo's clearest individual conservation credit is with the Chinese big-headed turtle: in 2008, its animal care team began working to understand the species' life history and ecology, and in 2013 the zoo celebrated the first successful hatching of the species there, the first such success at an AZA-accredited institution. More broadly, WCS conservationists work in nearly 60 countries and in all of the world's oceans, with a team of more than 4,000 people focused on species including great apes, big cats, elephants, sharks and rays, marine mammals, and turtles.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, Prospect Park Zoo is open daily, with an April 2 to October 31 season and a shorter November 1 to March season; hours around 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. are listed, with last entry roughly an hour before closing. Every visitor needs a date-specific ticket, though WCS members can enter with a valid membership card and photo ID without a separate reservation. Based on the zoo's own materials, an average visit is expected to run 1 to 1.5 hours.

There is no parking at the zoo itself, but street parking is available on Flatbush Avenue, and the Prospect Park entrance should be used, since the Flatbush Avenue entrance does not open. By transit, the B or Q train or the Franklin Avenue Shuttle stop at Prospect Park Station, and the B41 and B47 buses also serve the area. The zoo's accessible entrance is at Children's Corner, at the south end of the park; the Flatbush Avenue entrance has a long flight of stairs, but all buildings inside are wheelchair-accessible, and a limited number of free wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The zoo has partnered with KultureCity to support visitors with sensory processing needs, with sensory bags available for checkout at the Children's Corner entrance and marked quiet and headphone zones around the grounds.

For food, the Sea Lion Store and Café serves sandwiches, salads, snacks, ice cream, and coffee. Only trained service dogs are permitted on the grounds; therapy and emotional-support animals are not. Confirm current hours, ticket requirements, and any seasonal changes on the zoo's official website before visiting.