Central Park Zoo

California Sea Lion Tank

No zoo was envisaged in Olmsted and Vaux's original "Greensward" design for Central Park, but the Central Park menagerie evolved from gifts of exotic pets and other animals informally given to the Park, beginning, apparently, with a bear and some swans deposited near New York's arsenal on the edge of Central Park in 1859. It wasn't until 1864 that it received charter confirmation from New York's assembly. [1] The informally developed menagerie was at first housed in the Arsenal building that predated the Park, located at Fifth Avenue facing East 64th Street. It was given more permanent quarters behind the Arsenal building in 1870. When the Central Park Menagerie was officially founded in 1864, it was the United States's second publicly owned zoo, after the Philadelphia Zoo, founded in 1859.

In 1934, to properly house the zoo, neo-Georgian brick and limestone zoo buildings ranged in a quadrangle round the sealion pool were designed by Aymar Embury II, architect for the Triborough Bridge and the Henry Hudson Bridge (WPA Guide). The famous sealion pool itself was originally designed by Charles Schmieder. For its day the sealion pool was considered advanced because the architect actually studied the habits of sealions and incorporated this knowledge into the design.

The zoo has always held a special spot in the hearts of New Yorkers who have come to adopt the animals as prized members of the metropolitan community. The early menagerie was home to "Murphy" the hippo and "Mike Crowley," the first chimpanzee ever shown in the United States. In fact, when Mr. Crowley took ill, get well cards poured in from fans all over the city. The current "personalities" that have become crowd favorites include polar bears Gus and Ida and family of red pandas: Goodwin, the proud father, and two female cubs, Rose and Scarlet. The cub from an earlier litter, Rocco, was recently sent to live in a children's zoo in the Midwestern United States. It is hoped the Rocco will find a mate and have a litter of his own soon. And write home more often.

The Central Park Zoo is divided into 3 areas to make each type of animal feel as close to home as possible

The Polar Zone contains two of the Zoo's most popular guests - Polar Bears Ida (on the right) and Gus. Alongside Polar Bears lies an exhibit featuring Harbor Seals and nearby is the Ice Pack building which houses 61 Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins along with the Tufted Puffins.

The Tropic Zone houses a brilliant collection of tropical birds including the Fairy Blue Bird of Southeast Asia and the Scarlet-chested Parrot of Southern Australia. Here you'll also find enough frogs, lizards, snakes, toads and various other squirmy things to keep any little boy enraptured for his entire visit. Then there are the Colobus Monkeys, as well as three species of Tamarins, to represent the primates of the tropics.

The Temperate Territory includes the California Sea Lion tank at the center of the exhibit and stretches around the rear of the Zoo. This section is home to the Red Pandas, Japanese Macaques and the almost urbanly manic North American River Otter. Here you'll also find the Mandarin Ducks (happier residents then their cousins at nearby restaurants) and the lovely Swan Geese. Children's Zoo

Tisch Children's Zoo

One of the most popular additions to Central Park in recent years is the Tisch Children's Zoo. Lying at the northern edge of the Central Park Zoo it was added in 1997 and financed by a generous gift from philanthropist Laurence A. Tisch. With its imaginatively designed and little-user friendly exhibits the Children's Zoo offers a magical, as well as educational, experience for children and their parents. It also offers year-round education programs, including the zoo's fascinating "Wildlife Theater", which encourage visitors of all ages to become aware of the natural world that they live in and how they can help in protecting it.