Buttonwood Park Zoo
Encyclopedia
The Buttonwood Park Zoo, located in New Bedford
, Massachusetts
, USA is a ten-acre zoo
located within the center of Buttonwood Park. It is owned and operated by the City of New Bedford, with the support of the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society.
The zoo, which opened in 1894 and reopened in 2000 after major renovations, is home to a variety of North America
n wildlife. In addition, the zoo is involved with various conservation programs, such as the Cape Cod Stranding Network.
In 1969, the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society (BPZS), a private, nonprofit corporation, was founded to manage the membership program, run concessions, produce zoo events, and coordinate fundraising. The City of New Bedford supplies one third of the money needed to operate the zoo, and the remainder is covered by concessions income and contributions from the BPZS.
By the 1990s, the zoo was in a deplorable condition and in need of renovation. The zoo closed in the fall of 1995 for renovations. The new, state-of-the-art Buttonwood Park Zoo opened in August 2000, to much acclaim.
Buttonwood Park Zoo was called "one of the finest small zoos in the United States" by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in 2003.
The zoo houses ove two hundred species of animals from all over the world. Exhibits feature animals from the barnyard to animals from the wild. Pony rides are offered to children.
The exhibits are categorized into five main areas:
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA is a ten-acre zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
located within the center of Buttonwood Park. It is owned and operated by the City of New Bedford, with the support of the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society.
The zoo, which opened in 1894 and reopened in 2000 after major renovations, is home to a variety of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n wildlife. In addition, the zoo is involved with various conservation programs, such as the Cape Cod Stranding Network.
History
The Buttonwood Park Zoo was founded in 1894, making it the oldest continually-operating zoo in Massachusetts.In 1969, the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society (BPZS), a private, nonprofit corporation, was founded to manage the membership program, run concessions, produce zoo events, and coordinate fundraising. The City of New Bedford supplies one third of the money needed to operate the zoo, and the remainder is covered by concessions income and contributions from the BPZS.
By the 1990s, the zoo was in a deplorable condition and in need of renovation. The zoo closed in the fall of 1995 for renovations. The new, state-of-the-art Buttonwood Park Zoo opened in August 2000, to much acclaim.
Buttonwood Park Zoo was called "one of the finest small zoos in the United States" by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in 2003.
Exhibits
The exhibits are categorized into five main areas:
- North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
East (NAE): This section contains black bearAmerican black bearThe American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
s, river otters, beaverBeaverThe beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s, turkey buzzards, bald eagleBald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, and coyoteCoyoteThe coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s. - North America West (NAW): This section contains bisonBisonMembers of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, cougars, Canadian lynx, bobcatBobcatThe bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
and crows. - Aquatics: This section contains harbor sealHarbor SealThe harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...
, shorebirds, a salt marshSalt marshA salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
, a kettlepond, a mountainMountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
streamStreamA stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
, amphibianAmphibianAmphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, and turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s. - Elephants: This section contains the zoo's two Asian elephantAsian ElephantThe Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
s. - Domestics: This section contains horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, cows, sheeps, goatGoatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, pigPigA pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, and an area for ponyPonyA pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
rides.