Staten Island Zoo
Encyclopedia
The Staten Island Zoo is a small 8 acres (3.2 ha) urban 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....

 in northern Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

 in New York City in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The zoo is open year round except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...

 (AZA) since 1988.

History

Zoo construction commenced in 1933 as part of the Federal Government’s works program on an 8 acres (3.2 ha) estate willed to New York City. The land, now called Barrett Park was willed to the City of New York by Mrs. Edward E. Hardin and reconstructed into a zoological park during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 by the Work Projects Administration. The zoo opened to the public in 1936 and was considered the first U.S. "educational zoo."

Animals

Initially the focus of the zoo was reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s, in particular including the collection of snake
Snake
Snakes 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 housed in the zoo's Serpentarium. Although the focus of the zoo has broadened, the zoo's collection of rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

s is still regarded as among the largest and most complete in 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...

. The current collection comprises over 4438 animals of over 206 different species. Among the zoo's current exhibits is the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n Savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

h at Twilight. The zoo is also the home of Staten Island Chuck
Staten Island Chuck
Staten Island Chuck, also referred to more formally as Charles G. Hogg, is a groundhog who resides in the Staten Island Zoo in Staten Island, New York in the United States. He is noted as the official groundhog meteorologist of New York City who predicts the duration of winter each February 2 on...

, a groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...

 who is the official Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end...

 forecaster for New York City.

Getting There

The Zoo is accessible by public transportation via the S48 Forest Avenue bus from the St. George Ferry Terminal to the corner of Broadway and Forest Avenue. Bus service is also available from the 86th Street Station on the BMT subway "R" line in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and then taking the S53 Port Richmond bus to the stop across the street from the main gate on Broadway.

The future

As of January 2010 the Zoo was working on several renovations. A new carousel and leopard enclosure are being designed by Slade Architecture
Slade Architecture
Slade Architecture is a New York City based architecture and design firm founded in 2002 by Hayes and James Slade.The firm has completed a diverse range of domestic and international projects. Their work has been exhibited and published widely. The Architectural League of New York selected Slade...

 under the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

Design Excellence Program.
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