Bronx Zoo

Opened to the public in 1899, and spanning 265 acres (over 1 square kilometer), the Bronx Zoo is probably the largest zoo in a metropolitan area in all the United States. Today it s hauses over 4,000 animals. A huge part of its "residents" is protected and endangered, including a recent addition of the rare snow leopard. The Wildlife Conservation Society is responsible for the zoo, and it is one their most important goals to provide a balance between establishing a forum for people to view the many animals of the world, but still provide the animals with a sense of their own natural habitat. This is why the Bronx Zoo feels much less like a traditional zoo, with bars and cages, and more like a visit to the wild; at least, as close as you can get to the wild without actually going there. Exhibits range from the Butterfly Garden and the Bug Carousel, to the deepest forest of the Congo with the gorillas, to the plains of Africa, where the great lion roams. It would be impossible to explain the vastness of this zoo, and the immense array of animals that can be seen; it truly must be experienced firsthand, and be sure to reserve plenty of time and wear a good pair of walking shoes.

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