Bronx Zoo

Where: New York City, NY
When: July 2, 2011
With: Dave, Suzannah

In the weeks leading up to our move abroad, Dave and I decided to have a New York City staycation over the Fourth of July weekend. We created a packed itinerary of activities we hadn't gotten around to doing over our years in New York and treated the weekend like a proper vacation. One of these activities was to visit one of the most famous zoos in the US: the Bronx Zoo, and for this one, Suzannah would be joining us. 

Despite sitting in the middle of the very urbanized borough of the Bronx, this zoo is one of the largest in the US by acres. Opened in 1899, it sits at the end of the 2 line on the subway and feels so out of place in this metropolis. It is so odd to have all these animals in such close proximity to all those people and apartment buildings. 

So this was the first time I've been to a zoo as an adult. Like maybe in 25 years. I love the animals, but was curious what my thoughts would be on seeing them in captivity. Right off the bat, we walked in and saw some of the popular animals that are also relatively harmless just grazing around the grassy areas, like zebra and giraffe. 

We also passed some areas that had some more unique animals in them. 

There is a very well protected paddock for the gorillas, who are definitely on the more dangerous scale of the inhabitants. They were very nicely sitting still for some good close ups.  

The silverbacks are always the most exciting to see of the gorillas. They are so big and powerful.

Lego version - not as scary. 

In fact, Lego was having quite the display as we wandered through the zoo. 

But just because certain exhibits are intended for kids doesn't mean they are exclusive to kids. This is Suzannah, stamping her zoo card!

So far, our day was going fine. Until we reached the main building at the center of the zoo. It's ironic there's a statue of a rhinoceros outside of it. Under that arch was a tiny little paddock with cement flooring and a couple strands of straw. Laying in there was the saddest looking rhino with no horn laying there. It was so depressing I almost got sick. I think he was waiting for his new home to be built, but I didn't care - it was awful to see. I immediately made my decision that zoos may not be my favorite. 

We continued on, but I had a new lens to see the animals through. I just tried to focus on taking photos. The lemurs are a great distraction with their crazy colored eyes. 

Speaking of cool eyes, the panthers were easily my favorite to photograph. 

The tigers, also kept behind a lot of protective glass, were especially playful, which helped improve my mood as well.  

Back to being sad. Being that it was July in New York City, it was a very hot 86 degrees out. This made witnessing the Arctic section of the zoo very uncomfortable. These animals must have been dying! At least the polar bears had some (presumably) cold water to soak in.

The snow leopard, on the other hand, with its incredibly thick fur just looked down right miserable. 

Moving on to the African section of animals, at least lions are made for this heat. 

A hodgepodge of less miserable looking animals. 

The colors of a peacock always impress me. And we got to see two males preening for attention. 

Leaving the zoo and signing off to America. 

While the zoo left not a great taste in my mouth, the bigger adventure would turn out to be our journey home. The subway was down and the only way back to Manhattan was on the bus. Except it was the local bus. And surprisingly, the neighborhood outside the zoo is not the best. Needless to say, on our 40 minute ride downtown, Dave was scratched, we witnessed a catfight, and we were offered liquor out of someone's personal flask. I think it's safe to say this was probably my one and only visit to the Bronx Zoo. 

A beautiful facility for a zoo, but perhaps just not my cup of tea.