The Bronx Zoo
2300 Southern Blvd
Bronx, NY
A vast green world of forests, rivers, and open country tucked inside the Bronx, where gorillas, tigers, and bison live on some of the wildest ground in the city.
The Bronx Zoo is one of the largest metropolitan zoos in the United States, a sprawling landscape of forest, river, and open country set down in the middle of New York City. Since it opened in 1899 it has grown into a place where a visitor can wander from a misty African gorilla forest to an Asian tiger wood to a herd of American bison on open range, all within a single afternoon in the Bronx.
From the start the zoo was as much a conservation project as a place to see animals. Its parent institution helped save the American bison from extinction and has worked for more than a century to protect wildlife around the world. That mission still shows in the way the exhibits are built, favoring big, planted habitats that put animals in something close to their own country rather than in bare cages.
What Guests Love
- Walking through the misty, tropical Congo Gorilla Forest among a troop of western lowland gorillas
- The immersive tiger and Asian forest habitats where paths wind through the trees
- A working bit of true wildness along the Bronx River running through the grounds
- Riding above the animals on the aerial tram for a treetop view of the park
Worth Knowing
- It is a very large park, so wear comfortable shoes and plan a route rather than trying to see everything
- Some seasonal exhibits and rides operate mainly in the warmer months and may pause in winter
- Weekends and school breaks are the busiest; mornings on weekdays are calmest
- It is reachable by subway and bus, which spares you the parking and the traffic
Details
Bronx, NY
Learn about The Bronx Zoo
The story of the zoo
The Bronx Zoo opened in 1899 under the New York Zoological Society, founded in part to promote the study and protection of wild animals at a time when many species in North America were being hunted toward extinction. Its first director, William Hornaday, had watched the great bison herds vanish from the plains and made their rescue a founding cause.
In 1905 the zoo helped launch the American Bison Society, and it later shipped bison raised on its own grounds back to the western plains to help rebuild wild herds. That early success set the pattern for the institution now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs field programs on nearly every continent and still uses the Bronx Zoo as its flagship and public face.
Wild country inside the city
The zoo's signature exhibits trade cages for landscape. The Congo Gorilla Forest recreates a slice of central African rainforest, humid and green, where a troop of western lowland gorillas lives among planted trees and the trail winds through their world. Nearby, immersive habitats for tigers, snow leopards, and other Asian wildlife thread paths through woodland that hides the barriers.
The Bronx River runs right through the grounds, and along it the zoo keeps some of the most natural ground in the whole city, a real river corridor of trees and marsh. Open ranges hold bison and other hoofed animals, a nod to the zoo's founding rescue work, and an aerial tram carries visitors above it all for a treetop look at the park in warm weather.
Conservation, then and now
Behind the exhibits, the Bronx Zoo has long doubled as a research and breeding center. Its early work with bison was only the beginning; over the decades it has bred and helped protect species ranging from snow leopards to rare birds and amphibians, and its scientists study wildlife in the field from Africa to the Arctic.
That work threads through a visit in quiet ways: the signs that explain why a species is threatened, the breeding programs behind a rare animal on view, the emphasis on habitats that teach how creatures actually live. The zoo presents itself less as a collection to gawk at and more as a place fighting to keep wild animals in the world.
Seasons and a day at the zoo
Spring and early summer are lively, with young animals and the grounds in fresh leaf, while high summer can be hot, so early hours and shaded exhibits are your friends. Fall brings cooler air, thinner crowds, and good color in the wooded parts of the park.
Winter is the quietest season, when some seasonal rides and warm-weather exhibits pause, but the cold-country animals like tigers and snow leopards are often at their most active, and the park takes on a hushed, uncrowded feel. In any season, the sheer scale rewards planning a route rather than trying to see it all.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Bronx
New York Botanical Garden
Across the road
A vast garden and living museum of plants, with a landmark Victorian glasshouse, a stretch of old-growth forest, and seasonal flower shows.
Arthur Avenue, Belmont
About 1 mile
The Bronx's historic Little Italy, a neighborhood of old-school markets, bakeries, and family restaurants.
Bronx River Greenway
Along the river
A trail following the Bronx River, the city's only freshwater river, linking parks and green space through the borough.