Bronx Zoo

Melissa Villaluna

It has been visited by tourists worldwide. The zoo is located at the heart of the Bronx and has been a part of children’s lives for a long time.

Caroline Sun

This place allows us to see and experience the many other beings with which we share this planet. In the presence of wildlife, I see and feel the creative handiwork of the divine energy. Seeing the variety, beauty, grace, and intelligence of animals, I forget myself and become enthralled with the multitude of life forms before me. Being among animals is my sacred space, and after a “session” there, especially the tiger pavilion, the snow leopards, the black jaguars, the lions, and the polar bear, I am filled with delight, joy, and peace that lasts for many weeks afterward.

Try to go during the week when it is quieter and emptier and the animals are more relaxed. Also towards the end of the day, the big cats all become more active. When there are few people around, you can truly “commune” with each animal. The animals are also more willing to come toward you and look you in the eye and to engage in interesting behaviors.

Funding for The Wildlife Conservancy is ALWAYS under threat during every New York City budget cycle. I have signed numerous petitions to restore funding each year. I have been a member of the Wildlife Conservancy not only because of the sites they run in the city, but also for the work that they do to save endangered species around the world. When the American bison was nearly wiped out at the end of the 19th century, it was a small herd of bison saved at the Bronx Zoo that was used to repopulate the species and ultimately reintroduce them to their native habitats in the Western states.

I know that they have received cuts from the city many times and nearly closed the Queens Zoo three times in the last decade. It was because of signatures and petitions from the public that the Queens Zoo, a welcoming and quiet little gem full of animals from the Americas, was kept open.