View source for Central Park Zoo

{{Short description|Zoo in Manhattan, New York}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox zoo
|zoo_name=Central Park Zoo
|logo=Central Park Zoo logo.png
|logo_width=250px
|logo_caption=Central Park Zoo logo
|image=Central Park Zoo area.jpg
|image_caption=Central area of the Central Park Zoo
|location=[[Central Park]], [[New York City]], United States
|date_opened={{Bulleted list|{{Start date and age|1864}} (menagerie)|{{Start date and age|December 2, 1934}} (zoo)|{{Start date and age|August 8, 1988}} (renovated)}}
|date_closed=
|area={{Convert|6.5|acre|ha}}
|coordinates={{Coord|40|46|4|N|73|58|18|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
|members=[[Association of Zoos and Aquariums|AZA]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list/ |title=List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums |work=aza.org |publisher=Association of Zoos and Aquariums |access-date=May 27, 2010 |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101151357/https://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list |url-status=live }}</ref>
|owner= [[Wildlife Conservation Society]]
|publictransit= '''[[New York City Subway]]:''' {{NYCS trains|Broadway 60th|time=bullets}} at [[Fifth Avenue–59th Street (BMT Broadway Line)|Fifth Avenue–59th Street]]<br />{{NYCS trains|Lexington local day|time=bullets}} at [[68th Street–Hunter College (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)|68th Street–Hunter College]]<br />'''[[New York City Bus]]:''' {{NYC bus link|M1|M2|M3|M4|M5|M66|M72|Q32}}
|website={{URL|http://centralparkzoo.com}}
}}
The '''Central Park Zoo''' is a {{Convert|6.5|acre|adj=on}} [[zoo]] located at the southeast corner of [[Central Park]] in [[New York City]]. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] (WCS). In conjunction with the Central Park Zoo's operations, the WCS offers children's educational programs, is engaged in restoration of endangered species populations, and reaches out to the local community through volunteer programs.

Its precursor, a [[menagerie]], was founded in 1864, becoming the first public zoo to open in New York. The present facility first opened as a city zoo on December 2, 1934, and was part of a larger revitalization program of city parks, playgrounds and zoos initiated in 1934 by [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]] (NYC Parks) commissioner [[Robert Moses]]. It was built, in large part, through [[Civil Works Administration]] and [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA) labor and funding. The Children's Zoo opened to the north of the main zoo in 1960, using funding from a donation by Senator [[Herbert Lehman]] and his wife Edith.

After 49 years of operation as a city zoo run by NYC Parks, Central Park Zoo closed in 1983 for reconstruction. The closure was part of a five-year, $35 million renovation program, that completely replaced the zoo's cages with naturalistic environments. It was rededicated on August 8, 1988, as part of a system of five facilities managed by the WCS, all of which are accredited by the [[Association of Zoos and Aquariums]] (AZA).{{efn|The others are the [[Bronx Zoo]], [[Prospect Park Zoo]], [[Queens Zoo]], and [[New York Aquarium]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Zoos & Aquarium | website=WCS.org | date=April 24, 2019 | url=https://www.wcs.org/parks | language=en | access-date=May 5, 2019 | archive-date=April 5, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405212231/https://www.wcs.org/parks | url-status=live }}</ref>|name=WCSFacilities}}

== Description<span class="anchor" id="Areas"></span> ==
{{Central Park map|lat=40.7675|long=-73.974444|zoom=14}}
The Central Park Zoo is part of the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] (WCS), an integrated network of four zoos and an aquarium spread throughout New York City.{{efn|name=WCSFacilities}} Located at East 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, the zoo is situated on a {{convert|6.5|acre|ha|adj=on|abbr=}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centralparkzoo.com/plan-your-visit/know-before-you-go|title=Know Before You Go – Central Park Zoo|website=centralparkzoo.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05|archive-date=May 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505223044/https://centralparkzoo.com/plan-your-visit/know-before-you-go|url-status=live}}</ref> plot in Central Park. Visitors may enter through the Fifth Avenue entrance or from within Central Park.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" />

The Central Park Zoo is a major tourist attraction within Central Park, drawing more than one million people every year. According to a 2011 study by the [[Central Park Conservancy]], the zoo and its surroundings were visited by an estimated four million people each year.<ref name="Conservancy Public Use Rpt">{{cite web|url=http://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/institute/p2p-upelp/3.002_Report+on+the+Public+Use+of+Central+Park.pdf|title=Report on the Public Use of Central Park|date=April 2011|website=centralparknyc.org|publisher=[[Central Park Conservancy]]|access-date=April 1, 2019|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727191749/https://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/institute/p2p-upelp/3.002_Report+on+the+Public+Use+of+Central+Park.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|9}} However, the WCS cites much lower figures since it only counts patrons with tickets. In 2007, it recorded that 1.01 million people visited the Central Park Zoo,<ref name="AnnualReport2007">{{cite journal|author=Wildlife Conservation Society|date=December 2007|title=Annual Report 2007|url=http://www.wcs.org/media/file/annual_07.pdf|format=offline: paper, online: [[PDF]]|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|pages=101|access-date=March 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512003440/http://www.wcs.org/media/file/annual_07.pdf|archive-date=May 12, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and in 2006, 1.03 million people.<ref name="AnnualReport">{{cite journal|author=Wildlife Conservation Society|date=December 2006|title=Annual Report 2006|url=http://www.wcs.org/media/file/annual06.pdf|format=offline: paper, online: [[PDF]]|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|pages=98|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223724/http://www.wcs.org/media/file/annual06.pdf|archive-date=September 26, 2007|access-date=April 15, 2007}}</ref> {{As of|2016|alt=As of the Wildlife Conservation Society's 2016 census of its zoos}}, the Central Park Zoo had 1,487 animals representing 163 species.<ref name="AnnualReport20162">{{cite journal|author=Wildlife Conservation Society|date=December 2016|title=Annual Report 2016|url=https://c532f75abb9c1c021b8c-e46e473f8aadb72cf2a8ea564b4e6a76.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/2017/06/23/92qyj61oww_2016_WCS_Annual_Report.pdf|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|page=176 (PDF p. 81)|access-date=January 31, 2019|archive-date=May 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505215840/https://c532f75abb9c1c021b8c-e46e473f8aadb72cf2a8ea564b4e6a76.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/2017/06/23/92qyj61oww_2016_WCS_Annual_Report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Main zoo ===
[[Trellis (architecture)|Trellised]], vine-clad, glass-roofed [[pergola]]s link the three major exhibit areas—tropic, temperate and polar—housed in discrete buildings of brick trimmed with granite, masked by vines.<ref name="Goldberger 1988">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/25/arts/architecture-view-the-new-zoo-at-home-in-central-park.html|title=Architecture View; The New Zoo: At Home in Central Park|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=September 25, 1988|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145052/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/25/arts/architecture-view-the-new-zoo-at-home-in-central-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kinkead">{{cite book|title=Central Park, 1857–1995: The Birth, Decline, and Renewal of a National Treasure|last=Kinkead|first=Eugene|publisher=Norton|year=1990|isbn=0-393-02531-4|location=New York|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/centralpark1857100kink}}</ref>{{Rp|213}} The exhibit areas are centered around a square central garden that contains a square sea lion pool in its center.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map">{{cite web|url=https://centralparkzoo.com/map|title=Map|date=March 29, 2019|website=Central Park Zoo|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145050/https://centralparkzoo.com/map|url-status=live}}</ref> The sea lion pool is surrounded by glass fencing to allow visitors to observe the sea lions and their daily feedings.<ref name="Conservancy Zoo">{{cite web|url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/central-park-zoo.html|title=Central Park Zoo|date=February 12, 2015|website=Central Park Zoo|publisher=Central Park Conservancy|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601094533/http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/central-park-zoo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Exhibits and other buildings ====
The structure at the central garden's southwestern corner is the "Tropic Zone",<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> which contains a two-story representation of a [[rain forest]]. The rain forest contains [[Rodrigues flying fox]]es, [[Seba's short-tailed bat]]s, [[emerald tree boa]]s, [[Python (genus)|pythons]], [[cotton-top tamarin]]s, [[white-eared titi]]s, [[toucan]]s, [[black-and-white ruffed lemur]]s from the [[Bronx Zoo]] and a large variety of [[bird]]s including [[scarlet ibis]], [[emerald starling]]s, [[superb starling]]s, [[pied avocet]]s, [[speckled mousebird]]s, [[sunbittern]], [[Venezuelan troupial|troupials]], [[Taveta weaver|Taveta golden weaver]], [[Blue-capped motmot|blue-crowned motmots]], [[crested coua]]s, [[blue-gray tanager]]s, [[African pygmy goose]], [[ochre-marked parakeet]]s, [[white-fronted amazon]]s, [[blue-headed macaw]]s, [[plum-headed parakeet]]s, [[Lord Derby's parakeet|Derbyan parakeets]], [[Fischer's lovebird]]s, [[Golden parakeet|golden conures]], [[red bird-of-paradise]], [[Greater lophorina|superb bird-of-paradise]], [[Nicobar pigeon]]s, [[black-naped fruit dove]]s, [[Green peafowl|green peacocks]], [[Victoria crowned pigeon|Victoria crowned-pigeons]], [[coroneted fruit dove]]s, [[kagu]]s, [[Blue-and-yellow macaw|blue-and-yellow]] and [[Red-and-green macaw|green winged macaws]]. The zoo also keeps [[Red-bellied piranha|piranhas]], [[pig-nosed turtle]]s, and [[red-footed tortoise]]s. There is also a large free-flight area for birds.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|215}} The elephant house of the original menagerie was formerly located at the site.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|215}}

[[File:Central Park Zoo.jpg|thumb|left|The Temperate Zone, one of the three major exhibit areas at Central Park Zoo]]

To the west of the garden is the "Temperate Territory", a landscaped series of paths surrounding a lake.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> It hosts animals such as [[red pandas]], [[white-naped crane]]s, [[Japanese macaque|snow monkeys]], and [[snow leopard]]s.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|215}} A snow leopard exhibit in the Temperate Territory opened in June 2009.<ref name="Rothstein 2009">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/nyregion/13snow.html|title=3 Snow Leopards Focus of First New Central Park Zoo Exhibition Since 1988|last=Rothstein|first=Edward|date=June 12, 2009|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145053/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/nyregion/13snow.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Temperate Territory is located on the site of the 1934 zoo's cafeteria.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|215}}

The northern side of the garden is adjacent to the "Penguins and Sea Birds" section.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> This multilevel structure contains a chilled [[penguin]] house that contains [[macaroni penguin]]s, [[king penguin]]s, [[chinstrap penguin]]s, [[gentoo penguin]]s, [[Atlantic puffins]], [[tufted puffin]]s and an outdoor pool with [[harbor seal]]s, as well as an outdoor [[grizzly bear]] exhibit.<ref name="Goldberger 1988" /><ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|214–215}} It is located on the site of a lion house that was built in 1934 along with the original menagerie.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|214}}

The eastern side of the central garden is next to the [[Arsenal (Central Park)|Arsenal]], technically located outside the zoo.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> The structure was completed in 1851 and originally intended as a weapons and ammunition storehouse for the [[New York Army National Guard|New York State Militia]]. It once served as an actual zoo building, but now contains NYC Parks Department offices.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/realestate/18scap.html|title=From Armory to Zoo to Museum to Offices|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=November 18, 2007|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145050/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/realestate/18scap.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Central Park Zoo also includes a [[4D film|4D theater]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/nyregion/city-critic-in-the-fourth-dimension-its-damp-and-ticklish.html|title=In the Fourth Dimension, It's Damp and Ticklish|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|date=April 15, 2011|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171528/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/nyregion/city-critic-in-the-fourth-dimension-its-damp-and-ticklish.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centralparkzoo.com/experiences/4-d-theater|title=4-D Theater – Central Park Zoo|website=centralparkzoo.com|language=en|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171529/https://centralparkzoo.com/experiences/4-d-theater|url-status=live}}</ref> located to the north of the Arsenal,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> while a gift shop and ticket booth are located to the south of the Arsenal.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" />

The southern side of the garden contains the Intelligence Garden,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> located at the site of the original menagerie's horned animal/small mammal house. Its name is inspired by a rare-animal menagerie created by [[King Wen of Zhou]] in 1100 B.C.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|216}} A cafeteria, the Dancing Crane Cafe,<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> is located to the south of the Intelligence Garden.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|216}}

==== Art and conservation programs ====
Several [[List of sculptures in Central Park|works of public art]] can be found in the Central Park Zoo. Five structures, preserved from the original zoo built in 1934,{{efn|The structures that still exist, or have been modified from the original zoo, are:<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|213}}
* Birdhouse
* Smaller-Hoofed Animal House
* Larger-Hoofed Animal House
* Garage, animal kitchen, and annexes
* Monkey House}} still feature their original animal-themed limestone [[frieze]]s sculpted by [[Frederick Roth]].<ref name="Conservancy Zoo" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/1744|title=Central Park Monuments – Zoo|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171532/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/1744|url-status=live}}</ref> The same artist created a pair of bronze statues for the original zoo, ''Dancing Goat'' and ''Dancing Bear'', which now flank the zoo's southern entrance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/591|title=Central Park Monuments – Dancing Goat|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171529/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/591|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/highlights/11978|title=Central Park Highlights – Dancing Bear Statue|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171528/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/highlights/11978|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Tigress and Cubs'', one of the park's oldest statues, was created by [[Auguste Cain]] in 1867 and installed on a rock outcrop near [[the Lake (Central Park)|the Lake]], but moved to the zoo in 1934.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/1547|title=Central Park Monuments – Tigress and Cubs|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171530/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/1547|url-status=live}}</ref>

The zoo coordinates breeding programs for some endangered species as part of the [[Species Survival Plan]], such as [[thick-billed parrot]]s<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/28/nyregion/rare-bird-is-back-in-hand-and-so-is-a-suspect.html|title=Rare Bird Is Back in Hand, and So Is a Suspect|last=Wilgoren|first=Jodi|date=January 28, 1999|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171533/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/28/nyregion/rare-bird-is-back-in-hand-and-so-is-a-suspect.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[red panda]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Baby-Red-Panda-Finds-New-Home-in-Central-Park-Zoo-127757263.html|title=Baby Red Panda Finds New Home in Central Park Zoo|date=August 15, 2011|website=NBC New York|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171535/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Baby-Red-Panda-Finds-New-Home-in-Central-Park-Zoo-127757263.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/20110815/upper-east-side/red-panda-comes-central-park-zoo|title=Endangered Red Panda Comes to Central Park Zoo – Upper East Side & Roosevelt Island – New York|date=August 15, 2011|website=DNAinfo|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171542/https://www.dnainfo.com/20110815/upper-east-side/red-panda-comes-central-park-zoo/|archive-date=May 4, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, the WCS announced that the Central Park Zoo was the first North American zoo to hatch ducklings of critically endangered [[scaly-sided merganser]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title=WCS's Central Park Zoo Is the First in North America to Successfully Breed Endangered Sea Duck > Newsroom | website=WCS Newsroom | date=June 21, 2011 | url=https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/6233/WCSs-Central-Park-Zoo-Is-the-First-in-North-America-to-Successfully-Breed-Endangered-Sea-Duck.aspx | access-date=May 4, 2019 | archive-date=May 4, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504020042/https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/6233/WCSs-Central-Park-Zoo-Is-the-First-in-North-America-to-Successfully-Breed-Endangered-Sea-Duck.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Quinlan | first=Adriane | title=New to the Central Park Zoo: Rare, Skinny-Billed Ducklings | website=City Room | date=June 23, 2011 | url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/new-to-the-central-park-zoo-rare-skinny-billed-ducklings/ | access-date=May 4, 2019 | archive-date=August 25, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825121901/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/new-to-the-central-park-zoo-rare-skinny-billed-ducklings/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the first example of [[whispering]] in non-human primates was observed at the Central Park Zoo in 2013, when [[tamarin]] monkeys were heard whispering around a staff member that they disliked.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Morrison|first1=Rachel|last2=Reiss|first2=Diana|date=November 2013|title=Whisper-like behavior in a non-human primate: Whisper-Like Behavior Non-Human Primate|journal=Zoo Biology|language=en|volume=32|issue=6|pages=626–631|doi=10.1002/zoo.21099|pmid=24038444}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/first-example-of-whispering-observed-in-non-human-primates-8836601.html|title=First example of whispering observed in non-human primates|date=September 24, 2013|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504180224/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/first-example-of-whispering-observed-in-non-human-primates-8836601.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsci.com/article/science/central-park-monkeys-caught-whispering-about-hated-supervisor|title=Central Park Monkeys Caught Whispering About Hated Supervisor|date=September 24, 2013|website=Popular Science|language=en|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309083911/https://www.popsci.com/article/science/central-park-monkeys-caught-whispering-about-hated-supervisor|url-status=live}}</ref>

The zoo hosts educational venues as well as exhibits. The volunteer program at the Central Park Zoo engages members of the community; it is a combination outreach and educational program for adults. Volunteer guides conduct tours for visitors, while volunteer [[wiktionary:docents|docents]] augment the educational program. Docents enroll in a four-month training program.<ref name="docenttrain">{{cite web|url=https://centralparkzoo.com/volunteering|title=City Zoos Volunteers|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|access-date=May 5, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145104/https://centralparkzoo.com/volunteering|url-status=live}}</ref> The zoo also offers several programs for students.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centralparkzoo.com/field-trips/classes|title=Classes – Central Park Zoo|website=centralparkzoo.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05|archive-date=May 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505223044/https://centralparkzoo.com/field-trips/classes|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Children's Zoo ===
The Children's Zoo is located north of the main zoo.<ref name="Central Park Zoo Map" /> It is officially named the Tisch Children's Zoo after businessman [[Laurence A. Tisch]], whose donation funded the zoo's 1990s renovation.<ref name="Miller 1997">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/20/nyregion/tisch-to-match-and-raise-revoked-gift-to-children-s-zoo.html|title=Tisch to Match, and Raise, Revoked Gift to Children's Zoo|last=Miller|first=Judith|date=May 20, 1997|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504015227/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/20/nyregion/tisch-to-match-and-raise-revoked-gift-to-children-s-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Los Angeles Times 2003">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-16-me-tisch16-story.html|title=Laurence Tisch, 80; Billionaire Had Rocky Time at CBS Helm|date=November 16, 2003|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 4, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504015226/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-16-me-tisch16-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Children's Zoo contains a [[petting zoo]] with mini nubian [[goat]]s (a [[crossbreed]] between [[Nigerian Dwarf goat|Nigerian dwarf]] and [[Anglo-Nubian goat|Nubian goats]]), [[sheep]], [[Domestic pig|pigs]], [[alpaca]]s, [[Patagonian mara|Patagonian cavies]], and the only [[Cattle|cow]] in Manhattan, as well as the Acorn Theatre, a performing arts theater.<ref name="Conservancy Zoo" /><ref name="www.centralpark.com 2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.centralpark.com/api/content/fcfe22cf-2d33-56b1-948b-32d7ccf2163b/|title=Tisch Children's Zoo|date=September 22, 2017|website=www.centralpark.com|language=en-us|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234731/https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/tisch-childrens-zoo/|url-status=live}}</ref> Admission to the Children's Zoo is included with the purchase of tickets to the main zoo.<ref name="www.centralpark.com 2017" />

[[File:Lehman Gates snow jeh.jpg|thumb|Lehman Gates]]

The Lehman Gates by [[Paul Manship]] are a notable feature retained from the original Children's Zoo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/893|title=Tisch Children's Zoo Gate : NYC Parks|date=June 26, 1939|website=Central Park Monuments|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504015227/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/893|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/lehman-gates.html|title=Lehman Gates|date=February 12, 2015|website=The Official Website of Central Park NYC|publisher=Central Park Conservancy|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504015230/http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/lehman-gates.html|url-status=live}}</ref> They were donated by Herbert and Edith Lehman in 1960 in honor of their 50th anniversary, and as part of their donation toward the construction of the Children's Zoo itself.<ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015" /> The gates were renovated in the 1980s.<ref name="The Official Website of Central Park NYC 2015" /><ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|163}} Additionally, the [[Delacorte Clock]], a gift of George T. Delacorte dedicated in 1965, is mounted on a three-tiered tower above the arcade between the Wildlife Center and the Children's Zoo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/378|title=Central Park Monuments: Delacorte Clock|work=NYC Parks|access-date=June 6, 2016|archive-date=March 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322180922/http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/378|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Original menagerie ===

==== Planning and creation ====
The zoo was not part of the original [[Greensward Plan]] for Central Park created by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] and [[Calvert Vaux]].<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999">{{cite web|url=http://centralparkhistory.com/timeline/timeline_1870_zoo.html|title=CentralParkHistory.com|date=December 24, 1999|website=CentralParkHistory.com|access-date=April 1, 2019|archive-date=October 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019002334/http://www.centralparkhistory.com/timeline/timeline_1870_zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar">{{Cite Central Park History}}</ref>{{Rp|340}} However, a menagerie near the Arsenal, on the edge of Central Park located at [[Fifth Avenue]] facing East 64th Street, spontaneously evolved from gifts of exotic pets and other animals informally given to the park.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|343}}<ref name="Newman 2014">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/nyregion/giving-life-to-central-park-zoo-one-donation-at-a-time.html|title=Giving Life to Central Park Zoo, One Donation at a Time|last=Newman|first=Andy|date=June 15, 2014|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161819/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/nyregion/giving-life-to-central-park-zoo-one-donation-at-a-time.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The first animal, a [[bear]] cub tied to a tree, was left in Central Park in 1859, followed by a [[monkey]] the next year. These animals were popular with the park's visitors even though there was no formal zoo at the time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/03/10/archives/bergson-says-world-needs-a-new-system-of-ethics-if-we-knew-our-duty.html|title=Bergson Says World Needs A New System Of Ethics; If We Knew Our Duty We Would Do It, But We Don't, According to the Famous French Philosopher, Who Will Soon Be With Us --- All Systems Incomplete --- Philosophers Rule Mankind.|date=March 10, 1912|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161818/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/03/10/archives/bergson-says-world-needs-a-new-system-of-ethics-if-we-knew-our-duty.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Soon, people began donating other animals such as [[Crane (bird)|cranes]], a [[Peafowl|peacock]], and [[goldfish]].<ref name="Newman 2014" /> Unsolicited donations came from a variety of people, from prominent figures to young boys.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/11/nyregion/zoo-document.html|title=A Curious List of People Who Donated to the Central Park Zoo|date=June 15, 2014|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501164806/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/11/nyregion/zoo-document.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The donations also included dead animals.<ref name="NYC Parks Annual Report 1864">{{Cite web|url=http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/4060annual_report_manhattan_central_park_1864.pdf|title=1864 Central Park Commissioners Annual Report|date=1864|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=January 13, 2017|archive-date=February 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211233129/http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/4060annual_report_manhattan_central_park_1864.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Rp|50–54 (PDF pp. 54–58)}} The Central Park planning commission recorded all of these donations in its annual reports.<ref name="Newman 2014" />
[[File:NYC-CentralPark (1869) p114 The Dovecote.jpg|thumb|left|1869, The Dovecote]]
The American Zoological and Botanical Society, which sought to create a zoo somewhere in [[New York City]], was created in early 1860.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1860/02/02/archives/city-intelligence.html|title=City Intelligence.|date=February 2, 1860|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161816/https://www.nytimes.com/1860/02/02/archives/city-intelligence.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The group began discussing possible sites for a zoo, among them Central Park.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1860/03/10/archives/amusements.html|title=Amusements.|date=March 10, 1860|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161820/https://www.nytimes.com/1860/03/10/archives/amusements.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1862, {{Convert|60|acre|ha|abbr=}} were set aside for the construction of a future "zoological and botanical garden", later the Central Park Zoo.<ref name="NYC Parks Annual Report 1862">{{Cite web|url=http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/4077annual_report_manhattan_central_park_1862.pdf|title=1862 Central Park Commissioners Annual Report|date=1862|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=January 13, 2017|archive-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206211955/http://home2.nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/4077annual_report_manhattan_central_park_1862.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|15 (PDF p. 17)}} However, since the zoo's site was not yet formally designated, the animals were kept in the [[Central Park Mall]].<ref name="Newman 2014" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://centralparkhistory.com/timeline/timeline_1870_zoo.html|title=CentralParkHistory.com|website=centralparkhistory.com|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=October 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019002334/http://www.centralparkhistory.com/timeline/timeline_1870_zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Popular animals included three [[bald eagles]] and a bald-headed monkey.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1863/07/25/archives/the-central-park-the-peoples-pleasure-ground-its-notable-features-a.html|title=The Central Park; The People's Pleasure Ground Its Notable Features and Attractions What It Is and What It Will Be A Rambler's Observations.|date=July 25, 1863|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161819/https://www.nytimes.com/1863/07/25/archives/the-central-park-the-peoples-pleasure-ground-its-notable-features-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1864, a formal zoo received charter confirmation from New York's assembly, making it the United States' second publicly owned zoo, after the [[Philadelphia Zoo]], which was founded in 1859.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|340–349}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1864/04/02/archives/local-intelligence-a-zeological-garden-at-central-park.html|title=ocal Intelligence; A Zeological Garden at Central Park.|date=April 2, 1864|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 9, 2019|archive-date=April 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409175424/https://www.nytimes.com/1864/04/02/archives/local-intelligence-a-zeological-garden-at-central-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By then, the park had over 400 animals.<ref name="Newman 2014" /> More than 250 animals would be donated in 1864–1865 alone.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /><ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|343}}

Originally the zoo was supposed to be located in [[Manhattan Square]], on the west side of Central Park where the [[American Museum of Natural History]] is now located, though this location was never used as a zoo.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|200}} Up to twelve sites would eventually be considered for the zoo throughout the last three decades of the 19th century, including the [[North Woods and North Meadow|North Meadow]] of Central Park.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|344}} Some animals were moved to the Arsenal in 1865, and larger animals grazed there during summers. A "deer park" was established at the current site of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] three years later.<ref name="CentralParkHistory.com 1999" /> In 1870, when the [[Tammany Hall]] political organization took control of the Central Park commission, it mandated that the Central Park menagerie buy its own animals rather than accept donations, and it moved the animals to five structures behind the Arsenal.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|344}} The same year, [[Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins]] sculpted [[dinosaur]] figures for the [[Paleozoic Museum]], a proposed dinosaur museum near the zoo, but they were destroyed in a fit of vandalism<ref name="Chan 2008" /> that the [[Geologists' Association]] described as "perplexing".<ref name="curious">{{cite journal |last1=Coules |first1=Victoria |last2=Benton |first2=Michael J. |date=2023 |title=The curious case of Central Park's dinosaurs: The destruction of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins' Paleozoic Museum revisited |url= |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |volume= 134|issue= 3|pages= 344–360|doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.04.004 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023PrGA..134..344C }}</ref>

==== Popularity and decline ====
The menagerie became popular because of its free admission and proximity to working-class [[Lower Manhattan]]; by 1873, it saw 2.5 million annual visitors.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|344}} The first permanent menagerie building was constructed behind the Arsenal in 1875.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/timeline/park-planning-for-greater-ny|title=Park Planning for Greater New York (1870–1898) : Online Historic Tour|publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161827/https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/timeline/park-planning-for-greater-ny|url-status=live}}</ref> The menagerie reached peak popularity in the mid-1880s after a [[chimpanzee]] nicknamed "Mike Crowley" was imported from [[Liberia]]. Observers such as former president [[Ulysses S. Grant]] showed up at the Monkey House to see the chimpanzee, overfilling the building past capacity.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|345–346}} However, Irish-American groups took offense to the chimpanzee's nickname, saying that the names given to animals in the Central Park menagerie were stereotypically Irish, and thus derogatory to that ethnic group.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|345–346}}<ref name="Bayor Meagher 1997 p. 284">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfCmS90xyEIC&pg=PA284|title=The New York Irish|last1=Bayor|first1=R.H.|last2=Meagher|first2=T.|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8018-5764-5|page=284|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234724/https://books.google.com/books?id=WfCmS90xyEIC&pg=PA284|url-status=live}}</ref> Frederick Law Olmsted also disapproved of the menagerie, believing Central Park to be better suited for scenic vistas than for entertainment, though he admitted that the zoo was the most popular part of the park.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|347}}

By the 1890s, wealthy residents of nearby neighborhoods were clamoring for the zoo to be relocated somewhere else, such as the [[North Meadow]]. However, these efforts met resistance, as the Central Park menagerie was popular among the general public and among the politicians that represented them.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|348}} This subsequently led to the creation of the [[Bronx Zoo]], a much larger, privately operated zoo in [[the Bronx]] in 1897.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/18/archives/work-of-the-assembly-among-the-bills-passed-is-that-for-improving-a.html|title=Work of the Assembly; Among the Bills Passed Is That for Improving a Portion of Bronx Park for a Zoo.|date=April 18, 1897|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145045/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/04/18/archives/work-of-the-assembly-among-the-bills-passed-is-that-for-improving-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Though wealthy residents hoped that people would travel to the Bronx Zoo for its superior facilities, the Central Park Zoo continued to be popular even after the Bronx Zoo opened in 1899.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|349, 388}} The Central Park menagerie attracted over three million people annually by 1902, more than the [[American Museum of Natural History|Museum of Natural History]] and the [[Metropolitan Museum]] combined, despite only receiving one-fifth as much money as either of the museums.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|389}}

Through the early 20th century, the quality of the menagerie declined through neglect from the city government, which administered the zoo. The zoo accepted creatures of all kinds, even those with health problems, but offered insufficient veterinary care.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|211}} In 1919, some of the structures at the Central Park menagerie were modified to accommodate the addition of new animals.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/01/14/archives/new-houses-for-park-zoo-president-berolzhelmer-says-group-in.html|title=New Houses for Park Zoo; President Berolzhelmer Says Group in Central Park Will Soon Be Ready.|date=January 14, 1919|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163306/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/01/14/archives/new-houses-for-park-zoo-president-berolzhelmer-says-group-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, in 1932, a new concrete structure was built for the zoo's wolves because the previous steel enclosure was deemed insufficient to contain the wolves.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/01/archives/moving-week-casts-gloom-over-the-zoo-central-park-fraternity-is.html|title=Moving Week Casts Gloom Over the Zoo; Central Park Fraternity Is Anxious About|date=August 1, 1932|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163315/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/08/01/archives/moving-week-casts-gloom-over-the-zoo-central-park-fraternity-is.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By then, the zoo was extremely rundown, and its 22 cages were regarded as "flimsy and rat-ridden".<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|105}} The wooden sheds posed a fire hazard, and the enclosures were so ineffective that zookeepers guarded the lion house to prevent the lions from escaping.<ref name="New York Daily News 1934">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31170378/|title=Parks Work Bright Spot in WPA Snarl|date=September 26, 1934|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=81|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234724/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31170378/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Current zoo ===

==== Construction of new zoo ====
[[File:Sea lion pool in Central Park Zoo, New York City 2013.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Sea lion pool, as seen looking south toward [[Midtown Manhattan]]]]After assuming office in January 1934, New York City mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]] hired [[Robert Moses]] to head a newly unified Parks Department. Moses soon prepared extensive plans to reconstruct the city's parks, renovate existing facilities and create new swimming pools, zoos, playgrounds and parks. Moses acquired substantial [[Civil Works Administration]], and later, [[Works Progress Administration]] funding and soon embarked upon an eight-year citywide construction program, relieving some of the high unemployment in New York City in this [[Great Depression|Depression]] year.<ref name="NYCParks">{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_history/historic_tour/history_robert_moses_modern.html|title=Robert Moses and the Modern Park System (1929–1965)|access-date=December 23, 2006|archive-date=September 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929115123/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_history/historic_tour/history_robert_moses_modern.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Plans for the new Central Park Zoo were prepared by [[Aymar Embury II]] within a 16-day span in February 1934<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/27/archives/new-zoo-designed-by-cwa-in-16-days-feat-of-whitecollar-workers-on.html|title=New Zoo Designed By CWA in 16 Days; Feat of White-Collar Workers on Central Park Project Is Praised by Moses.|date=February 27, 1934|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163309/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/27/archives/new-zoo-designed-by-cwa-in-16-days-feat-of-whitecollar-workers-on.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and were announced the following month. Embury's plans called for nine terracotta and brick structures to replace the structures in the menagerie.<ref name="The New York Times 1934">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/20/archives/central-park-zoo-to-get-new-houses-nine-structures-to-replace-old.html|title=Central Park Zoo To Get New Houses; Nine Structures to Replace Old Ones Near Present Site at Cost of $411,000.|date=February 20, 1934|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308134827/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/20/archives/central-park-zoo-to-get-new-houses-nine-structures-to-replace-old.html?searchResultPosition=20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=p1240112626>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1240112626}} |title=Central Park, Prospect Zoos To Be Rebuilt: Moses Files Plan for Nine New Manhattan Structures to Cost $411,000 C.W.A. to Supply Funds Menagerie To Be Established at West New Brighton |date=20 Feb 1934 |page=36 |work=New York Herald Tribune|issn=1941-0646}}</ref> These structures included seven new animal enclosures, as well as a comfort station and a garage.<ref name="The New York Times 1934" />{{efn|The structures, clockwise from south, were:<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|211–212}}
* Birdhouse
* Smaller-Hoofed Animal House
* Larger-Hoofed Animal House
* Horned Animal/Small Mammal House
* Garage, animal kitchen, and annexes
* Elephant House
* Cafeteria
* Lion House
* Monkey House}} A [[sea lion]] pool, designed by Charles Schmieder,<ref name="Chan 2008">{{Cite web|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/in-central-park-happy-birthday-to-zoo/|title=In Central Park, Happy Birthday to Zoo|last=Chan|first=Sewell|date=August 4, 2008|website=City Room|language=en-US|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002025241/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/in-central-park-happy-birthday-to-zoo/|url-status=live}}</ref> was to be located in the center of the new zoo, surrounded by the zoo enclosures on three sides.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|211–212}} The new structures were designed in such a way that they could be maintained easily.<ref name="The New York Times 1973">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/07/archives/500000-to-be-spent-to-renovate-lion-house-at-central-park-zoo.html|title=$500,000 to Be Spent to Renovate Lion House at Central Park Zoo|date=July 7, 1973|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502191313/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/07/archives/500000-to-be-spent-to-renovate-lion-house-at-central-park-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The buildings, to cost $411,000, were designed in conjunction with new enclosures at the [[Prospect Park Zoo]].<ref name="The New York Times 1934" />

The reconstruction of the zoo was initially criticized by individuals who thought that the money spent on building a zoo would be better utilized on the construction of new schools around the city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201934%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201934%2520-%25202188.pdf|title=Schools and Zoos Topic of Debate|date=March 2, 1934|work=New York Sun|access-date=May 2, 2019|pages=27|via=Fultonhistory.com}}</ref> During the reconstruction, the previous structures were entirely demolished.<ref name="New York Daily News 1934" /> While construction was ongoing, animals were temporarily moved to other zoos.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31170100/|title=There'll Be a Housewarming Soon|date=November 2, 1934|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=41|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234758/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31170100/|url-status=live}}</ref> The rebuilt zoo opened on December 2, 1934,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/03/archives/new-zoo-opens-al-smith-gets-job-as-honorary-night-superintendent.html|title=New Zoo Opens, Al Smith Gets Job As Honorary Night Superintendent; Central Park's 'Picture-Book' Menagerie Bestows Rare Degree – Recipient Admits He Knows Tigers, but Is 'Not So Good With Elephants' – Mayor Speaks and Hodson Sings a Song.|date=December 3, 1934|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163309/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/03/archives/new-zoo-opens-al-smith-gets-job-as-honorary-night-superintendent.html|url-status=live}}</ref> at a ceremony where former governor [[Al Smith]] was given the honorary title of "night superintendent".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/12/04/archives/central-park-zoo-marks-25th-year-but-personnel-trace-line-back-to.html|title=Central Park Zoo Marks 25th Year; But Personnel Trace Line Back to the Civil War|date=December 4, 1959|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502184705/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/12/04/archives/central-park-zoo-marks-25th-year-but-personnel-trace-line-back-to.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252017%2FSyracuse%2520NY%2520Journal%2FSyracuse%2520NY%2520Journal%25201934%2FSyracuse%2520NY%2520Journal%25201934%2520a%2520-%25200312.pdf|title=Al Smith Gets Title at Central Park Zoo|date=December 3, 1934|work=Syracuse Journal|access-date=May 2, 2019|pages=1|via=Fultonhistory.com}}</ref> By April 1936, the renovated zoo had seen six million visitors since its reopening.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/20/archives/zoo-honors-girl-5-6000000th-visitor-little-cynthia-cogswell-gets-a.html|title=Zoo Honors Girl, 5, 6,000,000th Visitor; Little Cynthia Cogswell Gets a Special Golden Key to the Central Park Buildings.|date=April 20, 1936|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163312/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/20/archives/zoo-honors-girl-5-6000000th-visitor-little-cynthia-cogswell-gets-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> To prevent the recurrence of rat infestations, Moses also instituted a rat-elimination program in and around the zoo.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|109}}

==== 1960s and 1970s ====
In June 1960, U.S. Senator [[Herbert Lehman]] and his wife Edith donated $500,000 toward the construction of a new children's zoo just north of the existing zoo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/16/archives/lehmans-give-city-zoo-for-children-exgovernor-and-wife-make-500000.html|title=Lehmans Give City Zoo For Children; Ex-Governor and Wife Make $500,000 Gift for Area in Central Park|date=June 16, 1960|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163305/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/06/16/archives/lehmans-give-city-zoo-for-children-exgovernor-and-wife-make-500000.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Work began that November,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/11/19/archives/new-zoo-begun-gift-from-lehmans-financing-central-park-work.html|title=New Zoo Begun; Gift From Lehmans Financing Central Park Work|date=November 19, 1960|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163305/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/11/19/archives/new-zoo-begun-gift-from-lehmans-financing-central-park-work.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the children's zoo was officially opened on June 27, 1961.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/27/archives/18cubit-noahs-ark-launched-at-central-park-childrens-zoo.html|title=18-Cubit Noah's Ark Launched At Central Park Children's Zoo|last=Devlin|first=John C.|date=June 27, 1961|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163309/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/27/archives/18cubit-noahs-ark-launched-at-central-park-childrens-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The children's zoo featured attractions like a petting area with ducks, rabbits, and chickens; a large fiberglass whale statue dubbed "Whaley" (which acted as the entrance to the small zoo); a [[Noah's Ark]] feature; and a medieval castle feature.<ref name="Bloom 1995">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/09/nyregion/neighborhood-report-central-park-a-no-zoo-revue-no-reopening-any-time-soon.html|title=Neighborhood Report: Central Park; A No-Zoo Revue: No Reopening Any Time Soon|last=Bloom|first=Jennifer Kingson|date=April 9, 1995|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161818/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/09/nyregion/neighborhood-report-central-park-a-no-zoo-revue-no-reopening-any-time-soon.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The animals were housed in small storybook-style structures bordering an irregular pond.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|186–187}} By 1967, the wooden railings around the main zoo's enclosures were rotting, and NYC Parks commissioner [[August Heckscher II]] had authorized repairs to these railings.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/05/archives/central-park-repair-work-cramps-the-usually-frolicsome-style-of.html|title=Central Park Repair Work Cramps the Usually Frolicsome Style of Some Favorite Inhabitants of the Zoo|last=Callahan|first=John P.|date=April 5, 1967|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220920/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/05/archives/central-park-repair-work-cramps-the-usually-frolicsome-style-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, the zoo cafeteria was renovated after a new concessionaire took control of the cafe.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/03/archives/cafeteria-in-zoo-is-changing-hands-horn-hardart-taking-over-central.html|title=Cafeteria in Zoo is Changing Hands; Horn & Hardart Taking Over Central Park Spot After a Two-Week Closing|last=Knowles|first=Clayton|date=January 3, 1967|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145050/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/03/archives/cafeteria-in-zoo-is-changing-hands-horn-hardart-taking-over-central.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[63rd Street lines]], the present-day {{NYCS trains|63rd Lexington header}}, were being built directly underneath the zoo.<ref name="Burks 1970">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/02/archives/mayor-asks-engineers-to-ease-subway-tunnel-impact-in-park-integrity.html|title=Mayor Asks Engineers to Ease Subway Tunnel Impact in Park|last=Burks|first=Edward C.|date=June 2, 1970|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 3, 2018|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203125115/http://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/02/archives/mayor-asks-engineers-to-ease-subway-tunnel-impact-in-park-integrity.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[graffiti]] wall was erected along the line's length through Central Park. The tunnel provided a subterranean gathering place for very early subway artists who hung around together in Central Park, and was named ''[[Zoo York (Central Park)|Zoo York]]'' by ''[[ALI (graffiti artist)|ALI]]'', founder of the SOUL ARTISTS graffiti crew. The name came about because it was in a ''zoo'' in New ''York'', hence "Zoo York".<ref name="Mervyn 1974">{{cite book |last1=Kurlansky |first1=Mervyn |last2=Naar |first2=John|title=The Faith of Graffiti  |year=1974 |publisher= Praeger Publishers, Inc. |location= New York}}</ref> The construction of the subway line itself was controversial because it called for {{Convert|1500|ft|m}} of [[cut-and-cover]] tunneling, which required digging an open trench through Central Park and then covering it over.<ref name="Burks 1970" /> One of the concerns was that the Central Park Zoo, and a bird sanctuary outside the zoo, were located very close to the boundary of the trench.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/29/archives/officials-take-tunnel-debate-to-park.html|title=Officials Take Tunnel Debate to Park|last=Burks|first=Edward C.|date=May 29, 1970|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 4, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504171528/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/29/archives/officials-take-tunnel-debate-to-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Eventually, the [[New York City Transit Authority]], which operated the New York City Subway, agreed to reduce disruption by halving the length of the cut.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/27/archives/transit-authority-agrees-to-modify-central-park-plan-transit.html|title=Transit Authority Agrees to Modify Central Park Plan|last=Ranzal|first=Edward|date=February 27, 1971|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 3, 2018|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203123709/http://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/27/archives/transit-authority-agrees-to-modify-central-park-plan-transit.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A nature kiosk at Central Park Zoo was added in 1972,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31180085/|title=Nature Kiosk Added to CP Zoo|date=May 21, 1972|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=171|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905235219/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31180085/|url-status=live}}</ref> and a $500,000 renovation for the Lion House was proposed the following year.<ref name="The New York Times 1973" /> By then, the Central Park Zoo was quite dilapidated: in November 1974, protesters gathered outside the zoo to protest the conditions there.<ref name="The New York Times 1975" /> NYC Parks commissioner [[Gordon Davis]] described the zoo as a "[[Rikers Island]] for animals".<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988">{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newpapers%20Disk2/Utica%20NY%20Daily%20Observer/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201988%20a%20pdf/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201988%20a%20-%201036.PDF|title=This new zoo has room with a view|last=Faye Kaplan|first=Lisa|date=October 30, 1988|work=Bannett News Service|access-date=May 2, 2019|pages=7E|via=Fultonhistory.com|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224072107/https://fultonhistory.com/Newpapers%20Disk2/Utica%20NY%20Daily%20Observer/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201988%20a%20pdf/Utica%20NY%20Observer%201988%20a%20-%201036.PDF|url-status=live}}</ref> Even so, the zoo was one of the most popular attractions in Central Park through the 1980s, according to surveys taken during that era.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|123}}

Around the same time, there was a plan to shift control of the Central Park, Prospect Park, and [[Queens Zoo]]s from the city government to the New York Zoological Society, a quasi-public conservation organization. At the time, none of the zoos had dedicated curatorial staff and all had only a skeletal zookeeping staff.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/16/archives/city-urged-to-forgo-control-of-its-3-zoos-advantages-summarized.html|title=City Urged to Forgo Control of Its 3 Zoos|last=Devlin|first=John C.|date=November 16, 1974|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220918/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/16/archives/city-urged-to-forgo-control-of-its-3-zoos-advantages-summarized.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The society proposed sending the larger animals to different zoos with more humane conditions,<ref name="The New York Times 1975">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/30/archives/central-park-zoo-plan-would-ban-big-animals.html|title=Central Park Zoo Plan Would Ban Big Animals|date=January 30, 1975|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502185504/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/30/archives/central-park-zoo-plan-would-ban-big-animals.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and animal-rights groups sued the city in an effort to close the two zoos and move the animals to the larger [[Bronx Zoo]].<ref name="Fowler 1976">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/01/archives/prospect-park-zoo-head-accused-of-killing-animals.html|title=Prospect Park Zoo Head Accused of Killing Animals|last=Fowler|first=Glenn|date=April 1, 1976|website=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 20, 2019|archive-date=February 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221000637/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/01/archives/prospect-park-zoo-head-accused-of-killing-animals.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  A 1976 report by the World Federation for the Protection of Animals found that all three zoos were operating in "shameful conditions", and that the animals at the Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos were living in poorly maintained facilities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/01/archives/shameful-conditions-at-new-york-zoos-reported-by-group-that-seeks.html|title='Shameful Conditions' at New York Zoos Reported by Group That Seeks to Shut|last=Asbury|first=Edith Evans|date=June 1, 1976|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220924/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/01/archives/shameful-conditions-at-new-york-zoos-reported-by-group-that-seeks.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1980s renovation ====
[[File:CP Childrens Zoo from 65 St Transverse early spring jeh.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Children's Zoo]]
The administration of mayor [[Ed Koch]] and the New York Zoological Society (renamed the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]], or WCS, in 1993<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clines |first=Francis X. |date=February 4, 1993 |title=What's 3 Letters and Zoologically Incorrect? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/04/nyregion/what-s-3-letters-and-zoologically-incorrect.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504164414/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/04/nyregion/what-s-3-letters-and-zoologically-incorrect.html |archive-date=May 4, 2019 |access-date=May 4, 2019 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>) signed a fifty-year agreement in April 1980, wherein the Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos would be administered by the Society.<ref name="n154003170">{{Cite news |last=Duggan |first=Dennis |date=1980-04-23 |title=Queens Zoo: New Management |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-queens-zoo-new-management/154003170/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |work=Newsday |pages=7}}</ref><ref name="NYZooTakeOver">{{cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf|title=City's 3 Zoos to Be Taken Over By New York Zoological Society|date=April 23, 1980|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 22, 2007|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234844/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/04/23/113940371.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> They proposed renovation plans for all three zoos in 1981.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198250/|title=Society takes on taming of the zoos|last=Giordano|first=Mary Ann|date=October 15, 1981|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=11|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905235229/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31198250/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Carmody 1982" /> The Central Park Zoo's renovation plan called for the demolition of five of the six structures around the sea lion pool (except for the Arsenal), as well as new classrooms and auditoriums for students, and a snack bar to replace the zoo's concessions.<ref name="English 1982">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31198050/|title=Money for bears or people?|last=English|first=Bella|date=March 14, 1982|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=45|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905235305/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31198050/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Carmody 1982" /> ''The New York Times'' reported that "the caging of these animals in inadequate spaces has long enraged animal lovers."<ref name="Carmody 1982">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/06/nyregion/city-shows-its-design-for-central-park-zoo.html|title=City Shows Its Design for Central Park Zoo|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=April 6, 1982|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220923/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/06/nyregion/city-shows-its-design-for-central-park-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in November 1982, the Central Park Zoo's animals were temporarily moved to other zoos while construction was ongoing. Most of the large animals were permanently rehoused in larger, more natural spaces at the Bronx Zoo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/19/nyregion/tale-of-noah-s-ark-updated-at-central-park-zoo.html|title=Tale of Noah's Ark, Updated, at Central Park Zoo|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=November 19, 1982|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503150831/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/19/nyregion/tale-of-noah-s-ark-updated-at-central-park-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The zoo had three "problem animals" that few other zoos wanted to take,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/12/nyregion/problem-for-the-zoo-an-ornery-elephant.html|title=Problem for the Zoo: An Ornery Elephant|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=1982-11-12|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2019-05-05|archive-date=May 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505151934/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/12/nyregion/problem-for-the-zoo-an-ornery-elephant.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but even they found homes.<ref name="Kinkead" />{{Rp|212–213}}

The main zoo was closed in late 1983,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/13/nyregion/central-park-renews-its-details-and-vistas-in-a-burst-of-repairs.html|title=Central Park Renews Its Details and Vistas in a Burst of Repairs|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=October 13, 1984|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 18, 2019|archive-date=April 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418190536/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/13/nyregion/central-park-renews-its-details-and-vistas-in-a-burst-of-repairs.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Greening of Central Park|last=Slagle|first=Alton|date=February 6, 1983|work=New York Daily News|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30728624/ 7], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30728655/ 55]|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref>  though the children's zoo remained open.<ref name="New York Daily News 1985">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31180142/|title=Zoo will receive $28M face lift in Central Park|date=April 18, 1985|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=156|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905235305/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31180142/|url-status=live}}</ref> Demolition continued through 1984, though construction on the new zoo did not begin until the following year.<ref name="Chan 2008" /> The subsequent redesign was executed by [[Kevin Roche]] of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo Associates. The facility's menagerie cages were replaced with three naturalistic habitats that blended with Central Park's scenery.<ref name="English 1982" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/05/nyregion/making-home-sweet-for-central-park-zoo-animals.html|title=Making Home Sweet for Central Park Zoo Animals|last=Anderson|first=Susan Heller|date=1987-04-05|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2019-09-05|archive-date=July 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728003339/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/05/nyregion/making-home-sweet-for-central-park-zoo-animals.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Four of the original buildings were preserved in the redesigned zoo, though the cramped outdoor cages were demolished. The central feature of the original zoo, the sea lion pool, was retained.<ref name="New York Daily News 1985" /><ref name="Goldberger 1988" />

The renovation was originally budgeted at $8.3 million.<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988" /> The renovated zoo was then planned to reopen in 1985 at a cost of $14 million, but the project was delayed for three years. The zoo reopened to the public on August 8, 1988. The renovation ended up costing $35 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/09/nyregion/at-last-a-joy-for-all-ages-central-park-zoo-is-back.html|title=At Last, a Joy for All Ages: Central Park Zoo Is Back|last=Anderson|first=Susan Heller|date=1988-08-09|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2019-09-05|archive-date=July 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728012405/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/09/nyregion/at-last-a-joy-for-all-ages-central-park-zoo-is-back.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Zoo Crew|last=Faye Kaplan|first=Lisa|date=August 18, 1988|work=White Plains Journal-News|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30733765/ 23], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30733848/ 24]|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> Of this, the city contributed $22 million while the Society contributed the balance.<ref name="Faye Kaplan 1988" /> In order to pay for the zoo construction, the Society started charging admission for zoo patrons for the first time in the zoo's history.<ref name="Rosenzweig Blackmar" />{{Rp|509}} With the reopening of the Central Park Zoo, the Society aimed to designate each of its three small zoos with a specific purpose. The Central Park Zoo would be focused toward conservation; the Prospect Park Zoo would be primarily a children's zoo; and the Queens Zoo would become a zoo with North American animals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31231386/|title=Such captivating captivity!|last=Dallas|first=Gus|date=August 7, 1988|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 2, 2019|page=158|via=Newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=September 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905235225/https://www.newspapers.com/article/31231386/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 1990s to present ====
By the early 1990s, some of the structures at the Children's Zoo had collapsed, and there were reports that the animals were being neglected. Under threat of closure by federal regulators, the city closed the zoo in 1991. Though the WCS had a plan to renovate the zoo, it languished for years because the restoration needed approval from the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC), which had designated several zoo buildings as landmarks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/nyregion/restoring-children-s-zoo-seriously-fairy-tales-are-unless-fairies-really-exist.html|title=Restoring the Children's Zoo, Seriously; Fairy Tales Are Out, Unless Fairies Really Exist and Have Tails|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=September 28, 1995|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161828/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/nyregion/restoring-children-s-zoo-seriously-fairy-tales-are-unless-fairies-really-exist.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, there were disputes over what the theme of the renovated Children's Zoo should be.<ref name="Bloom 1995" /> The $6 million plan to renovate the Children's Zoo was approved by the LPC in 1996, though it was opposed by preservationists who wanted to prevent the zoo's structures from demolition.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/18/nyregion/plans-approved-for-new-central-park-children-s-zoo.html|title=Plans Approved for New Central Park Children's Zoo|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=April 18, 1996|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 1, 2019|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501161817/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/18/nyregion/plans-approved-for-new-central-park-children-s-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The renovation was initially supposed to be funded by $3 million from Henry and Edith Everett, but the Everetts withdrew their gift due to disputes over how the money should be spent.<ref name="Miller 1997" /> With the help of a $4.5 million grant from businessman [[Laurence A. Tisch]],<ref name="Los Angeles Times 2003" /> the Children's Zoo was renovated and renamed the Tisch Children's Zoo upon its reopening in September 1997.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/21/nyregion/where-the-wild-things-meet-tiny-thumbs-up-for-new-central-park-children-s-zoo.html|title=Where the Wild Things Meet; Tiny Thumbs Up for New Central Park Children's Zoo|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=September 21, 1997|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503145054/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/21/nyregion/where-the-wild-things-meet-tiny-thumbs-up-for-new-central-park-children-s-zoo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2009, the Allison Maher Stern Snow Leopard Exhibit opened with three [[snow leopards]], moved from the Bronx Zoo. The exhibit, costing $10.6 million, was the first new feature in the zoo since its 1988 renovation.<ref name="Rothstein 2009" /> In March 2020, the Central Park Zoo and the WCS's other facilities were shuttered indefinitely due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]].<ref name="nyt-2020-04-03">{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Julia |date=2020-04-03 |title=The Bronx Zoo Is Also Empty, but the Animals Don't Mind |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/bronx-zoo-coronavirus.html |access-date=2023-09-08 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908180710/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/bronx-zoo-coronavirus.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Coronavirus Update: Wildlife Conservation Society zoos, aquarium in New York City to close amid COVID-19 outbreak | website=ABC7 New York | date=March 15, 2020 | url=https://abc7ny.com/coronavirus-bronx-zoo-central-park-prospect/6016242/ | access-date=August 27, 2024}}</ref> The zoo reopened that July.<ref name="ABC7 New York 2020 k154">{{cite web |date=July 9, 2020 |title=Reopen NYC: Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Queens Zoo reopening on July 24 with safety protocols |url=https://abc7ny.com/reopen-nyc-covid-19-new-york-city-coronavirus/6309337/ |access-date=September 8, 2023 |website=ABC7 New York |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908180710/https://abc7ny.com/reopen-nyc-covid-19-new-york-city-coronavirus/6309337/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Davenport 2020 g193">{{cite web |last=Davenport |first=Emily |date=July 9, 2020 |title=Prospect Park Zoo, New York Aquarium slated to reopen July 24 |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/prospect-park-zoo-new-york-aquarium-slated-to-reopen-july-24/ |access-date=September 8, 2023 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908180710/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/prospect-park-zoo-new-york-aquarium-slated-to-reopen-july-24/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Hoax ==
[[File:New York Herald 1874 Zoo Hoax Headline.png|thumb|277x277px|Headline for ''New York Herald'' story|alt=1874 Herald hoax headline]]

A famous hoax regarding the zoo is known as the ''Central Park Zoo escape'' and the ''Central Park menagerie scare of 1874''.<ref name="BartholomewRadford2011">{{cite book |first1=Robert E. |last1=Bartholomew |first2=Benjamin |last2=Radford |title=The Martians have Landed!: A history of media-driven panics and hoaxes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyik93izNqEC&pg=PA84 |date=October 19, 2011 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8671-7 |pages=84–85 |access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref><ref name="fame1893">{{cite web |last=Connery |first=Thomas B. |date=June 3, 1893 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000020243371;view=1up;seq=526 |title=A famous newspaper hoax |periodical=[[Harper's Weekly]] |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=December 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220060435/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000020243371;view=1up;seq=526 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|page=&nbsp;[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000020243371;view=1up;seq=526 534]}} It was a hoax perpetrated by [[James Gordon Bennett Jr.]] in his newspaper, the ''[[New York Herald]]''. [[Joseph Ignatius Constantine Clarke|J.&nbsp;I.&nbsp;C. Clarke]] was the primary writer of the hoax, under the direction and inspiration of the ''Herald''{{'}}s managing editor, T.&nbsp;B. Connery, who often walked through the zoo, and had witnessed the near-escape of a [[leopard]].<ref name=fame1893 /> The ''Herald{{'}}''s cover story of November 9, 1874, claimed that there had been a mass escape of animals from the Central Park Zoo and that several people had been killed by the free-roaming beasts. A [[rhinoceros]] was said to be the first escapee, goring his keeper to death and setting into motion the escape of other animals, including a polar bear, a [[Panthera|panther]], a [[Numidian lion]], several [[hyena]]s, and a [[Bengal tiger]].<ref name="Sides">{{cite book |first=Hampton |last=Sides |title=In the Kingdom of Ice: The grand and terrible polar voyage of the ''USS Jeannette'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKZsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT464 |date=August 4, 2014 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref>

At the end of the lengthy article, which was divided across several pages of the newspaper, the following notice was the only indication that the story horrifying readers across the city was a hoax: "...&nbsp;of course, the entire story given above is a pure fabrication. Not one word of it is true."<ref name="Masoff2006">{{cite book |first=Joy |last=Masoff |title=Oh, Yikes!: History's grossest, wackiest moments |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bA3eRLmJQRYC&pg=PT130 |year=2006 |publisher=Workman |isbn=978-0-7611-3684-2 |page=130 |access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Wallace2000">{{cite book |first=David Rains |last=Wallace |title=The Bonehunters' Revenge: Dinosaurs, greed, and the greatest scientific feud of the Gilded Age |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8Tj2HvfHRwC&pg=PA6 |date=November 16, 2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=0-618-08240-9 |pages=6–7 |access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> That was not enough to assuage critics, however, who accused Bennett of inciting panic when the extent of the hoax became widely known.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Central Park Zoo escape, 1874 |url=http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_central_park_zoo_escape |website=Museum of Hoaxes |access-date=September 22, 2014 |archive-date=August 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829025309/http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/the_central_park_zoo_escape/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The authors later claimed their intent was merely to draw attention to inadequate safety precautions at the zoo, and claimed to be surprised at the extent of the reaction to their story.<ref name=fame1893 /><ref>{{cite book |first=Fred |last=Fedler |title=Media Hoaxes |publisher=Iowa State University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-8138-1117-1 |url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/musicalsymbolstu0000eppe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Alex |last=Boese |url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/the_central_park_zoo_escape/ |title=The Central Park Zoo escape |website=[[Museum of Hoaxes]] |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=July 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709212556/http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/the_central_park_zoo_escape |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notable animals ==
*In the early 20th century, [[Bill Snyder (animal trainer)|Bill Snyder]] was hired at the zoo; he purchased [[Hattie (elephant)|Hattie]], an [[Asian elephant]], in 1920.<ref name="most">{{cite news |title=Her Cleverness is a Revelation to Trainers. Why, She Understands English |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/06/19/101167326.pdf |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |date=June 19, 1904 |access-date=July 24, 2009 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308014106/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/06/19/101167326.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Hattie died in 1922.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hattie, Central Park Elephant, Dies. News Hidden to Keep Sad Away. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/11/20/98785944.pdf |quote=Hattie is dead. Central Park's pet elephant succumbed on Saturday afternoon to the Illness against which she had fought for more a than a week. Unwilling that thousands of children who had loved the frolicsome pachyderm and ... |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |date=November 20, 1922 |access-date=July 25, 2009 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308032534/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/11/20/98785944.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Pattycake (gorilla)|Pattycake]], a female [[western lowland gorilla]], was born at the zoo in 1972 and was thus the first gorilla successfully born in captivity in New York.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/12/archives/baby-gorillas-debut-brings-a-surprise.html|title=Baby Gorilla's Debut Brings a Surprise|date=September 12, 1972|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502214912/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/12/archives/baby-gorillas-debut-brings-a-surprise.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Her handlers assumed she was a male and originally named her "Sonny Jim".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/28/archives/as-gorillas-go-sixmonthold-patty-cake-is-a-charming-monkey-kongo.html|title=As Gorillas Go, Six-Month-Old Patty Cake Is a Charming Monkey|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|date=February 28, 1973|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220349/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/28/archives/as-gorillas-go-sixmonthold-patty-cake-is-a-charming-monkey-kongo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She moved to the Bronx Zoo in 1982,<ref name="stud">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234167722|title=International Studbook for the Western Lowland Gorilla|journal=Internationales Register und Zuchtbuch für den Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Savage and Wyman, 1847)|publisher=Frankfurt Zoo|date=2011|issn=0934-2656|access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> where she remained until her death in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/remembering-patty-cake-the-bronx-zoos-beloved-gorilla-who-is-dead-at-40/|title=A Child Star With a Knack for Publicity|last=Kleinfield|first=N. R.|date=April 1, 2013|website=City Room|language=en-US|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502220306/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/remembering-patty-cake-the-bronx-zoos-beloved-gorilla-who-is-dead-at-40/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Gus (polar bear)|Gus]], a male [[polar bear]], lived at the zoo from 1988 to 2013, when he had to be [[Euthanasia|euthanized]] after being diagnosed with an inoperable [[tumor]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Gus, New York's Most Famous Polar Bear, Dies at 27|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/nyregion/gus-new-yorks-most-famous-polar-bear-dies-at-27.html|work=The New York Times|date=August 28, 2013 |language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|access-date=August 28, 2013|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923111054/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/nyregion/gus-new-yorks-most-famous-polar-bear-dies-at-27.html?_r=0|url-status=live |last1=Kleinfield |first1=N. R. }}</ref>
*[[Flaco (owl)|Flaco]], a Eurasian eagle owl, was taken to the zoo in 2010.<ref name="Pisani-2023">{{Cite news |last=Pisani |first=Joseph |date=December 18, 2023 |title=Flaco the Famous New York City Owl Has Become a Peeping Tom |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/flaco-owl-new-york-city-peeping-tom-d9835848 |access-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219145812/https://www.wsj.com/us-news/flaco-owl-new-york-city-peeping-tom-d9835848 |url-status=live }}</ref> Flaco escaped when his enclosure was damaged in 2023;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurasian eagle owl escapes Central Park Zoo after exhibit vandalized, officials say |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eurasian-eagle-owl-escapes-central-park-zoo-exhibit-vandalized/ |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=[[CBS News]] |date=February 3, 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214080638/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eurasian-eagle-owl-escapes-central-park-zoo-exhibit-vandalized/ |url-status=live }}</ref> he was found dead outside the park in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Einhorn |first=Catrin |date=February 24, 2024 |title=Flaco's Crash Might Have Been More Than Bad Luck. Here's Why. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/climate/flaco-owl-city-dangers.html |access-date=February 25, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== In media ==
The Central Park Zoo is depicted in the 2005 animated film ''[[Madagascar (2005 film)|Madagascar]]'' as the place from which the main characters escaped.<ref name="Cribbs 2023 p. 95">{{cite book | last=Cribbs | first=M. | title=Daydream Sequences in Hollywood Cinema since 1947 | publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-5275-1018-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKfBEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 | page=95}}</ref>

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|25em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite fednyc |page=352}}
* {{cite book |first=Clinton H. |last=Keeling |title=Skyscrapers and Sealions |publisher=Clam Publications |place=Guildford, Surrey, UK |year=2002}}
* {{cite book |last=Scheier |first=Joan |title=The Central Park Zoo |publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated |series=Images of America |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-4396-1171-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTbOXE-azJIC |access-date=May 4, 2019 |archive-date=September 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905234835/https://books.google.com/books?id=BTbOXE-azJIC |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite New York 2000}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201874/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201874%20-%203503.pdf |title=Awful Calamity; The Animals Broken Loose from Central Park |newspaper=New York Herald |date=November 9, 1874 |page=3 |via=FultonHistory.com}} (original hoax story)

== External links ==
{{Commons and category}}
* {{Official website}}
* Scheier, Joan. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195047/http://www.cpzbook.com/index.html "Introduction to The Central Park Zoo"]. Central Park Zoo.
* [http://zooinstitutes.com/zooinstitutes/central-park-wildlife-center-46.html Central Park Zoo] on zooinstitutes.com

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{{Central Park}}
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{{Fifth Avenue}}
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[[Category:Central Park|Zoo]]
[[Category:Environmental organizations based in New York City]]
[[Category:Robert Moses projects]]
[[Category:Wildlife Conservation Society]]
[[Category:Zoos in New York City]]