One Franklin Park Road
(617) 541-LION
Web site: www.zoonewengland.com
Nestled in historic
Franklin Park, the "crown jewel" of Frederick Law
Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace Park System, Boston’s only urban
zoo is home to more than 210 species of animals — from
anacondas to zebras, butterflies to bats, giraffes to gorillas.
The Franklin Park Zoo is a
center for wildlife conservation, education, and research. Many
of the species on exhibit are highly endangered or threatened in
the wild. Displays focus on spreading appreciation for the
magnificent but fragile web of nature.
African wildlife exhibits
include the Tropical Forest, one of the world’s largest indoor
displays of Western Lowland Gorillas — now home to a baby
gorilla born August 8, 1999! A walk through this simulated
jungle also brings encounters with tropical birds, leopard,
saddle-billed storks, warthogs, tapirs, and bats. You can find
lions lazing in the Kalahari Kingdom and watch zebra and ostrich
roam the grasslands of Bongo Congo.
Experience a continent of
a different climate on the Australian Outback Trail, where
wallabies, emus, cockatoo, and kangaroos make their home. And
for a truly spectacular sight, pay an extra dollar to enter
Butterfly Landing (open from late May through September), an
enclosure filled with more than 1,000 of these aerodynamic
wonders. There’s also a Children’s Zoo, where kids can have
close encounters of the cuddly kind.
On weekends and holidays,
May through October, visitors may take part in a "Zoo
Encounter." Meet a zookeeper, naturalist, or horticulture
specialist and delve deeper into understanding the wild world.
Special tours, "Wild Adventures," and classroom
programs are also available for a fee. Call (617) 989-2024 for
full details.
Hours:
Open daily, except
Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the day of the Zoo’s annual
fundraiser
Summer hours (April
1-September 30)
Weekdays 10 am-5pm
Weekends and Holidays 10
am-6 pm
Winter Hours (October
1-March 31)
Daily 10 am-4 pm
Admission/fees:
Adult: $6
Seniors: $5
Children (age 2-15): $3
FRANKLIN
PARK ZOO
ATTRACTIONS
