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Central Park Zoo News
Scamper, Hop, or Flutter to the Tisch Children’s Zoo
A Nature Trail at the Heart of the City
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 Get a bird’s-eye-view of the
Children’s Zoo.
©WCS/photo by J.Maher;video by L.Groskin
| There’s a place in the city where mergansers swim in a meandering pond, peacocks strut down walkways, and alpacas and pigs clamor for the spotlight. The only sounds are “baahs” and birdsong, the trickle of a cascading waterfall, and…wait, is that traffic? Welcome to the Tisch Children’s Zoo! Just inside the walls of Central Park and across the way from Fifth Avenue, this kid-size oasis is one of the most exciting Central Park Zoo exhibits for young explorers.
Why walk when you can scamper!
As soon as you step through the giant hollowed-out tree stump entrance, you’ll find yourself smack in the middle of a walk-through wildlife habitat. Duck into a cave where a pair of giant pacu fish swim. Search for pintails, teals, shelducks, and other water birds from a hideout alongside our duck pond. Children who love to monkey around will enjoy trying on a turtle’s shell, sitting in a spider’s web, scuttling through tree logs, and hopping across a row of lily pads. Those who like to stroke furry heads and feel quivery noses can feed handfuls of grain to sheep, goats, and other barnyard creatures.
The Children’s Zoo is home to a mix of creatures familiar and exotic. African guinea fowl mingle with Asian tragopans along the bridges and pathways, and ring-necked doves share snack stations with sparrows. A pair of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs live in a stall next to Nubian and African pygmy goats. Red-eared slider turtles bask on logs and Dutch rabbits hop in pastures.
Since the Children’s Zoo opened in September 1997, close to 4 million children and adults have befriended its animal residents over a handful of grain or an up-close encounter. In turn, the animals have inspired a new generation of supporters.
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