Tours for Conservation Level Members
New guided tours of the Bronx Zoo for Conservation Supporter, Fellow, Partner, and Patron Members!
Explore the zoo with the Friends of the Zoo, our knowledgeable docents. Each tour lasts approximately one and a half hours. Groups may bring an extra child without charge as long as prior arrangements are made. If you make arrangements to bring an additional child, please bring your Conservation Tour email confirmation letter with you to the park on the day of the tour to confirm admission of the extra child. If you do not bring the confirmation email, you may be asked to pay an admission fee for your guest.
If you are not currently a Conservation level Member and you are interested in taking a tour, you can join or renew your Membership now, at any Conservation level. Your upgraded benefits will start right away. You’ll have a full 12 months, plus the remaining time on your existing Membership, to enjoy your new Conservation level benefits.
Pre-registration is required. Please contact Membership at 718-741-1825, and leave a message.
2012 Schedule
| Date of Tour |
Time |
Tour |
Meeting Place |
Registration Deadline |
| Sat., April 21 |
10:30 AM |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Mon., April 9 |
| Sun., May 6 |
10:30 AM |
Lions, Tigers, and Bears! |
Education Bldg. |
Mon., April 23 |
| Sat., May 19 |
10:30 AM |
JungleWorld |
JungleWorld |
Mon., May 7 |
| Sun., June 3 |
10:30 AM |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Mon., May 21 |
| Sat., June 16 |
10:30 AM |
Rare and Wonderful |
Zoo Center |
Mon., June 4 |
| Sun., June 24 |
10:30 AM |
Predators/Prey |
Somba Village |
Mon., June 11 |
| Sat., July 7 |
10:30 AM |
Endangered Species! |
Tiger Mountain |
Mon., June 25 |
| Sun., July 22 |
10:30 AM |
JungleWorld |
JungleWorld |
Mon., July 9 |
| Sat., August 4 |
10:30 AM |
Lions, Tigers, and Bears! |
Education Bldg. |
Mon., July 23 |
| Sun., August 19 |
10:30 AM |
Rare and Wonderful |
Zoo Center |
Mon., August 6 |
| Sat., September 8 |
10:30 AM |
Predators/Prey |
Somba Village |
Mon., August 27 |
| Sun., September 23 |
10:30 AM |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Congo Gorilla Forest |
Mon., September 10 |
| Sun., October 7 |
10:30 AM |
Endangered Species! |
Tiger Mountain |
Mon., September 24 |
| Sun., October 21 |
10:30 AM |
Lions, Tigers, and Bears! |
Education Bldg. |
Mon., October 8 |
Tours are subject to change. In case of inclement weather, another tour may be substituted.
Tour Descriptions
Congo Gorilla Forest
Nearly 400 African forest creatures, representing 55 wildlife species, make their home in our 6.5-acre Congo Gorilla Forest. Let New York City fade away as you stroll beneath the thick canopy of leaves, through sprays of mist, past sunny meadows and thickets of bamboos, and up to treetop lookouts.
Along the trail, you’ll encounter our two troops of western lowland gorillas. You can get up close to rambunctious youngsters, their watchful mothers, and the hulking male leaders known as “silverbacks.”
Other creatures that live in this lush, green forest include black and white colobus monkeys, mandrills, DeBrazza’s monkeys, and shy okapis. A busy family of Wolf’s guenons and a group of pygmy marmosets, the world’s smallest monkeys, also await your visit.
Baby Alert! One of the first exhibits you’ll see in Congo Gorilla Forest is home to a shy baby okapi.
Tours meet at Congo Gorilla Forest entrance.
Predators/Prey of the African Plains
Join us on a safari as we explore the complex relationship among the animals of the
African Plains. It’s as close to the Serengeti as you can get in the Bronx! Trek past lions, gazelles, giraffes, wild dogs, and zebras on the African savanna. This tour focuses on the relationship between predators and the animals on which they prey by exploring the physical adaptations that make predators such stealthy hunters. We’ll also look at the defenses used by prey animals to avoid being caught!
Then head up to the Ethiopian highlands—the Zoo’s stunning slice of the “African Alps.” This habitat ranks among the largest primate exhibits in the U.S. On its grassy slopes, gelada baboons graze and romp alongside Nubian ibexes, rock hyraxes, and African waterfowl.
Tours meet at Somba Village.
JungleWorld
Transport yourself to the tropics! Inside our Asian jungle, the warm air is just right for small-clawed otters, white-cheeked gibbons, and a Malayan tapir. All told, there are nearly 800 critters that live in mangroves and beaches, sharing their homes just as they would in the wild.
On this tour, you’ll also meet two troops of monkeys—ebony and silvered langurs, as well as tree kangaroos, fruit bats, black leopards, tropical birds, toads, snakes, and more.
The tropics are a mysterious place. While more than 90 percent of all the world’s species of plants and animals live there, only half are known to science! Behind
JungleWorld’s tangle of vines, you’ll unlock some of the rainforest’s best-kept secrets and learn how we can ensure their protection.
Tours meet at JungleWorld.
Lions, Tigers, and Bears! Oh, My!
Here’s your chance to see some new furry faces and encounter iconic animals. Visit a selection of the zoo’s “greatest hits”—African lions, grizzly and polar bears, and Amur tigers. We’ll make three stops:
Tiger Mountain, African Plains, and
Big Bears.
At
Tiger Mountain, you’ll go nose-to-nose with big cats at our award-winning, three-acre home for Amur tigers. An open viewing shelter set deep in a recreated corner of the beautiful Amur Valley on the Russian-Chinese border will get you very close to these stars in stripes.
Then, we’ll head to a high ridge of natural rock where the zoo’s grizzly and polar bears live. These big bears deserve their big reputations! Our charismatic grizzlies, Betty and Veronica, enjoy splashing about in swimming holes, or napping in their cozy dens.
Finally, we’ll trek over to
African Plains and Baboon Reserve, where you can meet some of Africa’s most magnificent creatures, including lions, gazelles, and gelada baboons.
Baby alert! The three cubs born to parents Sukari and Miwasa are now two years old, and the whole pride can be seen together on the African Plains.
Tours meet at the Education Building.
Endangered Species
Want to learn more about threatened species, imperiled habitats, and how you can help protect the last of the wild? This is the tour for you. Our knowledgeable guides will help you understand why wildlife conservation is so important, the causes of species loss, and what individuals can do. The tour includes a stop at Himalayan Highlands, home to endangered snow leopards and red pandas. Tours can be tailored to cover various exhibits and animals of greatest interest to your group.
Baby alert! Red panda Mei-Mei and her baby daughter are a Himalayan Highlands highlight!
Tours meet at Tiger Mountain.
Rare and Wonderful
This tour will reveal the hidden secrets of the wild world. You’ll learn how giraffes use their long necks and tongues, why three lions are better than one, and how white-naped cranes find meals in the mud. Whether they make their homes on the frozen tundra, in a mild evergreen forest, or in a scorching desert, all animals are uniquely adapted to their habitats.
Explore the differences in animal anatomy and social structure that explain their diets, behaviors, and life cycles, and learn why each is best suited to a particular environment. Tours stop at Big Bears, Himalayan Highlands, Baboon Reserve, and African Plains.
Baby alert! Giraffe youngster James Marjani will be spending his first spring on the African Plains this year!