Franklin Park Zoo

Franklin Park Zoo boasts a spacious layout, thanks to its location just outside of central Boston. A regular schedule of feedings and hands-on encounters bring you that much closer to the animals you’ll see on your visit. In general, the animals are able to be seen in fairly accurate simulations of their natural environments. Serengeti Crossing, for example, is a spacious 4-acre exhibit that is home to ostriches, zebras, ibex, and wildebeest—grazing and lounging as they do in their natural environs. Butterfly Landing is a seasonal exhibit containing over 1,000 butterflies in free flight in a large outdoor “tent” featuring streams and a waterfall. In The Children’s Zoo, young ones can run free with the ducks, prairie dogs, and watch two beautiful and rare Amur Leopards. Bird’s World is a large building with an Oriental-themed exterior and containing dozens of bird species in four different habitats: swamp, rainforest, desert, and wetlands.

Franklin Park Zoo has been open to the public since 1912 and has since become a landmark in the Boston area. Zoo New England, including Franklin Park Zoo, plays an active role in the conservation of various animal species, participating in Species Survival Plans- a cooperative, multi-institutional population conservation program for select species at North American zoos and aquariums in order to safeguard against extinction. This means that a trip to Franklin Park Zoo is not only entertaining and enlightening, but is also helping with the worldwide fight for animal conservation and protection.

Bring your family to Franklin Park Zoo when you visit Boston. After meandering through the park, stop by the Zoo Store, where you can choose to pick up a souvenir or even “adopt” an animal! The zoo features several eateries, including an outdoor picnic area for sunny days, with beautiful views of the resident animals grazing in the background. Enjoy your trip to Zoo New England!