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 are not currently a Conservation level Member and you are interested in taking a tour, you can join or renew your Membership now, to 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 718-741-8216, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday–Friday.

2011 Schedule

Date of Tour	Time	Tour	Meeting Place	Registration Deadline
Sat., April 16	10:30 a.m.	Congo Gorilla Forest	Congo Gorilla Forest	Mon., April 4
Sun., May 1	10:30 a.m.	Predators/Prey	Somba Village	Mon., April 18
Sat., May 14	10:30 a.m.	Lions, Tigers, and Bears!	Education Bldg.	Mon., May 2
Sun., June 5	10:30 a.m.	Rare and Wonderful	Zoo Center	Mon., May 23
Sat., June 18	10:30 a.m.	Congo Gorilla Forest	Congo Gorilla Forest	Mon., June 6
Sun., June 26	10:30 a.m.	JungleWorld	JungleWorld	Mon., June 13
Sat., July 9	10:30 a.m.	Endangered Species!	Tiger Mountain	Mon., June 27
Sun., July 24	10:30 a.m.	Predators/Prey	Somba Village	Mon., July 11
Sat., August 6	10:30 a.m.	Lions, Tigers, and Bears!	Education Bldg.	Mon., July 25
Sun., August 21	10:30 a.m.	Rare and Wonderful	Zoo Center	Mon., August 8
Sat., September 10	10:30 a.m.	Congo Gorilla Forest	Congo Gorilla Forest	Mon., August 29
Sun., September 25	10:30 a.m.	JungleWorld	JungleWorld	Mon., September 12
Sat., October 8	10:30 a.m.	Endangered Species!	Tiger Mountain	Mon., September 26
Sun., October 23	10:30 a.m.	Lions, Tigers, and Bears!	Education Bldg.	Mon., October 10

Tours 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! Don’t forget to keep an eye out for one of the Bronx Zoo’s newest – and most adorable – additions: Gertrude the baby mandrill.

Tours meet at Congo Gorilla Forest entrance.

Predators/Prey of the African Plains

Join us on a safari as we explore the complex relationship between 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. Altogether, there are nearly 800 other 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.

Baby alert #1: The Big Bears exhibit is now home to Kootz, Denali, Sitka, and Glacier, a playful trio of brown bear cubs and one young grizzly, all new to the Zoo. The cubs alternate their exhibit appearances with longtime favorites Betty and Veronica.

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 #2: The most popular resident of the African Plains is none other than rambunctious 3-year old cub Moxie, the first African lion born at the Bronx Zoo in 31 years.

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.

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. Tours meet at Zoo Center.