Description of the attraction
The Queens Zoo is one of the newest, it was opened in 1968 at the site of the 1964 World's Fair. The zoo is small - more than seven hectares, there are no crocodiles or elephants, but for parents looking for something to entertain a small child in New York, this is just a godsend.
One of the main attractions of the zoo is an open-air cage under a huge dome. The dome was originally designed by engineer Thomas Howard for the World's Fair, as the roof of the meeting room. After the exhibition was closed, it was dismantled, and later, during the construction of the zoo, it was reassembled, but now it has become transparent. There is a bird house under the dome: various parrots live here, including blue-yellow, red and hyacinth macaws - large and talkative, and for some reason porcupines. The path leading through the aviary rises higher and higher: the visitor begins the path below, where ducks splash and turkeys mutter, and then ends up at the level of the tops of the trees - there you can already see buzzards, egrets and cardinals.
The pool with sea lions located in the center of the zoo is also very popular. Three times a day, training and feeding of these spectacular animals take place in front of the admiring spectators, who are happy to show simple tricks: they catch fish on the fly or jump into the water with noise.
The Great Plains section presents the animals of North America: coyotes, pronghorns, cougars and bison. American bison, the largest mammals on the continent, once roamed the plains in millions, but by the early 20th century they were nearly wiped out, and only the hard work of zoos helped restore the population. In Queens, you can see several more animals that are threatened with extinction: Andean (spectacled) bears, Chak bakers, thick-billed macaws and pudu - the smallest deer in the world (no more than forty centimeters at the withers). In the summer of 2013, the local pudu gave birth to a charming little fawn, which both children and adult visitors look at with affection.
There is one more entertainment for the little ones - the children's zoo. In fact, this is a small farm where you can pet Flemish giant rabbits, hairy Highland cows, cashmere goats and other domestic animals, as well as indulge them with special feed from the vending machines.
