What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 4:45pm Tuesday 10am - 4:45pm Wednesday 10am - 4:45pm Thursday 10am - 4:45pm Friday 10am - 4:45pm Saturday 10am - 4:45pm Sunday 10am - 4:45pm

Staten Island Zoo

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Staten Island Zoo

Staten Island Zoo New York's Biggest Little Zoo
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01/22/2025

T-minus 11 days until Chuck’s big day! Will you be visiting the zoo on Groundhog’s Day to be part of the magic or will you be streaming the live moments from the comfort of your own home? Let us know in the comments below! ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️

01/21/2025

And the answer to our snow-print identification is 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

The Snowy Owl!! 🦉 Looks like we stumped quite a few of our friends so let’s take a closer look at all of these birds’ feet.

Summer and Squall, our snowy owls, have very thick feathering on their feet to keep them warm in the colder climates they reside in. These raptors have 4 toes on each foot. They are known to be zygodactyl, meaning 2 toes face forward and 2 backward. Unlike most other zygodactyl birds, however, owls can pivot one of their back toes forward to help them grip and walk. They also have long talons to help them catch prey and perch on branches.

Ostriches, like our girl Nia, have two toes on each foot with one being larger than the other. This two toe characteristic makes ostriches didactyl. The bigger one helps support the massive bird’s weight and the smaller helps with balance

Peacocks have 4 toes on each foot, 3 in front (with the middle one being longer) and 1 in back. This type of toe arrangement is called ansiodactyl. Their feet are much more slender than that of owls since they don’t use them to catch prey, but rather perch and roost on branches.

Morgana, our black swan, has black, webbed feet to help her swim and maneuver in the water. The webbing on the three fronts toes with the back one separate is called palmate feet.

01/20/2025

Attention 📣

Due to inclement weather, the Staten Island Zoo will be closed to the public tomorrow, Monday January 20th. Sorry for the convenience. Stay warm and stay safe ❄️

01/17/2025

Groundhog’s Day is fast approaching! What do you think Chuck will predict - an early, sunny-filled spring or extended possibility of snow and chilly weather? If Chuck sees his shadow, we will have 6 more weeks of winter; if he doesn’t, spring will be right around the corner. The Staten Island Zoo will hold its annual Groundhog Day ceremony featuring the world-famous Groundhog Chuck on Sunday, February 2nd at 8:00AM. This year’s event, sponsored by our friends at Citizens, will be open to the public and feature special guests, teachers and school students. For those unable to attend in-person, fans of Chuck are invited to tune-in and watch the proceedings live on the Staten Island Zoo’s page. Stay tuned for more info in the following days

01/15/2025

Our last post was a little heavy on the heart so today we’d like to try to fill it with love again. Bintu celebrated his birthday at the end of December and the zoo recently received a card for him from our friend Kayla. Kayla, who lives all the way in Washington state, wrote a sweet message and drew some adorable animals along with it. Did we mention she even specifically addressed it to the prickly rodent himself? Thank you Kayla for making our day and Bintu’s birthday that much more special 💌

01/13/2025

It’s with heavy hearts that the zoo announces the passing of one of our very own, John Ponzio. John led the Children’s Center as manager for many years. He started out at the zoo as a volunteer in 1994 which led to his participation in the docent program and his eventual role as a zookeeper. John could always be found power-washing the duck ponds, raking the sheep yard, or tending to the Kids Korral herd, amongst numerous other things people didn’t always see. He was dedicated to the animals he cared for, but he was also a great co-worker, a respected supervisor, and a genuine friend. John Ponzio has left a legacy here at the Staten Island Zoo, impacting both people and animals, and will be sorely missed. We share our sincerest condolences and our prayers with John’s family.

“John Ponzio has been not only my friend but also my coworker and fishing buddy for the last 31 years. We began our journeys at the zoo together, and his ever-present smile and kind heart made every day brighter. Thank you for all the joy and laughter, my friend” Alex Carr, SI Zoo staff.

01/08/2025

Looking for something to do over winter break? The Staten Island Zoo is running a Zoofari Winter Experience from February 17 - 21 for grades Pre-K through 3rd Grade.
Registration for members starts this coming Monday, January 13 (you must be logged in to your account to register); non-members can register starting Monday, January 20.
https://statenislandzoo.doubleknot.com/event/2025-winter-zoofari-winter-investigations/3089726

01/07/2025

Our ducks might not always be in a row, but our meerkats sure are

01/06/2025

Look, it’s a snow squall, Squall! 🌨️

With yesterday being National Bird Day and today bringing wintry weather our way, we figured it was the perfect time to introduce everyone to our newest flock member, Squall, the snowy owl. Squall has officially joined our lady owl, Summer, on exhibit and can be seen in the aviary near the other birds of prey. To tell them apart, Summer is slightly bigger than Squall, which is a typical difference between genders of this species. He’s also the one that always looks like he’s giving the same eyebrow look “The Rock” gives, which is a just personal characteristic 🤨🦉

01/01/2025

Our staff are at it again - taking care of the zoo’s animals when everyone else is home, relaxing on the holiday. We asked them what their re-zoo-lution is for 2024 (and added a few of our critters ideas as well). What’s yours?

12/30/2024

If you haven’t heard, on Christmas Eve, Joe Biden signed a bill enacting the bald eagle as the national bird of the United States.

This majestic bird of prey first served its role as a national symbol in 1782 by appearing on the Great Seal of the United States. As the design began to show up on official documents, currency, flags, public buildings and other government-related items, the bald eagle became an American icon - but never a formal symbol.

In the mid-1900s, the bald eagle’s existence was threatened by habitat loss, illegal shooting and insecticides, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Congress moved to defend the birds with the Bald Eagle Protection Act and later the Endangered Species Act. Protected by federal law, making it illegal to possess, kill, sell or harm them, the bald eagle population bounced back and there are now hundreds of thousands of them in North America.

Stop by the zoo today to visit Indy and Liberty, true symbols of our country 🦅

12/27/2024

Today is National Make Cut-out Snowflakes Day! Even our T**i monkeys can’t believe it. Take out your foil paper, construction paper, glitters, and/or scissors and then just cut out basic shapes or intricate patterns into a beautiful snowflake. It’s a great way to creatively spend time with the family after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. For us, it’s a fun and festive enrichment item to give to our animals that they don’t typical get throughout the year ❄️

12/26/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays ❤️🎶🎄🎁

12/25/2024

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Zoo is officially CLOSED to the public today, December 25th, but our animals still need to be fed. While many of us are spending the entire holiday with the ones we love, staff showed up in their favorite Christmas gear to take care of our critters. And of course they can’t help but have a little fun while they are here - our crew are always keeping spirits bright! We appreciate them every day, but even more on days like today because they always put the animals first. Happy holidays to yours from ours ❤️🎄🎅🏼

12/24/2024

Now that Pistachio has checked in on all the zoo’s animals, it’s time to spend some quality time with the misfit toys of SIZ. When a toy is left behind, it gets a special place with the other friends that lost their human companions during the year. Every holiday season, they all get together and roast peanuts (chestnuts are a little large for some of them) by the “fire “and Pistachio joins in before returning to see Santa. Everyone deserves to spend time with friends and family during the holidays, no matter how small!

12/18/2024

Even though Pistachio had a snake hook ready, meeting the zoo’s Forest Cobra was a little intimidating. Especially when it started flicking its tongue to smell him 😬😳 Our little elf relied more on Reptile Matt, their keeper, to relay whether or not the snakes had been good this year instead of inspecting them too close himself. Good call, Pistachio, and well done reptiles for all making the “Nice list” this year ✅🐍

12/16/2024

Uh oh, Santa. Looks like we have another member of the “Naughty list.” When Pistachio asked to share with Alexei , the Emperor Tamarin, he stuck his little tongue out in protest. How rude!

Address

614 Broadway
New York, NY
10310

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4:45pm
Tuesday	10am - 4:45pm
Wednesday	10am - 4:45pm
Thursday	10am - 4:45pm
Friday	10am - 4:45pm
Saturday	10am - 4:45pm
Sunday	10am - 4:45pm

Telephone

(718) 442-3100

Website

http://www.statenislandzoo.org/

Alerts

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Videos

What’s poppin’? Popcorn, that’s what! Today is National Popcorn Day and our Black and white ruffed lemur family got to enjoy this timeless snack. Food enrichment is an integral part of our well-being program for the animals at SIZ. Offering small amounts of new things to chow on that they don’t typically get in their daily diet really gets the senses going. You butter believe they liked it, too! 🍿🍿🍿

Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But our aquarium is so delightful 🎶🐠🐡

We’ve all heard the phrase “if it fits, it sits” but Slink is here to show off the new tagline “if it strolls, it rolls” 📦🐐 (Disclaimer: Slinky D was perfectly fine, however, that box got a good head-butt after)

What a year it has been. Thank you to all our friends of the zoo for making 2024 a memorable time. Here’s to the next 365 days! Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year! 🎉🥳🎊

The party keeps going here at SIZ! Today we had a celebration for a special boy. Happy 10th Birthday to our porcupine, Bintu! Keepers threw him an Inside Out themed party full with core memories, movie characters and tons of treats! We ❤️ Bintu!

A very special thank you to all those who have already purchased items from our Amazon wishlist during this holiday season!! We have received a few fun new enrichment items for our animals like forage feeders, bells, and exhibit feature updates!! Even hoofstock, such as our ponies, benefit from enrichment - like this rolling puzzle feeder that is keeping Auntie Em quite occupied. If you too would like to make the day of our animals (and their keepers), check out our wishlist in the link below or follow the one in our bio! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1XXWD17ZAFD18?ref_=wl_share

Need a last-minute gift idea? How about a personalized message from one of your loved ones favorite zoo animals? Download the app Cameo and search “Staten Island Zoo” to request a shoutout from some of our most beloved, charismatic creatures here at SIZ. It’s simple and easy and a great way to let the animal lover in your life know you were thinking of them. Check it out today!

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles everywhere 🫧 Enrichment comes in many different forms, like bubbles, for our zoo animals. The baby goats, in particular, Jessie, were very into watching them float around for the first time.

It’s National Pickle Day and our leopards have a giant one for enrichment! Enrichment items like this are multi-faceted, for they can have food put on them, they can be hung or thrown into the pool for play, and they can have scents sprayed on them to encourage our animals to investigate, rub, and/or scent-mark like Liski! Who doesn’t love pickles? 🥒🐆

Yesterday, we celebrated Nugget’s 11 birthday! She got a cake made with love and definitely seems to be enjoying it. Under human care, red kangaroos can live up to 25 years so Nugget is considered a middle-aged flyer, or female kangaroo 🎂🦘

We accept your challenge, @wcseducation ! What do we love most about being zoo educators? We love creating a connection and inspiring empathy for wildlife in our guests. It’s great to have friends like Cleo the ball python to help us do that! We challenge @rzssofficial to take up the IZE Day Challenge and share what they love about being zoo educators! November 14 is National Zoo Educators Day. Come visit and celebrate with us! #IZEDay2024 @izeducators

The moment you realize the brains are made of frozen blueberries 😋🫐🧠👻 Happy Halloween!