Seneca Park Zoo

A couple rhinos lounging at the zoo. Photo by _yoshi_

Location

2222 St Paul St, Rochester, NY 14621

Phone

585 336 7200

Website

http://www.SenecaParkZoo.org

The Seneca Park Zoo is Rochester's only zoo and is located, as the name implies, in Seneca Park on St. Paul Street in the Group 14621 neighborhood.

Highlights of the zoo include the Rocky Coasts exhibit which contains polar bears, sea lions and penguins. The polar bears and sea lions may be viewed above ground or through underwater viewing glass. Another addition is the Genesee Trail section, which includes an otter exhibit and an outdoor river habitat which has a small playground and wading area for younger children. A cougar exhibit allowing visitors to "enter" the exhibit through plexiglass bubbles opened in 2005. In April 2006, the new African crater area opened to the public, restoring the elephants to public view after a several month hiatus following Jenny C's failed pregnancy. Phase one of this exhibit opened in 2007 with the opening of the new elephant exhibit.
Phase two and three include the Baboon and Lion exhibit. The Baboon exhibit is currently under construction with hopeful opening in 2008.

The older portion of the zoo, near the entrance, consists of a large building housing a collection of birds, primates, reptiles and elephants. Aside from a small bird habitat, this area consists of old-fashioned indoor/outdoor cages and a small outdoor elephant exhibit. Between this area and the newer portion of the zoo, there are also some cages housing individual animals such as pheasants, hyenas, wolves and cougars.

The zoo has a visiting animal exhibit which is usually populated in the summer by animals on loan from other zoos. In recent years, Baboons and Giraffes have been housed there. Last Summer Rhinos were housed there, the public liked them so much that they were kept. The butterfly exhibit is another summer seasonal offering.

The zoo has a fast-food restaurant on premises, and is served by the Number 5 St. Paul RGRTA bus.

Expansion of the zoo has been discussed for years. Proponents argue that the zoo is cramped and small, and point to the 1930s-era animal house as a facility sorely in need of expansion. Opponents raise issues of space, arguing that Seneca Park would be essentially overrun by the zoo if it were to be expanded. The most recent expansion plan is an effort to balance the needs of both constituencies:

Comments:

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2005-11-20 11:41:59   Why do we need a bigger zoo again? —MariahBetz

2005-12-13 19:35:58   Have you seen the teacup the elephants live in? That may be why. —JohnGormly

2006-09-22 18:44:20   The smallest zoo I've ever seen, but not bad. Expect to finish the whole thing in a mere hour, even if you stop at every exhibit. —TravisOwens

2010-08-31 13:49:42   Is parking free? It'll be great if we can include that info to the wiki. —Samuel

2010-08-31 15:35:18   Parking is free —DamianKumor

2012-08-01 19:07:40   What a great little attraction, not many towns the size of Rochester could sustain something like this. Naysayers may point to the cramped facilities for the animals (and it's hard to argue different) but with scant resources it does amazingly well. My kids learn more about the environment and conservation here than they could anywhere else and that, perhaps, justifies it's existence. Members for eight years. —sieats