The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park opened Saturday for its 135th season, and is now home to a variety of snow leopards and cougars.
The zoo originally opened in 1875, making it the fifth-oldest zoo in the nation. The newest exhibit, which opened this season, is the new Wonders of Nature exhibit. This exhibit features snow leopards and cougars outdoors, as well as a variety of smaller animals indoors.
In addition to animals, the zoo contains several botanical gardens, including a butterfly garden, an ornamental grass garden and an iris garden.
Patti Searles, assistant director and education curator, said that the zoo holds approximately 100 different species of animals, including tigers, a black-footed penguin, river otters and one animal that some believe to be purely fictional.
“We have a bearcat, which is native to Asia,” Searles said. “It isn’t green like [BU’s] mascot, though; it is a black-and-brown color.”
Regina Konigsberg, a junior majoring in biology, said visiting the zoo was the only time she had ever seen a bearcat.
“All this time I thought it was a mythical creature,” she said.
“We’ll have about two to three hundred visitors on an average day,” Searles said. “When we have special events on weekends we’ll get about 1,500 visitors.”
Sheila Green, executive director of the zoo, said she remembers visiting the zoo as a child. “We have a varied collection of animals, and the zoo is not really huge so it doesn’t wear you out.”
Green said the history of the zoo makes it stand out from other zoos.
“It’s a nice gem for this part of New York state,” she said.
The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park has a Zoomobile that transports animals to schools, nursing homes and community events. Searles said the Zoomobile has come to BU’s Late Nite events.
Searles said volunteers, who guide tours, work in the office and travel with the animals, are an important part of the zoo’s operations. “We are always looking for volunteers and support,” she said.
The zoo offers patrons the opportunity to sponsor an animal through an adoption program that asks patrons to pay for the care of an animal of their choice residing in the zoo. Upon adoption, a patron will receive a picture of their animal as well as a birth certificate.
The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last tickets sold at 4 p.m.
Admission is $7 for adults, $4.50 for children under the age of 12 and $6 for seniors over 55, college students and those with a military ID. Admission for Binghamton Zoo members is free.