A Day at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

A  Day at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

We just started a new Facebook page, 365 Things To Do in Connecticut, and one of the first things we included was Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport. It’s no coincidence then that we took our granddaughter, Ilissa, visiting from Germany, to see the animals last weekend.

Owned by the Connecticut Zoological Society and located at 1875 Noble Avenue in Bridgeport, Beardsley Zoo is the only zoo in the state. In 1878, James W. Beardsley, a wealthy farmer, donated 100 acres of land to the city of Bridgeport with the condition that it be kept as a public park. In 1884 Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York’s Central Park, submitted a design for the park, which became Beardsley Park, and in 1921 the zoo was started with donations of animals from Bridgeport residents.

Today, the zoo is home to over 100 species of animals, ranging from birds and amphibians to reptiles, insects and mammals. Some of the more striking exhibits are:

The Timber Wolf:                                                                                                  The Siberian Tiger:      

And

The Bald Eagle:

Another fun part of the zoo is the Carousel, one of the few left in the state.

Here is a map of the zoo in its present layout (click on map to view as a PDF):

The zoo is open daily from 9 AM to 4 PM except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is as follows:

Regular Admission:
Adult Admission (ages 12 & older) = $11.00
Child Admission (ages 3 -11) = $9.00
Senior Admission (62 & older) = $9.00
Under 3 years = FREE
Connecticut Zoological Society Members = FREE

You can follow the Beardsley Zoo on Facebook and Twitter, and they can be reached by phone at (203) 394-6565.

Oh, and did our granddaughter have fun at the zoo?

I do believe she did!