Going to the Zoo

A lion at Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro, Massachusetts.


Now that spring is here, it’s time to start spending more time outdoors. We have plenty of options here on the South Shore – the beaches, the rivers, and plenty of sanctuaries, preserves and conservation areas. But perhaps you are looking for something a little different. Consider the zoo.

Until recently, it hadn’t occurred to me to visit any of our local zoos. I’ve been to some of the great ones – Washington DC, San Diego – but I think the last time I went to a zoo within a 50-mile radius more than thirty years ago.

Last spring we received a membership solicitation in the mail from Zoo New England (ZNE). If we joined, our family would be granted a year of access to both ZNE Zoos (Franklin Park and Stone Zoo), as well as their affiliates nationwide -- which includes pretty much all of the other zoos in our area. We decided to try it.

First up was the Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester. Franklin Park has enjoyed a renaissance of late. In fact, it now feels like an oasis in the middle of the inner city. The zoo itself is divided into several sections. Serengeti Crossing features ostriches, ibex, wildebeests and a herd of zebras. Franklin Farm has chickens, cows, goats, and sheep, plus rabbits, a barn owl, and a Contact Corral for the warmer months. The Children’s Zoo includes prairie dogs, the amur leopard, a duck pond, and assorted reptiles and amphibians. And the Outback Trail has emus, kangaroos, kookaburras, cockatoos, and black swans. Bird’s World and Butterfly Landing round out the offerings.

The Franklin Park Zoo is large and well-spaced. Climbing a grassy hillside, you will see giraffes, lions, tigers, bongos, and camels. A landscaped path from which one can catch a rare glimpse the “real” city beyond the zoo walls leads to the Tropical Forest, home to a family of gorillas – as well as snakes, a pygmy hippopotamus, a dwarf crocodile, various birds and small critters, tapirs, and wild dogs. The gorillas are fascinating to watch – so similar to humans in their gestures and expressions.

Throughout the zoo, there are plenty of picnic tables, restrooms and (seasonal) snack bars, plus a gift shop and a large playground. In the warmer months, the zoo also offers a carousel and a small train on which children can ride. One final highlight: the Franklin Park Zoo is also home to a peacock, but you never know where you might find him. He struts around the grounds, spreading his plumage at regular intervals.

Our next visit was to the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. Probably the largest in the area, this zoo is packed with attractions. Divided by geographical region, Roger Williams takes you to Africa (elephant, zebra, giraffe, cheetah, jaguar, crane, wildebeest, wild dog), North America (bison, red wolf, pronghorn, bald eagle, seal, penguin, farm animals), and Australasia/The Tropics (emu, kangaroo, anteater, flamingo, sloth, monkey, wallaby). Plus you can visit the Silk Road (camel, moon bear, snow leopard, panda), and Madagascar (lemurs, tortoise). Great care has been taken to create the feeling that you are moving from one natural environment to another. Ample foliage makes it a pleasant excursion on a warm day. There are plenty of rest rooms, benches and snack bars. For us, the highlight by far was the three elephants, and the informative talk given by one of their attendants.

Our final destination (so far) was the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro. I had never heard of this zoo, until I saw it featured in – of all places -- People magazine. Capron Park’s main attraction right now is Ramses, a white lion who likes to play. Other zoo-bound lions tend to snooze the day away, but not this one. He loves preening for the guests. As does his cub, born last fall. This zoo is much smaller than the others, which means it is perfect for a visit with a toddler who refuses to sit in a stroller. Little legs can easily walk from one exhibit to another, and see all there is to see in just a couple of hours. Other featured animals include: snow monkeys, sloth bears, warty pigs, meerkats, a snow leopard, emus, kangaroos, a green tree python, owls and other nocturnal creatures, plus llamas and goats (that you are encouraged to feed). A new exhibit, Lemur Island, in the middle of a large pond, opens this spring. Restrooms, a gift shop and snack bar, and a new playground round out the offerings at Capron Park.

Two other local zoos are on our list of Place To Visit soon. The Stone Zoo, in Stoneham, features a bald eagle, black bears, reindeer, roadrunners, jaguars, and yaks. And the Buttonwood Park Zoo, in New Bedford, is home to bison, black bears, elephants, harbor seals, a bald eagle, river otters, deer, and coyote.

Do an Internet search for any of the zoos mentioned above and you will find visiting hours, directions, maps and almost everything else you need to plan your trip. In many cases, the warmer the weather, the more you will see the large jungle animals outdoors (many of them are kept inside in the colder months). Certainly you will see – and learn about – animals you would not otherwise find here on the South Shore.

By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
March 2009

Kezia Bacon-Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org.

Cabin Fever

Abel and Chris Bernstein enjoy a winter stroll on Rexhame Beach in Marshfield.

This winter has been long and cold so far – and snowy. I was just beginning to wonder if I’d see bare ground again before April when that warm sunny Sunday arrived in early February and shook things up a bit. Could it be – our January thaw, only eight days off schedule?

Melted snow and ice ran in rivulets down the front steps at my parents’ house, where I was charged with snow removal duty (while they vacationed in Mexico). The snow was gone, but two inches of thick ice remained. Would it ever go away?

The wind blew so strongly that the pines shed not just twigs but small branches, smashing apart in the driveway where they fell. It was 49 degrees, warm enough to spend some time outside, but not safe to be in the woods with all that stuff falling down.

At home, I asked my son Abel, who is nearing age three, how he wanted to spend the afternoon. He began reciting the names of the toy trains he wanted to add to his collection, a sacred litany, hopeful. “And we can go today, to the store, to get them!” No, shopping was not the answer.

“Would you like to go to the beach?”

“I can bring my trucks! And play in the sand!”

After lunch we put on our sneakers – not our boots. It felt strange to resume contact with the bare ground, to let go of that extra layer of insulation underfoot.

“We can bring our beach chairs!”

Beach chairs . . . the warm sun . . . lounging. I feel a strong wave of envy surge and then float away. My hardworking parents, under the palm trees, alternately reading, swimming and eating. I wish we were there too, on the island, our idea of paradise. “Next year,” I assured myself. “Maybe next year.” It seems wrong even to fantasize about a tropical vacation in this economy.

Last winter was mild. We spent a lot of time outdoors, in the back yard, gathering sticks and “fishing” in the brook that skirts the edge of our property. This year is the opposite. Even on the days when it is warm enough to venture outside for more than a few minutes, the yard is iced over, encrusted with dirty snow. No wonder I feel depressed.

I don’t want to complain about the weather. I want to be outside. I want to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on my face. I don’t care if I have to wear a hat, coat, scarf, gloves -- and long underwear wouldn’t be a bad idea either – I need to get out of the house. Is it Seasonal Affective Disorder? Cabin Fever? It doesn’t matter. Yes, we are going to the beach.

At Rexhame, it is colder and windier than at home. Those five miles make a difference. Climbing over the dunes, I am surprised to see snow. Even on the beach, there are patches of hard, dirty snow! But beyond it are rocks, pebbles, and because it’s low tide, a long, flat expanse of wet sand. And the ocean! Suddenly I feel like there is much more air to breathe.

My husband, my son, and I make our way toward Beadle’s Rocks. Abel wants to sit on the sand and make roads with his trucks, but the sand is too damp and so we walk instead. We tell him that we can climb on the big rocks.

It’s too late in the day for seals, but the receding tide has left all sorts of puddles. Abel wants to splash in them. How do you explain to a two year old that some days you have to step over the puddles? Instead, we pretend that the big rock is a slide, and let him go down it, again and again, as much as he wants. He still manages to get his feet wet, darting off into the puddles with a sly grin.

It’s too cold to linger, so we make our way back to the car.

On the way home, we stop at Gerard’s Turkey Farm for sandwiches and french fries, which we eat in the car, right out of the bag. It’s not a vacation, but it kind of feels like one -- a much-needed change of pace and scenery, albeit brief. Maybe next week it will be warmer.

Only a few more weeks till spring!

By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
February, 2009

Kezia Bacon-Bernstein's articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org.