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Stop Monkeying Around:

Take a trip to the Beardsley Zoo!

By Karen Forrest

As we strolled through the tropical rain forest, we suddenly came face to face with black and gold howler monkeys. Saki monkeys appeared too, jumping over fallen tree trunks, stopping occasionally to peer at us, the upright Homosapiens staring back. To these inquisitive South American monkeys, we were animals in a zoo, too. The only thing separating us was a sheet of glass - and perhaps a few chromosomes.

The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Connecticut is home to endangered Siberian tigers,

Spectacled bears, Canadian lynx, ocelots, bald eagles, wolves, alligators, bison, poison arrow frogs, and lots of other seldom seen animals. But the real focus at Connecticut's only zoo is the wide range of North and South American animals. So you can spot prairie dogs, antelope, llamas,  porcupines, Tamworth pigs, barred owls, hedgehogs, parrots, all kinds of turtles and birds, turkeys, geese, and yes, the all-too-common white-tailed deer.

The official name of the 52-acre property, established in 1920, is the Beardsley Zoological Gardens. In addition to the zoo, visitors can explore a Victorian greenhouse filled with cacti, orchids and dozens of other plants; butterfly and herb gardens, and native flora and fauna. More than 300 animals are on display, representing approximately 124 species. In 1992, the New World Tropics exhibit opened, featuring a rainforest filled with brilliantly-colored birds, reticent sloths, giant snakes, a broad-snouted caiman, tiny, iridescent-green and black poison dart frogs, Galapagos tortoises and those nosy monkeys.

It's not a coincidence that the Beardsley Zoo is located in Bridgeport, home of Phineas T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus fame. In 1878, cattle dealer James Beardsley donated more than 100 acres to the city of Bridgeport. Three years later, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York's Central Park, was commissioned to create Beardsley Park.

Apparently, Mr. Barnum liked to exercise his circus animals in the newly-designed park. Local legend suggests this unique practice as the catalyst for Bridgeport's parks commissioner Wesley Hayes recommending opening a zoo in the park. Mr. Hayes requested that Bridgeport residents donate animals to start the zoo; the first inhabitants were 18 exotic birds. The Barnum and Bailey Circus followed suit by donating retired circus animals to the new Beardsley Zoo.

From this unusual beginning more than 75 years ago, the zoo has continued to expand, adding a Mammal House (now the New World Tropics building), a seal pool, a monkey exhibit, reptile house, a New England farmyard, educational and conservation programs, and much more.

My nine-year-old nephew, Ryan Forrest, set the pace by running to see the first exhibit, the wolf den. Gray wolves, timber wolves and endangered red wolves slinked around, their heads low to the ground. Seeing the animals in their natural habitat, rather than behind fences or bars, is a nice feature of the zoo. You can watch the wolves play, prance, pose and relax in their den.

We followed the painted animal tracks and encountered some tall, woolly llamas, cousins to the camel. Usually found in the Andes Mountains in South America, llamas have wide feet to navigate that rocky terrain.

Somehow I found myself being talked into popping my head up in the prairie dog exhibit, a concrete tunnel and Plexiglas bubble contraption that allows for an up close and personal view of  prairie dogs. Then we encountered the largest land mammal in North America - the American bison, weighing in at over 3,000 pounds. Truly magnificent creatures, bison had been hunted to the brink of extinction. They are now bred at many zoos and are being successfully reintroduced into the wild.

The natural enclosures featuring pronghorn antelopes and turkeys soon gave way to fenced-in exhibits. Fences do make good neighbors, especially when you're staring at a rather large South American Spectacled bear, eating a piece of watermelon. These black bears with brown faces usually dine on rainforest plants, such as bromeliads, since their natural habitat is the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains.

A sleek, pointy-eared Canadian lynx with its cat-like face and stubby tail paced back and forth in the next exhibit. We met zoo volunteer Chris Barker of Trumbell here, "keeper-shadowing" as part of his Boy Scout's Explorer Program. He apprentices with the one of the zoo's animal handlers, watching what the handlers do and assisting where necessary. Mr. Barker said a lynx's  paws are "very large for that size cat - their paws act as snowshoes and help them walk along the top of the snow." Keeper-shadowing is just one of many programs the zoo's Education Department offers.

But Ryan was no longer listening. He was already in front of the next exhibit, and I can't say I blame him. Two beautiful, huge Siberian tigers commanded his attention. This was the first time I felt sorry for any of the animals we saw - these magnificent creatures paced, paced, paced, their enclosure seeming very much like a prison. Each tiger's stripes are unique, like human fingerprints, helping conversation biologists identify and study them in the wild. We spent quite a bit of time in front of this exhibit, mesmerized by the grace, power and beauty of these creatures.

There is a lot more to see at the Beardsley Zoo - more animals, a reptile house, an otter exhibit (closed for renovations when we visited), the hot, humid, bamboo-covered rainforest exhibit, where you will find the golden lion tamarind, with its lion-like mane, toucans, sloths, Amazon tree boas and the world's tinyest (and cutest) monkey - the pygmy marmoset, no bigger than your hand.

There is also a Carousel Museum, with a working carousel, and an exhibit of retired carousel horses, all hand-carved out of wood.

Bring your kids - or borrow one, as I did, and take a tour of the Beardsley Zoo - but don't let those monkeys intimidate you. You're the one that can read the exit sign.

The Beardsley Zoo is open all year, every day  except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children and seniors and free for children under 3.

The zoo is located on 1875 Noble Avenue in Bridgeport. Take 1-95 to Exit 27A to Route 8 and 25. Take Exit 5 (Boston Avenue). At light at end of ramp, go left and proceed to fourth traffic light. Make a left onto Noble Avenue and follow signs to the zoo on left.

From New York: Take the Merritt Parkway (Route 15) to Exit 49S (Bridgeport) to Route 25. Take Exit 5 (Boston Avenue). At end of ramp, bear right and proceed to fifth traffic light. Make a left onto Noble Avenue and follow signs to zoo on left.

For additional information, call (203) 394-6565 or visit the zoo's web site at www.beardsleyzoo.org.

Photographs by Karen Forrest

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