Animals

 

At Franklin Park Zoo, children and adults alike can experience hundreds of exotic animal species from around the world right in the middle of Boston! Explore the wonders of a tropical rainforest, the Australian outback, or the African savannah in one of these exhibit areas.

 

 

Tropical Forest 

Visitors will not want to miss the indoor gorilla exhibit - the most innovative and intimate indoor gorilla exhibit in the world. To learn more about our gorillas, click here.

 

 

With thousands of plants and hundreds of animals, the Tropical Forest immerses guests into a tropical rainforest experience. 

This stunning indoor space allows visitors to stand face-to-face with Franklin Park Zoo's eight western lowland gorillas at one of five glass viewing stations. It's a truly unforgettable experience!

 

The Tropical Forest is also home to species from around the globe including mandrills, ocelots, ring-tailed lemurs, Baird's tapirs, a pygmy hippopotamus and dozens of free-flight birds.

  

Please note: There is no advance registration and the encounters may be cancelled at any time due to weather or the animals’ needs.

 

Giraffe Savannah

The Giraffe Savannah is home to Franklin Park Zoo's Masai giraffes Beau and Jana. Giraffe are savannah animals and cannot tolerate the harsh New England winters. When the temperature is too cold for our giraffes to be outside, Beau and Jana stay inside their warm barn.

The Giraffe Savannah is also home to a herd of Grevy's zebra on exhibit daily.

 

Meet the Giraffe Family!
Don’t miss an opportunity to meet the giraffes up-close!

 

Throughout the summer, there will be daily giraffe encounters at the Giraffe Terrace located on the Giraffe Savannah. The daily encounters are scheduled at 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The cost is $5.00 per person and the encounters are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Space is limited to 15 individuals. Guests may purchase tickets at the Giraffe Encounter gate, located past the Giraffe Savannah and across from Outback Trail. Participants must arrive 15 minutes prior to the encounter time. Each experience will last approximately 30 minutes.


The Giraffe Terrace will be open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day (daily), weather permitting. After Labor Day, the Giraffe Terrace will be open weekends through October, weather permitting. 

 

Kalahari Kingdom

Imagine coming face-to-face with an African lion sniffing around the hood of your car.  At Kalahari Kingdom one of several creative overlook makes this experience possible.

Climb into a "crashed" land rover, peek from across a moat at three separate locations, or exchange glances through glass at a ranger station with this king of the jungle.

 

Serengeti Crossing

Serengeti Crossing is a proven favorite among Zoo guests.

This four-acre expanse features open grasslands, and rolling wooded hills. Most of the animals housed in this exhibit were moved from older, less naturalistic habitats in 1997.

These animals now interact with other species typically found on the African Savannah. Species you can spot on the Serengeti Crossing are ostrich, Grant's zebras and white-bearded wildebeests.

 

Tiger Tales

Tiger Tales features the Zoo’s new tigers, Anala and Luther, and aims to educate guests about the problems that arise when exotic animals fall into the wrong hands as well as information surrounding white tigers (Luther is our white tiger).

The opening of this exhibit in June 2006 marked the first time tigers had been exhibited at Franklin Park Zoo in more than 30 years.

Franklin Farm

Experience life on the farm in the middle of Boston! Franklin Farm features a contact corral, where children can touch and see animals such as goats and sheep, a brooder building, where newly hatched chicks stay warm in incubators, and a chicken coop, where several species of older chickens reside.

The main barn houses ponies, donkeys, goats, and sheep, as well as some special barn "guests" including snakes, spiders, and mice.

 

Contact Corral is open daily 11am - 1pm

Outback Trail

G'day mate! Welcome to the Outback Trail, a little slice of Australia - the land down under!

In this exhibit, stroll among kangaroos, emus, and sheep. Along the way, check out several different species of cockatoo. Don't miss the native kookaburras, with their distinctly unique calls, or the adorable tree kangaroos.

Franklin Park Zoo’s Aussie Aviary provides a memorable, interactive experience for Zoo guests, who are able to stroll through the exhibit space among hundreds of brightly-colored budgies. Budgerigars, affectionately called budgies, are also known as grass parakeets and are a variety of small slender parrots with long, tapering tails. As part of the experience, guests have the opportunity to purchase seed sticks and feed the birds as they walk through the free-flight exhibit, located in the Outback Trail. You may be lucky enough to have the birds land right on the seed stick!

 

Please note: Aussie Aviary will be open on the weekends, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., weather permitting. Regular hours begin Memorial Day weekend when Aussie Aviary is open 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. weekdays, and 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. weekends.

 Bird's World

As one of the original buildings still present from Franklin Park Zoo's 1912 opening, Bird's World has gone through many changes throughout the years. This stunning building is now home to dozens of species of birds from around the globe. Indigenous birds from several regions such as the swamp, scrublands, and wetlands are highlighted here.

  

  

Butterfly Landing

Watch in amazement as butterflies flutter around you in Butterfly Landing at Franklin Park Zoo. At Butterfly Landing, guests have the opportunity to stroll through this tranquil environment filled with hundreds of butterflies. This tented, outdoor seasonal exhibit also features several garden beds, a pond and soothing surround-sound music.

Butterfly Landing will be open daily June 15 - September 2. After Labor Day, it will be open on weekends only. Hours are 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. weekends, and 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Please note: This exhibit is weather dependant.