A Note from the Zoo Director

Hello Everyone!

We’re experiencing a mild winter so far this year, so I hope you’ve taken the opportunity to visit us at the Zoo. It’s a quieter, more peaceful experience for our guests without warm weather crowds. Many of our animals are uniquely adapted to cold weather, including our Amur tiger and leopards, our bison, and our otters, among others.  So bundle up and join us for some fresh air!

Update on our Vision for the Future

We were so very excited when $4.1 million was allocated to the Zoo from Connecticut State Bonding last spring. That funding was made possible with the support of State Senator Marilyn Moore and Governor Ned Lamont. Where is that funding now? All allocated funding must go through a formal—and often lengthy—transfer process. We’ve allocated $3.1 million toward our Amur tiger habitat, and $1 million to Greenhouse renovations. 

We have design plans in hand for the tiger habitat. 

With $3.1 million from the state, and a very generous $1 million gift from Pam Werth, the first phase of the project is well underway. Architects specializing in Big Cat habitats have created drawings, and we are hoping to have bid documents finished this winter. Next step? Finding a contractor to build this critically important home for tigers. 

The Amur Tiger building will more than double in size.

The building will be more than double the size of the original structure, with larger, multiple interior dens. A nursery will be added for potential future offspring, as well as a food prep area for the animal care staff, cameras for monitoring, and a night yard for the tigers. We hope to break ground this spring. 

We’re extremely proud of our past achievements in helping to sustain the population of these magnificent animals, and we’re looking forward to improving their Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo home.  

Your donations are a very important part of building and renovating habitats throughout the Zoo. As the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) continuously updates their standards, our common goal is to create state of the art facilities that fill our animals’ needs for years to come. 

See you at the Zoo!

-Gregg Dancho

Join Us!

Join Us on Social Media this Month for Facebook and Instagram LIVE!

2/2 Groundhog Day!

Join us at 7 AM as our Prognosticating Prairie Dog Beardsley Bart will predict whether we will see an early spring or six more weeks of winter. We'll be at the Prairie Dog Pop Up where we'll be waiting for Bart to pop up!

2/8 Zoo-Per Bowl!

Who will win the Superbowl? Our animals weigh in with their thoughts at 1 PM!

Education

FrogWatch Training Begins Feb. 23

Become Citizen-Scientist volunteers and help our vulnerable amphibians by participating in a “FrogWatch USA" census in area wetlands! In a collaboration between the Zoo, The Maritime Aquarium, and Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, volunteers will make regular visits to wetlands in their neighborhoods and keep a frog log to record the frog and toad calls they hear.

Learn More & Register Here!

Lunar New Year-Saturday, Feb. 4

Join us for a special Lunar New Year Celebration in the Greenhouse: It's the Year of the Rabbit! Enjoy decorations and giveaways, fortune cookies, coloring sheets, information on rabbits--both wild and domestic--and meet our dragon Tien Lung. A Children's Parade begins at the Greenhouse at 1 p.m. and a karate class with Sensei Carolyn at 1:30.

Kids Week at the Intrepid, Feb. 23 & 24

The Zoo's Education crew is heading to New York City to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum to take part in their exciting Kids Week on Thursday, Feb. 23 and Friday, Feb. 24. We'll be there from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Come visit our booth to discover how incredible invertebrates survive in the wild with tabletop displays and live arthropod animal ambassadors!

Animal Research with Fairfield University

Together with Biology students from Fairfield University, the Zoo is participating in RIZE: Research, Internships and Zoo Education. This ongoing project has resulted in a better understanding of some of our most beloved species. Unlike most research conducted by universities in zoos, RIZE projects are selected by zoo staff and based on zoo questions and needs.

This year's RIZE students will be working on four projects: Red wolf behavior; White-Naped Crane courtship & breeding observations; Trout identification & aggression; and Big cat vocalization correlations with ancestral big cats. Students will be on grounds on Tuesday mornings. carefully observing their subjects.

Support

Support the Zoo & Say I Love You! 

Were you and your beloved made for each otter? From now until Valentine’s Day, our adoption boxes will include a custom Beardsley Zoo Valentine to match your new adoptee! At time of purchase, please include the “To & From” in your shipping/pick-up instructions. 

Send Yours Today!

Save The Date!

Join Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo for a spectacular food, wine, and beer showcase! The Wild Wine, Beer, and Food Safari is celebrating its 17th year on June 3, 2023. This event features Connecticut’s best restaurants, caterers, and beer and wine vendors.

This annual favorite is a sell-out event, with 1,200 adults from Fairfield & New Haven counties attending every year.

Learn More & Watch Our Highlight Reel!

From Our Partner

February is heart month, the perfect reminder to focus on heart health every day. Here are some fun ways the whole family can make heart-healthy choices.

Read more here.

Follow @ConnecticutChildrens on social media for the latest parenting tips from our pediatric experts, brought to you through Connecticut Children's Pediatric Care Alliance with Hartford HealthCare.

Animal Fun Fact

I am often called the “Mexican walking fish” even though I am not a fish but I am from Mexico. My name comes from the ancient Aztecs who revered us, and roughly translates to mean “water dog, or water sprite”. Can you guess who I am?

Click For The Answer