What's New at the Bronx Zoo for September - Includes Discount

By Nancy Johnson Horn, Editor

Missed your chance to see the Bronx Zoo’s exciting Dinosaur Safari exhibit this summer? You’re in luck — it has been EXTENDED! Bronx Zoo just announced that they will keep these enormous creatures at the zoo through November 3rd based on overwhelming popular demand. Don’t miss your last chance to see this amazing exhibit that guests are coming back to see again and again! Come take a ride and witness over 20 animatronic creatures roar, hiss, move, and spit water on this electrifying prehistoric journey. Make sure you stop by the Dinosaur Safari Field Site, located at the ride’s disembark zone, where you can dig for fossils, touch dinosaur skulls, and gain insight into what fossils and modern animals can tell us about these fantastic creatures. For details, times and information, check out bronxzoo.com/dino. For exciting discounts, check out bronxzoo.com/t-rex.

This weekend, August 31st – September 2nd Come meet everyone’s favorite dinosaur from the popular children’s book series, How do Dinosaurs…? This classic children’s series, written by internationally acclaimed author Jane Yolen, shows that dinosaurs who sometimes misbehave are still loved. Don’t miss this exclusive meet and greet, which will take place at 1pm, 2:30pm, & 3:30pm.

Next weekend: September 7th & 8th Jump on the Bandwagon and come hear Kindie Award winning children’s musical artist Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights celebrate animals and dinosaurs. One of NYC’s favorite kindie rock acts, Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights, is ready to rock out in celebration of dinosaurs! Joanie will present three rocking, dinosaur-themed family shows at 11:30 a.m., 1:30, and 3:30 p.m. Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights’ shows will be high energy, interactive experiences from start to finish, showcasing an assortment of dinosaur songs, several of which Joanie will write especially for these performances! Joanie and the band will also perform an array of animal tunes from their award-winning album, What A Zoo!, along with songs from their newest release, Bandwagon. Kids will move like crazy during Joanie’s “Freeze Dance” song, and she’ll have prizes for all the awesome dancers. On “Wimoweh” Joanie and the band will encourage kids to pretend to sleep and then startle their grown-ups when they ROAR! like lions. “Blast Off,” one of Joanie’s most requested and rowdiest tunes, gives kids a chance to practice counting down from 10 backwards and then jumping as high as they can when everyone says “BLAST OFF!” On “Mosquitoes,” kids won’t even realize they’re learning to clap to the beats when they join Joanie in trying to “get ‘em!”

If there weren’t enough reasons for you to come to the zoo this September, what about a chance to see the royal baby? The zoo’s royal baby, that is! A new Indian rhino calf, born to parents Penny and Sanjay, made her public debut on the Wild Asia monorail late this summer. The female calf weighed around 120 pounds at birth on April 6 and will grow to approximately 4,000 pounds as an adult! This birth is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program designed to maintain genetic diversity in zoo populations of threatened and endangered species. Because of poaching, Indian rhinos are designated as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and as “endangered” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Come see the zoo’s baby as she plays in the mud, viewable on the Asia Monorail!

Also, the Bronx Zoo is also debuting a snow leopard cub sired by Leo – the snow leopard which became famous when he was rescued as an young orphaned cub after being found in the high mountains of northern Pakistan.

Leo has been serving as an ambassador for Pakistan at the Bronx Zoo since 2006, when a ground-breaking agreement between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States brought Leo to New York City.

Leo’s cub, his first, was born on April 9th to mother Maya. The male cub has not yet been named.