Capron Park Zoo

The Capron Park Zoo is a small 8-acre (3.2 ha) zoo that opened in 1937 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States.^[1] It is home to about 100 animals representing 44 species, Capron Park Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and Association of Zoo and Aquarium Docents (AZAD). It participates in the Species Survival Plan program.

Capron Park Zoo
Lions
41.9377°N 71.2976°W / 41.9377; -71.2976
Date opened	1937[1]
Location	Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States
Land area	8 acres (3.2 ha)[2]
No. of animals	100[3]
No. of species	44[3]
Annual visitors	64,000[3]
Memberships	AZA[4]
Website	www.capronparkzoo.com

History

School children started initial funding for the zoo with a penny drive in 1925, and the Capron Park Zoo opened in 1937 on 8 acres (3.2 ha) of the 33 acres (13 ha) donated by the Capron family for Capron Park. The zoo was renovated in the late 1980s and reopened in May 1990. A new children's education department opened in 1991. The Capron Park Zoo offers the public educational programs and recreational activities dedicated to furthering the understanding of animals.^[5]

Education

The education department for children opened in 1991, a year after the renovated zoo opened. The education department promotes environmental education, and teaches children about the interaction between animals, and how the zoo works.^[6]

Exhibits

Exhibits include North and South American, Asian, African, and Australian animals such as agouti, emu, green tree python, kangaroo, lemur, white lion, meerkats, sloth bear, and Amur leopard.^[7]

The zoo includes a nocturnal building, where day and night are reversed so that visitors can see the nocturnal animals, and an indoor rainforest exhibit with porcupine, fruit bats, a two-toed sloth, and many birds.^[2]