Thanks to the movie Madagascar my imagination had Central Park Zoo spanning several acres with lions and giraffes at every corner. However, on arrival, I quickly learnt that Disney may have done a little embellishing and I discovered some pretty shocking things:

 

1) There aren't any lions and giraffes

 

Makers of the big Hollywood flicks have us believing that Central Park is home to some of the jungle’s most wild creatures but, in actual fact, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria (aka the lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo) were nowhere to be found. While there are a few big names - the bear, the snow leopard and the sealion - generally it’s a pretty lax zoo in terms of ferocity. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) It's teeny tiny

 

To the average person this makes perfect sense, the zoo can hardly be that big when it is located in the middle of a city, but still I was shocked at the ability to walk the grounds in less than an hour - that's including the sea lion show.  However, when there's so much of the park to explore the compact zoo is a cheery treat to break up an afternoon of meandering.

 

3) You have to pay to get in

 

I know this one shouldn’t be that surprising but if, like me, you were an avid reader of the Princess Diaries you will know that Mia uses the penguin sanctuary as well, her sanctuary to scribble in her diary. Never did Princess Mia mention paying nor did we see J.Lo stop to swipe her AMEX during Maid in Manhattan so excuse me while I gasp at the $12 admission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite all of my shocking findings, a wander through the Central Park Zoo should be on the agenda. It’s cosy yet cute and is still a wonder to see, in the middle of Manhattan's madness, a few bears just chilling and taking it easy in this quiet spot.