Stone Zoo facts for kids

A flamingo at Stone Zoo

Stone Zoo is a fun place to visit in Stoneham, Massachusetts, United States. It's a medium-sized zoo, about 26 acres (11 ha) big. The zoo first opened in 1905. It has many different animal homes, from small exhibits to larger areas on rocky hills. Stone Zoo is run by Zoo New England, the same group that manages the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston.

Stone Zoo is a special member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means it meets high standards for animal care and education.

Stone Zoo's Story

The Stone Zoo started in 1905 as the Middlesex Fells Zoo. It first had only local animals. Soon, it began to get more exciting animals from faraway places. In the 1950s, a new area called the Kiddy Zoo opened. This section was based on fun Mother Goose stories.

In the 1960s, the zoo got a big makeover. Zoo director Walter D. Stone led these changes. They built a large aviary where birds could fly freely. Many big animals came to the zoo then. These included elephants, giraffes, zebras, pygmy hippos, and sea lions. After Walter D. Stone passed away in 1968, the zoo was renamed the Walter D. Stone Memorial Zoo on March 14, 1969.

The zoo kept growing in the 1970s and 1980s. It started helping to breed animals that were in danger. Some of these animals were orangutans, kinkajous, siamang, and kudus. A polar bear named "Major" arrived in July 1979. He quickly became the zoo's most popular animal.

On November 12, 1990, the Stone Zoo had to close. This happened because of cuts to the state budget. But people really wanted the zoo to stay open! So, a private group was formed to run the zoo. They raised money and got donations. The zoo reopened on June 6, 1992. During this time, the zoo lost many of its large animals. Only Major the polar bear stayed until he passed away in 2000. The zoo became less popular for a while. Old buildings, like the giraffe house, were used for new things, such as an animal education center.

New Changes at the Zoo

In the early 2000s, Zoo New England started a plan to make both Stone Zoo and the Franklin Park Zoo better. They worked hard to raise money for improvements.

On September 24, 2005, Stone Zoo celebrated its 100th birthday! The zoo changed its layout to be more interesting and teach visitors more. Many new exhibits were built. Older ones were made bigger or improved. These changes helped more people come to visit the zoo.

Soon, a new bus stop for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will be added. This will make it easier for people to get to the zoo using public transportation.

Exploring the Animals

Here are some of the main animal exhibits you can see at Stone Zoo:

• Alfred Huang North American Crane Exhibit (c. 2012): This area is home to American alligators, different kinds of ducks like barrow's goldeneyes and hooded mergansers, and beautiful cranes like sandhill cranes and whooping cranes (c. 2014). You can also see tundra swans here.
• Animal Discovery Center (c. 2017): In this center, you can find smaller creatures. These include Arizona blond tarantulas, Blanding's turtles, California king snakes, Chilean rose tarantulas, corn snakes, and many types of frogs like dyeing poison dart frogs and Panamanian golden frogs. There are also honey bees, leopard geckos, and rosy boas.
• Barnyard: This section has farm animals. You can meet Guinea hogs, Nigerian dwarf goats, miniature zebus, and different kinds of chickens. There's also a fun 'nature playscape' for kids to explore.
• Caribbean Coast (c. 2018): This is a large, 6,000-square-foot (560 m²) walk-through birdhouse. You can see colorful birds like blue and gold macaws, Caribbean flamingos, scarlet ibises, and scarlet macaws. There are also Jamaican iguanas. Nearby, you'll find a special exhibit for bush dogs. A pair of bush dogs had two pups in November 2018!
• Himalayan Highlands (c. 1998): This area feels like the mountains of the Himalayas. It's home to black-necked cranes, markhors (a type of wild goat), amazing snow leopards, and yaks.
• Mexican Gray Wolf Exhibit (c. 1998): This habitat used to be home to a single Mexican wolf named Roberto, who passed away in 2019. In early 2020, a group of six young wolves, who are siblings, moved into this hillside home.
• Treasures of the Sierra Madre (c. 2002): This exhibit looks like the Sierra Madre mountains. It has animals like Chacoan peccaries (like small wild pigs), white-nosed coatis, powerful cougars, and amazing jaguars. You can also see Gila monsters, peregrine falcons, and red-tailed boas.
• Treetops & Riverbeds (c. 2008): This open-air area has homes for black-and-white colobus monkeys, playful North American river otters, and northern white-cheeked gibbons.
• Windows to the Wild (c. 2003): Here you can see a variety of animals. There are barn owls, clever black-handed spider monkeys, tiny cotton-top tamarins, and colorful hyacinth macaws. You might also spot laughing kookaburras, slow-moving Linne's two-toed sloths, and rhinoceros hornbills. A new exhibit for three African spurred tortoises opened in July 2019.
• Yukon Creek (c. 2000): This area looks like the cold Canadian forests. It's where you can find American black bears, fluffy Arctic foxes, majestic bald eagles, stealthy Canada lynxes, North American porcupines, and reindeer.

Special Events at the Zoo

• Birds of Prey (c. 2005): From Memorial Day to Labor Day, you can watch amazing outdoor shows with wild birds. These shows are put on by the World Bird Sanctuary.
• ZooLights: Every year, from Thanksgiving through Christmastime, the zoo lights up with a beautiful holiday light display.