Salisbury Zoo has an interesting history. The site was a swampy area in the middle of the city that was purchased by the local government in 1926. The municipal park became a dumping ground for unwanted wild animals. City workers started taking care of the animals, even building cages or shelters for them. The area soon drew donations from all over the Delmarva area. In the 1960s, more effort was put into making a formal zoo. By 1970, a professional zookeeper was hired. The zoo has developed over the decades but still has free parking and no admission charges.
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| Zoo entrance |
We came in the east entrance where a small grotto featuring a flamingo statue (decorated for the coming Christmas season) is surrounded by various plants.
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| It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas |
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| More Christmas theme? |
We walked for a bit and were a bit worried we wouldn't see any animals. We passed some empty pens and saw a wild squirrel rummaging around.
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| A free animal |
We got to the snake and lizard house and were rewarded with some critters. The Yellow Anaconda is a constrictor from South America. It mostly hunts in water but sometimes goes along the land. We were happy to have some glass between us and the snake.
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| Yellow Anaconda |
The next animal was the Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana, native to Mexico, Florida, and Texas. They inhabit a much drier habitat than the anaconda.
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| Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana |
A bit further on we found a bunch of flamingos hanging out in a shallow pool. They were very entertaining to watch.
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| Flamingos hanging out at the pool |
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Making a heart shape?
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The zoo has a lot of Australian birds, including this lapwing. We tried to get the laughing kookaburra to laugh but they wouldn't. Their mesh fence made them hard to photograph too.
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| Australian lapwing |
A large pen has a bunch of alpacas wandering around. The day was damp so their fur looked a bit down and dismal.
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| Alpacas |
Another very popular animal (for us) was the Black-Handed Spider Monkeys. They come from Mexico and southern Central America. Their tails are practically an extra appendage along with arms and legs. They climbed all over their cage. We saw them eating some leaves and nuts since it was getting to be lunchtime.
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| Black-Handed Spider Monkey climbs the roof |
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| Hanging out |
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| What should I do next? |
Red wolves are nearly extinct in the wild. Two of them are stalking around in their pen at the Salisbury Zoo.
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| Red Wolf 1 |
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| Red Wolf 2 |
An American classic, the Bald Eagle is a noble-looking bird. Behind this bird is a Rhea in a different pen.
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| Two-for-one picture |
Prairie dogs are a fun species that look so cute, we had a hard time tearing ourselves away from their pen.
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| Hanging out |
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| Taking lunch |
A couple of American Bison (who have the Latin name
Bison Bison) were also having their afternoon meal.
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| Bison biting lunch |
The zoo is fairly small, just twelve acres, but a fun place to visit.
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