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Features

A Stroll Through Southwick Zoo

June 30, 2013

You all know Tim Grassey from his well researched editorial articles on MiceChat, today’s we’ve got something very different from him, a trip report from the Southwick Zoo. Cute animal alert! – Rick

Southwick’z Zoo is a family owned zoo in Mendon, MA. It originated as a dairy farm before officially opening as a zoological facility in 1963. Since then, exhibits have been regularly added and it is now amongst the most popular zoos in New England.

I recently visited the zoo and thought I’d share some of the photos from my trip.

2-Red-Kangaroo — Red Kangaroos relaxing in the sun

3-Bennets-Wallaby — Bennets Wallaby with a joey in her pouch

The zoo has a pair of Aldabra Giant Tortoises

This was a weird looking turtle in with the other two Aldabra Tortoises 😉

I don’t know if the turkey was authorized, but she was hanging out on a rock near the Barbary Sheep

A zookeeper was feeding the Sucata Tortoises when we arrived

There is a large African Plains exhibit that features zebras, water buffaloes and ostriches. During this visit, most of the animals were either too far away or facing the wrong way for us to really see them.

A photo of a Grevy’s Zebra from the same exhibit last June

A few years ago, they built a new exhibit for their Reticulated Giraffes. For a small fee, guests are able to feed the Giraffes at select times of day.

One of the highlights for children at Southwick’s Zoo is the 35 acre deer forest. Free roaming deer will walk up to guests provided they’re armed with a handful of corn.

One of the larger exhibits houses several Chimpanzees.

One of the species new this year is the two-toed sloth.

The zoo is also home to a variety of macaws, monkeys and lemurs. Unfortunately, due to the nature of these animals, they are held in cages that don’t lend themselves to photos. However, at a few of these enclosures, there are signs that say the babies often leave the exhibit but will be closely watched by their mother.

A mother Ring-tailed lemur with two babies

One of the more interesting animals we saw was the Jacob Sheep. Both males and females can have between two to six horns each, with most having four. This particular sheep had three horns.

I’ve been to several zoos where Mandrills are visible, but the exhibit at Southwick’s Zoo offers views from a variety of different angels. The exhibit features an adult male and female as well as two children.

Ironically, the Warthog on the right is named Mr. Carosi

A rarity at zoos, the lions were awake and playing. Lions spend a lot of time sleeping during the day.

34-White-Rhinoceros — For several decades, Southwick’s Zoo was home to Dondi the Asian Elephant. She passed away several years ago, but her exhibit is now home to a pair of White Rhinoceros

38-Baby-Lion — A pleasant surprise for us was a pair of lion cubs.

We try to visit Southwick’s Zoo every year, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit this year. Hopefully you enjoyed the photos.