The Bronx Zoo is decked out for the holiday season through January 6th. Every animal under the sun has been recreated in twinkly lights, so bundle up and check out the sparkling safari. Giraffes and rhinos and peacocks, oh my! more ›

When we feel the need to get away from the city without actually leaving the city, we head up to the Bronx. Places like City Island, Wave Hill, The New York Botanical Garden, and The Bronx Zoo are some of our favorite places to visit in all of New York, and we realize that's only the tip of the iceberg when considering the Bronx's appealing features. more ›

A beloved Bronx Zoo grizzly bear died last week at age 13. "Jughead" had been ill for months and had also undergone surgery for abdominal abscesses according to the AP. The Bronx Zoo is planning a necropsy, and the zoo's director said, "Jughead was a wonderful, charismatic animal and he will be missed by all of our staff and visitors." more ›

Who doesn't love studies involving elephants and mirrors? A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the Bronx Zoo elephants recognized themselves in a mirror - which suggests they are self aware. The study was conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Emory University. The NY Times explained the study and results:

They put an eight-foot-square mirror on a wall of the animals’ play area (out of view of zoo visitors) and recorded what happened with video cameras, including one embedded in the mirror. more ›

But not in someone's apartment - to the Bronx Zoo! An endangered snow leopard cub that was found in Pakistan will join the Bronx Zoo's snow leopard habitat this year. From the State Department:

Originally from the Naltar Valley high in the Karakorum Mountains of northern Pakistan, the snow leopard cub, now approximately 13 months old and 60 pounds, was turned over to Government of Pakistan authorities in July 2005 by the local goat herder who rescued it. The herder and his family had provided shelter for the cub in their home and later in their grain shed. As the cub grew, the herder approached World Wildlife Fund consultants working in the region for help and they temporarily took over the cub’s care. The cub was relocated south to Gilgit, where the Pakistani government assumed responsibility for its care. more ›

Last night, the news was buzzing about a doe and her baby fawn running around the Schuylerville section of the Bronx, and it was pretty cute - deer scampering away from cameras and the police. But, suddenly, it turned into a snuff film: When police had followed the deer to a church (sanctuary, perhaps?), the deer freaked out and tried to run away, with the fawn jumping a fence and practically goring itself! The fawn got away, but when the police found it, it had died, possibly from its injuries. Its mother was found and released in Pelham Park. more ›

Gothamist cannot get over how cute the new baby gorillas at the Bronx Zoo are - and soon they'll be hundreds of pounds! The Bronx Zoo had four babies born in its gorilla community in the past eight months: Gorillas Julia, Triska, Imani, and Halima gave birth to three males and a female; the sires were Zuri and Fubo. You can visit them at the Bronx Zoo, which is open year round. And who knew that the gorillas had been on birth control (placed in bananas, natch) before? more ›

company) and only one elephant in the exhibit is "inhumane." The article goes onto to detail other American zoos that have ended its elephants exhibits (see Chicago and San Francisco, DC) and how elephants can be exclusive:

The Bronx Zoo, [Steven Sanderson, president and chief executive of the Wildlife Conservation Society] said, has a two-acre corral in which the elephants can move about, and its zookeepers monitor the stumpy feet of its elephants daily, but he would prefer to give them more company. Elephants may show their discomfort with a new arrival by the equivalent of a hunger strike. more ›

• While many voted for him, most women would pass on Thanksgiving with Mayor Bloomberg - Parents in Bay Ridge marched to protect their children from a possible cell phone tower
• The Bronx Zoo wants funding to help fight the bird flu, but don't worry, the fighting won't happen in the Bronx 
• The police are looking for the man who gunned down an off-duty police officer in Brooklyn; when a robber found out that his victim was a cop, he said, "You know I gotta kill you now, right?"

Finally, an update to the story from last year about the tiger that escaped from the Cole Bros. Circus in Queens and tried to run away. When the tiger bounded across the Jackie Robinson Expressway, one car stopped in order not to hit the white Bengal tiger, but that caused a three car pile-up. The drivers of the first car and third cars each filed a $10 million lawsuit against the circus and the city's Parks Department for letting the tiger run rampant. Quisorys Wanda Colon told the Post, "Everything was fine. "It was a nice day out. Suddenly, I saw this tiger a couple of lengths in front of my car, it was right in front of me." Colon's car was rearended, and she required backsurgery, plus a rib removal. And the other lawsuit was filed by an NYPD officer who has been disabled since the accident. Eek - and we thought that that there weren't too many accident from the incident, as it was cute to hear that the tiger was really tired from running around the highways back in the day. more ›

Animals. Twinkle lights. Crisp December weather. Tons of little kids running around. The Bronx. All of these things are part of the formula that make the Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights a sight to behold. Gothamist decided to head to the Bronx to actually see them, after we posted about it, and we're glad that we did. It's romantic, fun, and somewhat surreal, because you don't exactly know where you're going and sometimes you can't quite make out if there are fences at some of the outdoor exhibits. more ›