Bergen County Zoo — Attraction in Town of Highland

Please fire your miserable staff they take the life right out of the place. Why work in a place designed for children if you have no empathy and compassion for them? Three of the staff members I encountered were the most vile , cold individuals I have ever met.

The worst and the most nasty of them was the lady with the tattoos who works in the pony ride area. Before my daughter even reached her she shouted out “ she can’t ride “ and my 5 year old came running hysterically to me. When I asked why because she was clearly the height of the ride restriction without her 2 inch thick sandals the disgusting lady working there wouldn’t even allow me to speak she just kept saying “ im saying she can’t ride she’s not riding “ mind you my daughter was wearing 2 inch wide thick sandals and without them she was exactly under the ride height limit. My daughter didn’t stop crying the whole way home . When I told the lady “you can be more pleasant when dealing with people” she made a smirk, probably the only time she smiles is when she bullies toddlers and ruins their day. I have an idea , cast her for the wicked stepmother role she’d be perfect for that 🤣🤣

Anyway that rule that she felt she needed to impose and made sure to not let my daughter ride was super bogus and clearly because we weren’t white enough for her racist self (we’re visibly Muslim). Disgusting we live in 2023 you soul sucking miserable lord Voldemort worshipper

Don’t get me started on the lady at the front desk. This place is worse then the DMV with their mannerisms and hostile attitudes . If you feel like being talked down to and disrespected and you want older miserable women with no lives to make your toddlers cry come here it’s...

Many animals are not treated well, including the owls and Andean condors. The condors are majestic large birds that require MUCH more space than what they’re given at this zoo, where the roof of their enclosure is unconscionably low. I was recently in South America and remember seeing these beautiful birds of prey soaring high in the sky. They should NEVER be kept in such pathetic tiny cages that are unsuitable for them and resemble nothing like their natural habitat. The fact they are even here is extremely questionable. They do NOT belong in a cage, being used as entertainment props for children, thousands of miles away from their home. They can barely move around in the enclosure, and can’t really fly as the roof is extremely low.

Similar inadequate or inappropriate spaces are also offered for other animals, including ones that normally live near a body of water but instead find completely dried out artificial “ponds” in their cages at this zoo. The sole tapir we saw had an untreated wound on his or her elbow.

As the cherry on top, about half of the animals were “off exhibit” during our visit, with no signs upfront disclosing such a fact, nor a discount to the entrance fee. Very disappointing to not find many of the animals that had brought us here in the first place. No big cats or alligators could be found. Made me wonder that they did to these animals.

The zoo as a whole is more an entertainment park for children than a zoo where animals are respected and scientific research is carried out. Fake animal statues are everywhere instead of real animals. It’s weird to see fake giraffes, hyenas, and zebras when no real ones can...

This is a great option if you're short on time or on a budget. It only costed $5 per child and $8 per adult. This is cheap even for a small zoo.

Yes, there are a limited amount of things to see but for the price, it's still well worth it. There ARE some cool things to see and you get to go quite close up to the animals. The mountain lions and alligators were mine and my kids favorite but the budgies (small, colorful birds) and monkey exhibits are also great. There's also a sloth, a wolf, lots of exotic birds, and farm animals.

The layout is clean and easygoing. Kids won't tire out as they will at the much larger and more exhausting bronx zoo.

The train ride to me is kind of meh. You don't really get to see the animals on it and the scenery isnt anything special. It costs an extra $2 per person. I would only suggest it if there's no line.

A nice bonus is that across the street from the zoo is a massive (free) playground, so you could go to the zoo for 1.5 mayyyyybe 2 hours if you take it slow but then take any kid aged 2 up until around 10 to the playground for another hour or two and then you really get a full out of it. This is definitely a place you want to visit at least once if you're...