Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo has a proud history of over 80 years as Connecticut's only zoo. As an accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and participant in its Species Survival Plan (SSP), we are committed to the preservation of endangered animals and are actively developing strategies that will protect species and preserve their wild habitats. Through education, conservation, research and recreation, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo provides a wonderfully wild experience for students and families.

Mission:

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.

Animal exhibits, plantings, graphics, and Zoo programs are to be represented in such a manner as to give the visitor a sense of awareness and concern for the intricate beauty and fragility of our planet.

This mission is achieved by a master plan comprised of the following goals.

- Education, through staff involvement and training, outreach programs, workshops, lectures, docent volunteers, natural animal exhibits, informational and interpretive graphics, and research by utilizing staff, universities and other zoological facilities.

- Conservation, through participation in in situ and ex situ endangered species programs such as the Species Survival Program, Zoo Conservation Outreach Group, etc. Also through professional animal and veterinary care and a comprehensive animal management policy.

- Recreation, through state-of-the-art exhibit design, well-run visitor services (i.e., food and gift concessions, rides, rest rooms and parking) and to maximize the natural and park-like setting by formal and informal landscaping.