Overview & visitor information
Staten Island Zoo keeps red pandas, not the giant pandas implied by the former title and its unrelated Washington source. Red pandas are small, tree-dwelling mammals native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, with rust-colored coats, ringed tails and physical adaptations suited to climbing.
The species eats a bamboo-heavy diet but is not closely related to the giant panda. Zoo interpretation places its appealing appearance beside a more serious conservation story involving forest loss, fragmented habitat and declining wild populations. Enclosures use elevated branches and sheltered spaces to reflect the animal's arboreal behavior.
The red-panda habitat sits within a compact zoo founded in 1936 in the West New Brighton neighborhood. Staten Island Zoo is also known for reptiles, children's programming and a diverse animal collection arranged on walkable grounds, giving families a smaller-scale alternative to New York's largest wildlife parks.
