Breaking Out of its Shell: Zoo More Than Just Turtles

WEST ORANGE—Growing up in Essex County in the 1960s, my earliest memories of the Turtle Back Zoo include riding the train that still runs through it—and of course—riding atop the giant turtles.

Jeremy Goodman has similar memories. He grew up coming to the Turtle Back Zoo, making the trip with his parents from Parsippany. But even as a kid, he would have known the difference between the Aldabra Giant Tortoise I was riding and the slow-moving thing with a shell I called a Turtle. 

As a kid, Goodman would make notes of his plans for the zoo (his parents have saved them all). He studied veterinarian medicine and saw his childhood dreams of running the zoo come true six years ago when he was named director and given the keys to the Turtle Back Zoo.

"All five pounds of them," he said, jingling the zookeeper's keys.

As any preschooler knows, he better watch out for the gorilla.

This week, Patch visited the zoo and found out how its employees beat the heat and keep the 200 species of animals safe. You could almost hear the bells of an ice cream truck for wild things: Otters licked fishcicles (fish frozen in blocks of ice), carnivores like the Amur Leopard chomped bloodcicles (frozen blocks of blood); and for the bears, fruitcicles (frozen fruit in ice) was nice.

Even the peacock that struts its stuff at the entrance had it made in the shade—literally—camped under a bush.

On Thursday, recreation day camps from Maplewood (mugging like monkeys by the gibbon) and West Orange (the white wolf the top favorite animal vote-getter) were among the groups and families who visited during the week's heat spell. Spraying misters through the zoo and jumping fountains helped keep the children cool.

Turtle Back Zoo, once neglected and endangered, has undergone $20 million in upgrades since Goodman began putting his childhood plans into action.

"It's a little city here," Goodman said.

Attendance is expected to reach half a million this year. The zoo employs 115 seasonal employees (the season stretches from mid-March to Thanksgiving). It's open 365 days a year and operates on a $1.8 million county budget.

Revenues from admissions and rentals contribute $2.6 million to the coffers. Expansion is ongoing and includes an animal hospital, a carousel, an Australian exhibit with kangaroos and an aviary for 500 birds.

Parakeets (or more accurately, the Australian Budgerigar) fly freely in the aviary, feeding on the bird sticks with seed offered by children and their adults. Benjamin, a 2-year-old boy from Millburn, got help from his mom Katerina in coaxing the wild green bird to his Popsicle stick.

Later this summer, an aquarium will open in the converted monkey house (don't worry, the monkeys have relocated to the zoo's South American exhibit). The $2.5 million project will include six tanks with a wide variety of fish and educational resources on issues like water pollution and consumer awareness on seafood, Goodman said.

The main tank, all 900 gallons, will hold an assortment of fish from the reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans. "This will be a spectacular tank," Goodman said.

The colorful reef fish will include long-horned cowfish, butterfly, parrot and hawk fish. Venomous species will get their own tank: Lion and wasp fish. The smallest of the tanks will feature the clown fish.

"Everyone loves Nemo," Goodman said. "You got to have Nemo."

A mid-August opening is planned. Costs have been kept down thanks to grassroot support, including an architect and landscaper who have donated their services, Goodman said.

The zoo, which is holding a penguin-naming contest, will turn 50 in just three years and is gearing up for its golden anniversary. The return of the giant tortoise is a part of that. A 17-year-old male from South America already calls Turtle Back home.

"You have to look closely," Goodman said, "cause if he's not moving, he looks like a rock."