How’s it goin’, buddy?
I recently spent time visiting Boston and the Greater Boston area (including New Bedford and portions of Cape Cod like Yarmouth, Brewster, Provincetown, and Sandwich).
So I'm working on a series of posts about the various zoos, museums, and other tourist attractions I visited including:
D1: Buttonwood Park Zoo (this post)
D2: New Bedford Whaling Museum
D4: Museum of Science (Boston)
I'm going to begin with my favorite of the Boston area attractions - the Buttonwood Park Zoo with its adorable red panda Jacob!
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo.
BUTTONWOOD PARK ZOO
425 Hawthorn Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Website: https://www.bpzoo.org/
Hours: Open Daily, 9 AM - 4 PM
Cost (as of 2025):
Adults (Ages 13-61): $10 for non-residents; $7.50 for New Bedford residents
Senior 62+ or Students: $8 for non-residents; $6 for New Bedford residents
Child (Ages 3-12): $6 for non-residents; $4.50 for New Bedford residents
Child Under Age 3: FREE
Parking is free.
Buttonwood Park Zoo participates in the AZA reciprocity program so that members of AZA institutions get free or discounted admission to Buttonwood Park Zoo.
Furthermore, Buttonwood Park Zoo offers a range of very affordable membership packages. For a single non-resident adult, it is only $30 for 365 days ($25 for residents of New Bedford). These come with online membership cards. If you want a physical membership card it is an extra $5.
Estimated Time: 1-2 hours.
I actually visited the zoo twice. The first day I visited I spent 2 hours. However, they were doing construction on the red panda habitat so I wasn't able to get a good view of Jacob. As a result, I came back 2 days later, spending another 1 hour and getting to see a lot of Jacob! Since I bought a year-long membership on my first visit, there was no additional cost to visiting the second time.
SUMMARY
Buttonwood Park Zoo is a wonderful, small zoo in New Bedford, along the South Coast of Massachusetts. I would recommend the lovely zoo and give it an overall rating of 3 stars. It is a small zoo that primarily has North American animals, with a few exceptions like a red panda and an Asian elephant. If I based my rating only on size and variety, Buttonwood Park Zoo would be more akin to a 1 star zoo.
However, the exhibits are carefully designed to provide excellent views of the animals. In addition, many of the animals are friendly and habituated to humans, which makes sense given the histories of Emily the elephant, Molly the coyote, and the two bobcats. They seem curious about humans and aren't shy. That allows visitors to get excellent views of the animals, as well as allowing for excellent pictures. In my book, the great viewing experience is worth another star.
Most importantly though, the Buttonwood Park Zoo has an awesome red panda exhibit with a delightful red panda, Jacob. Having visited numerous zoos with red pandas, a lot of the time the red pandas are sleeping (Capron Park Zoo, San Francisco Zoo & Gardens), you can barely see them (Timbavati Wildlife Park, San Francisco Zoo & Gardens), they are rather far away (Zoo Atlanta, Lincoln Park Zoo), or they are not available for viewing at all (Franklin Park Zoo). The red pandas at Milwaukee County Zoo and Henry Vilas Zoo were pretty good, but I got the best views at Buttonwood Park Zoo, hence my awarding of an additional star (bringing the total to 3).
Buttonwood Park Zoo also has a lot of helpful and friendly staff members. One of the zookeepers in charge of the bobcats spent a lot of time explaining the histories of the various animals to me. And Lisa and Chad from guest services were fantastic about explaining membership and helping me to buy a pair of red panda paintings (made by Kay, the elephant zookeeper).
Besides great views of Jacob the red panda, I was also easily able to see the otters, Emily the elephant, the bobcats and lynxes, Molly the coyote, and the black bears.
In terms of overall value, one could argue that zoo membership at Buttonwood Park is actually worth 4 stars. Prior to visiting, I researched the one-year membership costs of all the zoos participating in the AZA Reciprocity program at the 100% level. On average, most prices ranged from $50-$100. There were 3 zoos that only cost $30 for a year-long membership. Two of them were in Kansas (and one of them only provided membership until the end of the calendar year) and the third was Buttonwood Park. If you travel a lot or plan to visit a lot of zoos, then Buttonwood Park has one of the most (if not the most) economical options available. It costs just $30 for virtual membership ($5 less for New Bedford residents; you can also pay an extra $5 for a physical card) and then you get free or discounted admission to all of the other AZA zoos and aquariums participating in the reciprocity program for a full year (365 days). You don't even have to ever visit Buttonwood Park Zoo to purchase online membership for the AZA reciprocity discount, though I would recommend going at least once to see Jacob! I did opt for the physical membership card because it's easier for other zoos to check it. And in the one month since I got membership, I've already used the AZA reciprocity benefits at 9 other AZA facilities (and with plans to visit another 7 in the next month or two)!
Comparing Buttonwood Park to other zoos, here is my assessment:
5 stars:
4 stars:
3 stars:
2 stars:
1 star:
JACOB THE RED PANDA
Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens fulgens
The Zoo’s breeding pair of red pandas, Jacob and Marie, celebrated their 7th and 6th birthdays in 2024. Marie was brought to New Bedford based on a breeding recommendation as part of the AZA’s Species Survival Plan.
On June 4, 2020, for the first time in our 126 year history, a red panda cub was born! Through a fun gender reveal enrichment activity, Jacob announced the cub was a boy. The name “Kodo”, a Nepalese word for grain, was chosen by BPZOO supporters around the country and even into Canada. Additional examinations done by the Zoo’s veternarian after the fact revealed that Kodo was actually a female! Our community enjoyed watching Kodo grow up and in 2022, she moved to another AZA accredited zoo to start a family of her own.
Marie gave birth for a second time in 2023, to female cubs Pip and Sprout. Pip left BPZOO in April of 2024 on a transfer recommendation and Sprout will remain at BPZOO until she also receives a breeding or transfer recommendation.
--> Kodo now lives at Birmingham Zoo in Alabama with a male red panda, Gizmo. On July 1st, 2023, Birmingham Zoo announced the birth of two baby red pandas (males Cosmo and Meeko), making Jacob a grandfather! Cosmo and Meeko are currently at Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, Pip died on August 1st, 2024, only a few months after moving to the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, Minnesota.
Sprout lives at Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, Jersey with a male Red Panda named Jerry.
Sadly, Marie passed away on May 28th, 2025 due to liver failure because of embolisms.
Marie had been under close veterinary observation and care because of weakness in her left hind limb. An MRI at MSPCA Angell Medical Center in Boston identified spinal cord inflammation, likely due to an embolism resulting in obstruction of blood flow.
“Marie was one of the most beloved and recognized animals here at BPZOO,” Zoo Director Shara Rapoza said. “For those of us who had a chance to care for her, we knew her as a gentle soul who loved apples and grapes and snuggling into the pine tree in the back corner of her habitat. She was a wonderful ambassador for her species, and mother to Kodo, Sprout, and Pip. The loss we feel is immense, but we take comfort in knowing her legacy lives on in Kodo’s offspring.”
--> Buttonwood Park Zoo has put in a request with the AZA to help find a new partner for Jacob, who has been mourning the loss of Marie.
On my first visit to Buttonwood Park Zoo, the staff were renovating Jacob's habitat. You could see him running back and forth along the black tunnel (which he enjoys doing) but visitors couldn't get a very good view of him:
On my second visit, I got to behold Jacob in all of his red panda glory! And boy was it magnificent! 😻😻😻
OTTER
North American River Otter
Lontra canadensis
EMILY THE ELEPHANT
Asian Elephant
Elephas maximus
Emily, a remarkable 60-year-old Asian elephant, has been inspiring generations for the past 56 years here at BPZOO! She weighs approximately 8,000 pounds and enjoys a daily diet consisting of around 75 pounds of hay, 10 pounds of grain, 10 pounds of produce, and 15 to 50 pounds of browse (such as maple and bamboo). Emily’s favorite treats include alfalfa cubes, dried fruit, watermelon, and sugar cane. She loves engaging in activities like drumming and painting. When she is engaged with her enrichment, she expresses her joy with rumbling sounds or gentle trumpeting.
While most elephants benefit from social relationships with other elephants, Emily's experience is unique. Raised by humans and without other elephants during her early years, she developed strong social connections with the people around here. These relationships remain an important part of her well-being today and have helped ease the transition after the loss of her long-time companion, Ruth.
Emily's story is a reminder that enrichment and social connection can take many forms - and that individualized care plays a vital role in supporting each animal's unique needs.
The ball is an enrichment toy. By moving the ball around, treats fall out of the hole. As a result, Emily has to do some "work" in order to earn her treats.
BOBCAT
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
The bobcat zookeeper told me that both of the bobcats were hand-reared by humans, which makes them acclimated to the presence of people.
CANADA LYNX
Canada Lynx
Lynx canadensis
Lynxes are closely related to bobcats but are more specialized. Lynxes prefer forested areas where they can prey on snowshoe hares. Lynxes have longer black ear tufts to help with hearing. The lynx's longer legs, larger feet, and fur on their paws allow them to move more effectively through snow.
Buttonwood Park Zoo has two pairs of Canada Lynxes. One pair is a mated male and female and the other two are a couple of their children. However, the boy lynx has matured to the point where he doesn't get along with his father, which is why they are separated.
MOLLY THE COYOTE
Coyote
Canis latrans
Buttonwood Park Zoo has a long history of rescuing and rehabilitating native species from perilous situations. Our resident coyote, Molly, came to us in 2015 after her mother was unfortunately hit by a car in Texas. A wildlife rehabilitator performed an emergency Cesarean on the side of the road after realizing the female was pregnant. Due to Molly’s unique upbringing, her keepers are able to walk her around the Zoo. Her favorite spot to explore is Buttonwood Brook!
Molly doesn't like other coyotes and has attacked other coyotes that were introduced to her, even going as far as killing one of them!
SEAL
Harbor Seal
Phoca vitulina
BEAR
American Black Bear
Ursus americanus
The zookeepers were feeding the black bears treats over the wall, which is why they were standing up in the next several pictures.
The circles on the windows are probably to help prevent birds from flying into the glass.
MONKEYS
Bolivian Gray Titi Monkey
Plecturocebus donacophilus
Emperor Tamarin
Saguinus imperator
Golden-headed Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus chrysomelas
AQUARIUM
Two-banded Clownfish
Amphiprion bicintus
Bubble Tip Anemone
Entacmaea quadricolor
Lined Seahorse
Hippocampus erectus
Moon Jellyfish
Aurelia aurita
Ocellate River Stingray
Potamotrygon motoro
Burrfish
Chilomycterus schoepfi
Matamata Turtle
Chelus fimbriatus
Caiman Lizard
Dracaena guianensis
OTHER CRITTERS
Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth
Choloepus hoffmanni
American Bison
Bison bison
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Welsh Cross Pony
Equus ferus caballus
Red-crowned Crane
Grus japonensis
CAROUSEL
ART
A welcoming bear statue:
Another bear pleased to make your acquaintance:
A bear mural in the cafe:
Eight bronze animal statues have been provided by the John and Hertha Wolkowicz Charitable Foundation for the entertainment of the children attending the zoo. The bear is named "Aria" and the small elephant is named "Justin" in honor of the donor's grandchildren.
(I only found 2 of the bronze statues - the bear and a pig).
An illustrated story about swamps:
GIFT SHOP
Note that I am not compensated in any way for promoting any of these products. I just like to take note of cute things!
I did buy a red panda magnet and a pair of red panda paintings, which you can see at the end of this section.
Nature Planet Wild Bean Plushes
$5.99
Petting Zoo Red Panda Plush
$21.99
Wild Republic Red Panda Plush
EcoPals Sloth Plush
$22.99
Petting Zoo Otter Plush
$14.99
Wild Republic Hedgehog Plush
Probably a Wild Republic Black Bear Plush
Petting Zoo Plushes for Adopting an Animal
Buttonwood Park Zoo Enamel Pin Set
$16.99
Bestie Bottle
$29.99
ZooCChiNi Backpacks
$28.99
Kai the Koala
Bella the Bunny
Bosley the Bear
Hand-carved Wooden Ornaments
$16.99
EcoUniverse Embroidered Ballcaps
$22.99
Buttonwood Park Zoo Magnets by Laura Kelly
$3.95
You can see more of Laura Kelly's work here:
https://shoplaurakelly.com/
I bought the red panda magnet!
#6. Pondering Panda, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Kay Santos
#7. Adorable Jacob, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Kay Santos
Kay tries to capture their unique personalities; she gets her inspiration from the portraits of the animals' faces.
Starting this year (2025), the Northwoods Gift Store started selling a limited selection of paintings by zookeeper Kay Santos. You can read more about the artist here:
https://zoo-guide.com/bpzoo-keeper-kay-santos-over-20-years-of-caring-for-animals/
I bought both of the red panda paintings. I paid extra to have the paintings shipped to me. Lisa and Chad from guest services were extremely helpful in arranging the shipping and ensuring that they arrived safely!
