Southwick's Zoo is a great place to bring your kids

Southwick's Zoo is a great place to bring your kids. Located in Mendon, Ma the zoo is shady, close to Boston & very open.  Although the day we visited was very hot, it was nice and cool even if the big cages meant lots of walking.

Part of the reason the zoo requires so much walking is that the center of the zoo has a big deer habitat. The deer forest was different than other zoos I’ve visited. Walking through the habitat & petting the deer was quite the experience. The area is fenced all around so deer can walk freely without escaping. Picnic tables inside the fence are good for families planning on staying the whole day for lunch or for rest. Speaking of lunch kids, why not let your kids

hand feed the deer some corn that can be purchased for a quarter in vending machines located inside the
habitat?

Southwick's Zoo staff sure like monkeys. If monkeys are your thing then this zoo is for you. Southwick has many different species of monkeys from practically everywhere in the world. My favorite was the pygmy marmoset. When I visited the exhibit it appeared like the marmoset was all alone. Curious, I looked closer to find an adorable baby marmoset on the mamma’s back.

The zoo also has a rare White Tiger. This species is not on the endangered list because they are actually regular tigers that have been breed to have white coats. I read this on one of many signs throughout the zoo. It also said that some people don’t think its right to breed them this way but White Tigers attract more visitors so they do it anyway. I have to agree it was a cool attraction, but it is a tricky subject.

All in all, our trip to Southwick's Zoo was a fairly inexpensive day out and well worth the 20 minute drive from our hotel in the next town over. The zoo has a lot of different areas and interesting animals you might not see elsewhere. I would recommend Southwick's Zoo as a family-friendly zoo. Here’s the link to look them up. www.southwickszoo.com
zoo.com