Where to see animals on Long Island

Animal Farm Petting Zoo and Family Park

At the Animal Farm Petting Zoo and Family Park (296 Wading River Rd., Manorville) you'll find parrots, monkeys, camels, llamas, reptiles, an ostrich, kangaroos and other exotic animals. You can bottle-feed baby pigs, get in the pen with baby goats, cuddle with chicks and guinea pigs. You'll also find playgrounds. Admission includes free pony rides and a turtle train ride. Price: $14.50, $12.50 seniors and ages 2-16, free ages 2 and younger

Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard & Horse Rescue

The Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard & Horse Rescue (2114 Sound Ave., Baiting Hollow) features rescued horses and on weekends from Memorial Day until mid-November, kids can enjoy pony rides from noon to 5 p.m. Price: Free.

Benner's Farm

Benner's Farm (56 Gnarled Hollow Rd., Setauket), a 15-acre family homestead, features chickens, rabbits, pigs, cows, horses, goats and more. They've been farming organically since the late 1970s in their family garden and fields of strawberries. Price: Farm admission is $6 ($5 ages 14 and younger); extra fees for workshops and other events.

Catapano Diary Farm

The Catapano Dairy Farm (33705 North Rd./Route 48, Peconic) has a cheese-making area where you can watch organic goat's milk cheese being made. Call ahead for a tour which includes an interactive milking demonstration, cheese sampling and a guest bar of pure goat milk soap. Price: $10.

Center for Science Teaching and Learning

At the Center for Science Teaching and Learning (1 Tanglewood Rd., Rockville Centre), you can check out a variety of birds, parrots, alligators, dwarf goats, owls, fish, a live honeybee hive, butterflies and more. Price: $6 for animal exhibit.

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium (1660 Rte. 25A, Cold Spring Harbor) first opened by the state in 1883, became a nonprofit educational facility in 1982. You'll see freshwater fish, frogs, turtles, snakes and salamanders. Price: $6, $4 seniors and ages 3-12, free 3 and younger.

Hallockville Farm

Buy photo

Visit cows, sheep and chickens and then take a tour of the 19 historic houses, barns and outbuildings from the mid-18th century at Hallockville Farm Museum (6038 Sound Ave., Riverhead). Price for guided tours: $7 adults, $5 children and seniors.

Harbes Family Farm and Vineyard

You'll find Shetland paint ponies, Nigerian goats, potbelly pigs, sheep, cows, bunnies and chicks at Harbes Family Farm and Vineyard's (715 Sound Ave., Mattituck) "Barnyard Adventures." Don't forget to visit the "Bee Observatory" to see how honey is made. Price: $12.95, free for children 2 and younger (pony rides are extra).

Sweetbriar Nature Center

Sweetbriar Nature Center (62 Eckernkamp Dr., Smithtown) is best known for its butterfly house, which features 20 to 30 species of butterflies. There's also a rain forest exhibit that includes iguana, a red-tail boa constrictor and parrots. Plus, you can see native animals and birds, glass cases with Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and a Chilean rosehair tarantula, toads, reptiles and more. Price: Butterfly and moth house: $3, $2 seniors and children.

Holtsville Park, Ecological Site and Wildlife Center

The Holtsville Park, Ecological Site and Wildlife Center (3 Buckley Rd., Holtsville) features more than 100 injured or non-releasable wild and farm animals. You'll see goats, llamas, a fox, bald eagles, bobcats, deer, horses, wild mustangs, bears, owls, donkeys and more. Feed machines for the goats are available for 25 cents a handful. Price: Free, donations accepted; $5 parking fee Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve

The Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve (200 New Highway, Commack), open only to Town of Smithtown residents, features 133 acres, dogwood, oak and hickory trees. Reproduction of typical Long Island Indian wigwam, domestic animals, a nature center, playgrounds and more.

Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center

Buy photo

Visit an all-living coral reef, a 120,000-gallon shark tank, sea lions, touch tanks, "ray bay" where you can feed the stingrays, fish, penguins and more at the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center (431 E. Main St., Riverhead). Plus, you don't want to miss the Butterflies & Birds exhibit. Price: $26.50, $20.50 children ages 3 to 12, free children ages 2 and younger.

Long Island Livestock Company

Check out sheep, goats, llamas and other livestock at the Long Island Livestock Company (125 Gerard Rd., Yaphank). You'll also find homemade bath products, shearing, handspun and homespun yarns, and educational programs for children and adults. Price: Free.

White Post Farms

Check out the large petting zoo at White Post Farms (250 Old Country Rd., Melville), which features goats, zebras, kangaroos, cows, pigs, sheep, monkeys and more. There's also a bird aviary, playgrounds, pony rides, train rides and more. Price: $10.75 weekdays, $16 weekends; pony rides ($5) and train rides ($2).

Butterfly Zoo

The Butterfly Zoo at the Main Street Nursery & Florist (475 W. Main St., Huntington) features more than 100 butterflies including black-and-white Zebra Longwings, tiny, pastel-colored Julias and Buckeyes. The small enclosure has at least six species and is designed to show Long Island plants that attract butterflies. Price: Free.

South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center

You'll find several live animals on hand, a marine life touch-tank, butterfly garden and other interactive exhibits at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center (377 Bridgehampton / Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton). Price: $7 adults, $5 ages 3 to 12, free for ages 2 and younger.

South Shore Nature Center

The South Shore Nature Center (130 Bayview Ave., East Islip) includes upland forests, freshwater wetlands and a salt marsh. You'll find a large network of trails and boardwalk, interactive exhibits and collections of both live animals and mounted wildlife specimens and dioramas. Price: Free, weekend programs free to $4 for Seatuck members, $8 non-members.

Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center

You'll find 13 acres of trails plus a terrarium room with snakes, turtles and other reptiles at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center (134 Cove Rd., Oyster Bay). Or walk outside to the aviary and commune to see hawks, owls and falcons. Price: Free.

The Priceless Parrot Preserve (P.O. Box 691, Ridge) takes in both domestic and wild birds, mainly large Macaws and Cockatoos, that were abused, mistreated and unwanted. Donations are welcome.