Turtle Back Zoo

Turtle Back Zoo is a zoo in West Orange, New Jersey as part of the South Mountain Recreation Complex. Situated on 20 acres (8.1 ha) in the South Mountain Reservation, it is part of the Essex County Park System, the oldest county park system in the United States. Founded in 1963, the zoo was originally a showcase for animals indigenous to New Jersey, but currently features species from every continent except Antarctica. As of 2012, it houses approximately 700 animals, including several hundred birds in a free-flight aviary. Located adjacent to the Richard J. Codey Arena, former practice home of the New Jersey Devils, the zoo is open year-round.

The Turtle Back Zoo has been an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 2006.

History

Turtle Back Zoo, which took its name from a nearby rock formation, opened in 1963 with a collection of 140 animals representing 40 species. It was originally opened seasonally and had a Hans Christian Andersen "storybook theme," with such exhibits as "a giant piggy bank, the ABC house, [and] the pirates’ ship". By 1973 the zoo was home to 850 animals representing 275 species.

Psathyrotes

Psathyrotes is a genus of North American plants in the sneezeweed tribe within the sunflower family. It contains annual and perennial forbs and low subshrubs native to dry areas of southwestern North America. Common names include turtleback, brittlestem, and fanleaf.

The plants are low, densely branching, hairy, and scaly, with a turpentine-like odor. Leaves are alternate and hairy. The Latin name of the genus (from the Greek psathurotes) refers to the brittleness of the stems.