The Bronx Zoo Is Launching a Dinosaur Safari With Life-Sized Animatronics

© iStock.com/somethingway The Bronx Zoo Is Launching a Dinosaur
Safari With Life-Sized Animatronics

By Michele Debczak, Mental Floss

The Bronx Zoo is home to some incredible wildlife, including tigers, giraffes, and gorillas. This summer, the New York City institution is opening an attraction featuring recreations of animals that have long been extinct.

As Time Out New York reports, the Bronx Zoo's Dinosaur Safari will let guests get up-close-and-personal with life-sized dinosaur animatronics. Forty realistic dinosaurs have been installed in the zoo, with featured species including the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, a plant-eating Omeisaurus, and the massive Spinosaurus. Carl Mehling, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, worked with the Bronx Zoo to make the look, movements, and sounds of the dinosaur models as close to scientifically accurate as possible.

During the safari, guests will ride through a 2-acre wooded section of the zoo, with a field guide educating them on the real evolutionary adaptations of dinosaurs and where they can be seen in the animal kingdom today. At the end of the tour, families can explore an ADA-accessible fossil dig area and enjoy other special dinosaur-themed activities around the zoo.

The Dinosaur Safari opens at the Bronx Zoo on April 19 and is included with a Total Experience ticket. Much like real-life dinosaurs, this attraction won't be around forever: It closes on November 3, 2019.