Forest Park Zoo Executive Director Sarah Tsitso, along with Natasha, a Russian tortoise, sits down with So That Reminds Me hosts Dennis Hackett and Lauren LeBel to discuss Forest Park Zoo’s 2025 season.
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
SPRINGFIELD — As the warmer weather approaches, the Zoo in Forest Park and Education Center officially opened for the season at the end of March.
From now until Mother’s Day, the zoo will only be open on weekends but starting Mother’s Day Weekend, the zoo will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last entry is at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $13 for adults and $7 for kids. There are also discounts for senior citizens and military members.
Memberships are also available for the season.
To highlight the zoo and other upcoming events, Forest Park Zoo Executive Director Sarah Tsitso, sat down with hosts Dennis Hackett and Lauren LeBel on the April 25 episode of Reminder Publishing’s podcast, “So That Reminds Me.”
“We’re ready for the new season. Our animals are happy and healthy and loving the sunshine finally. It was a slow start to the spring and they’re all there,” she stated.
For the podcast, Tsitso also brought in a Russian tortoise named Natasha for the hosts and office to meet.
Natasha is one of approximately 225 animals that guests can see when visiting the zoo which Tsitso said, “is usually more than people think we have. We have a wide cross section. Like I said, we have a lot of native species and native animals that are fine with our temperature. They don’t mind the New England seasons.”
Different animals the zoo has include different species of birds, cats, reptiles, mammals, monkeys and bugs.
Last year, the Zoo in Forest Park got two bisons that Tsitso explained was “educational for our guests so that we could talk about overhunting and how many of these species were brought to the brink of extinction for various reasons.”
Since starting as executive director nine years ago, Tsitso said, “It’s evolved about 10 times over since it started.”
Over the last decade, the zoo has moved away from “that traditional zoo model,” according to Tsitso.
“Many people who remember the Forest Park Zoo from back in the day remember the monkey house and they remember the polar bear and they remember the elephant and for many those were wonderful memories, for us it’s just not who we are anymore,” Tsitso said.
Instead of focusing on those exotic animals, Forest Park Zoo is completely focused on bringing in animals that require a home because they have something going on that prevents them from surviving on their own in the wild.
“We really are focused on more native wildlife that you might see in your backyard, but they’re all with us for a very special reason,” Tsitso said.
The Forest Park Zoo works with a network of rehabilitators and other facilities across the country to include at their zoo. Their two bald eagles, Jack and Eva, came from the Alaska Raptor Center.
Tsitso also discussed a symbolically adopt an animal program where animal lovers can pay to adopt an animal of their liking and receive updates and fun facts about that animal.
Besides the opportunity to enjoy the zoo and see the animals, Tsitso highlighted some events that they will host including a Wine Safari on Saturday, May 31 and Brew at The Zoo on Saturday, Aug. 2.
The Wine Safari will feature wine tastings from all over the world and will pair them at an exhibit with an animal that is also from that part of the world.
Tsitso explained, “Zookeepers are there to talk about that animal and then we have someone there to talk about the wine. That’s always a really fun event where we’re able to get people knowledgeable about our animals while drinking some wine in the process.”
The Brew at the Zoo will be a similar format where local breweries and homebrewers donate their time and beer for people to enjoy.
Tsitso explained that one of their goals is to make sure anybody who wants to visit the zoo can have the ability to do so.
There are approximately 52 local libraries in Massachusetts and Connecticut that have library passes so they can go to their local library and check out the day passes, according to Tsitso.
She said, “That’s an option for folks who maybe don’t want to spend the money. We want to make it affordable. We are in the city, and we want to be accessible. We don’t want to price anybody out. We’re trying to really get out there in a way that people can come see our animals.”
For more information about the zoo, discover different programs and attend events, check out the full episode at thereminder.com/our-podcast or search So That Reminds Me on your favorite podcasting platform.
Readers can also check out The Zoo in Forest Park and Education Center website at forestparkzoo.org.
