Space Farms Zoo

Space Farms Zoo and Museum is just 55 minutes from the Hudson Valley, or alternatively 1 hr 15 minutes from Manhattan. This bizarro zoo in western NJ was started and is still owned by a multigenerational farming family whose last name is SPACE. Pure perfection. Space Zoo. I mean, what do you picture? Is it a strip mall entrance across the street from an award-winning taxidermy shop, dimly lit but with a fluorescent wood-paneled pizza joint attached? Because THAT is what you walk through to get to the 400-acre outdoor wildlife refuge and museum complex out back.

I will preface this with some existential, soul-crunching conflict of wildlife in captivity. I think we all feel it at times, and maybe, just maybe, it collectively manifested mid-series when we were all binging ‘Tiger King’ in lockdown; entertaining at first, followed by the sense that maybe these animals are not all that happy. Part of me felt sad for the lion that peed on me. I felt his discomfort. He bellowed a throaty roar for a solid minute before he slowly, but precisely, backed up to the gate and focused his pee on me. I was not his enemy. I loved him dearly, but it was wasted on my inability to hide my voyeurism at his expense. I was not a threat, but then again, I paid admission, so maybe I was.

The story of how the Space family inadvertently stumbled into such a wildlife collection does make one feel better about the origins of how the zoo started. Ralph Space was a farmer who was hired by the state to trap predators such as foxes, bobcats, and raccoons from preying on local farm goats, sheep, and chickens. He decided to keep the animals alive through winter when their pelts would be more valuable, so he built enclosures on his land for them. His kids, though, cried and begged to keep the animals alive (Wilbur…..Willlburrrrr….), and thus Space Farms Zoo was born.

After showing our e-tickets at the main desk near the gift shop, we purchased food to feed the animals. As the signs specified, “Animal crackers for the bears and monkeys, corn for anything with a hoof.” The first stop was the Kodiak bear, who was the CUTEST snuggly thing ever as he napped on his side. The fence was pretty high (I think- what do I know?), so we yeeted our best yeet of cookie after cookie, only to land on his back or way behind him. He halfheartedly lifted his head, looked around, and went back to sleep. We decided to save the rest of the crackers for another, more hungry recipient. So we spent the afternoon looping around the enormous grounds, watching jaguars and cougars pounce, tigers feed on a pile of raw meat and bones, monkeys being silly, and Japanese deer cautiously watching us walk by. Then there were the pigs, goats, exotic chickens, peacocks, another set of Kodaiks who actually sat up and seemed to perform circus tricks for the animal crackers we fed them, and of course my boyfriend, the peeing lion.

As we circled back towards the main entrance, the trail led us upon the museum exhibit buildings and extensive collection of STUFF amassed by the Space family over the years. Legend has it that many collectibles were payment to the Space family over time for services performed or pawned to them in lieu of cash. I mean, how else do you explain antique circus trolleys, taxidermized albino squirrels, stuffed snakes, and an extensive collection of walking sticks? Then there’s the entire building of Model T cars, vintage Harley Davidsons so old they look like bicycles, and the dark room built like a cave, which houses nefarious rocks that glow in the dark. Why? I don’t really know.

Finally, the last stop was the General Store. A sort of pioneer-esque recreation that Nellie Oleson would swipe penny candy from. Only you can’t really buy anything or touch anything. I just took pictures.