Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat
Status | Defunct |
---|---|
Opened | July 19, 1972[1] |
Closed | October 31, 1976 |
Owner | Warner Bros. |
Theme | Natural environment and animal conservation |
Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat, which was in
History
The park featured a drive-through safari section, which allowed for wild animals to roam free and approach vehicles as they slowly drove through. Drivers and their passenger(s) could observe peacocks, baboons, camels, elephants, llamas, giraffes, and Siberian tigers in this section, either in their cars or on a Jungle Habitat bus. Many of the animals would climb atop the cars, and/or walk in front of vehicles, bringing them to a halt. Signs were posted along the route to warn visitors to keep their windows closed.
The walk-through section was a small theme park which included a
The park did not have amusement-style rides, although there were plans (which never materialized) to add them in the spring of 1977.
Plans
The park was initially profitable. However, business declined gradually as it failed to attract repeat business without changing its attractions or adding new ones. In 1975, Warner Bros. proposed a $20 million expansion project to the site. The project would include a large wooden
Closure and current status
The park opened as usual during the summer of 1976, with rumors of a big expansion planned for the following summer. The park's last weekend in operation was Halloween weekend. On November 2, township residents narrowly voted against the expansion. Following the vote, Warner Bros. decided to shut the park down and sell the land. After the park closed, newspapers reported that several animal carcasses, including an elephant, had been left there to decay.[citation needed] Competition from Great Adventure, combined with poor management and the park's inability to easily expand, may have contributed to the demise of Jungle Habitat.[citation needed]
For years after it closed, the site's deteriorated buildings remained, and rumors of animals still roaming the property attracted curiosity seekers. Accounts of such explorations were published in Weird NJ magazine, and on its website.[3] None of the animal-based rumors are true; the animals were sold to buyers across the country.[4]
The 800-acre (3.2 km2) Jungle Habitat property, containing 26 miles (42 km) of paved roads, was purchased by the state in 1988 for $1.45 million. The property, adjacent to
There was negotiation between West Milford and New Jersey to lease the 10-acre (40,000 m2) macadam parking lot for recreational use. In recent years,[
Incidents
- On October 9, 1972, an Israeli tourist, Abraham Levy, driving through the safari in a
- In November 1972, two wolves escaped their enclosure and were caught before leaving the property.[7]
- In December 1972, television show host Jack Paar was cut while "roughhousing" with a 6-month-old tiger cub while filming a TV special.[8]
- On July 8, 1974, a woman was bitten by a baby African elephant who had reached out of its enclosure with its trunk and grabbed the woman; she ultimately was awarded $200,000 for her injuries.[9]
- In 1977, several of the park's animals had contracted tuberculosis and were euthanized.[10]
Former attractions
- Safari Car Ride – The main attraction of Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat was a drive through safari.
- Zebra-go Round – A carousel featuring zebras instead of horses.
See also
- List of incidents at Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat
- African Lion Safari
- Warner Bros. Movie World
- Parque Warner Madrid
- Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi
References
- ^ "Back in the Day – July 19, 1972: Jungle Habitat struggled to survive". suburbantrends-nj.newsmemory.com. Suburban Trends. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ "Transylvania 6-500: May 2018 Employee of the Month: Eric Greenfeld". West Milford Jungle Habitat. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Moran, Mark. "Jungle Habitat: Wild, Free and Abandoned". Weird NJ. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Everything you wanted to know". westmilfordjunglehabitat.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ Rumble in the Jungle bike race, sponsored by Town Cycle.
- ^ Laplaca, Bryan. "Back in the Day – Oct. 8, 1997: 'Hal from North Bergen' sued Bloomingdale", Suburban Trends, October 15, 2012. Accessed September 22, 2014. "The man in the picture is Abraham Levy who was in the intensive care unit of Chilton Hospital in Pompton Plains. He was bitten by a lion while visiting Jungle Habitat in West Milford.... Two eyewitnesses to the mauling of Levy on Oct. 9, 1972 blasted the Habitat management for allowing what they called dangerous conditions to exist."
- ^ Hudson, Edward. "Habitat Neighbors Fear Possible Animal Escapes", The New York Times, December 16, 1972. Accessed September 22, 2014.
- ^ Hudson, Edward. "Habitat Neighbors Fear Possible Animal Escapes", The New York Times, December 16, 1972. Accessed September 22, 2014.
- ^ The Region: $200,000 for Woman In Elephant-Bite Suit., The New York Times, p. B4. Accessed August 15, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851–2006). (Document ID: 111348438).
- ^ Hanley, Robert. "Decaying Animal Carcasses Found Unburied at Site of Jungle Habitat", The New York Times, April 6, 1977. Accessed September 22, 2014. "At least two dozen dead animals have been left unburied at the site of the former Jungle Habitat drive through zoo here and state and local officials today began looking into any possible hazards posed by the decaying carcasses."
External links
- Official website
- "West Milford – Many still wrangling over Jungle Habitat site". 2006 article by Sharbari Bose about plans for the former park, online at the New York New Jersey Trail Conference site
- Jungle Habitat. Personal blog post of memories and pictures of Jungle Habitat.
- Historical overview of the park and e-museum. Contains images, all news articles and historical facts from former employees. Maintained by Gwen Marquardt