Sofia Zoo marmoset, and macaques. The predator sector houses big cats, bears and small predators, including lions, tigers, leopards, pumas and brown bears. In January 2011 the zoo received eight Humboldt penguins on loan from Germany. The penguins are on loan for about 18 months, after which they will be returned, with any offspring to stay at the zoo. The zoo has some 1,400 individual birds representing 192 species. Waterbirds are housed in a lake, and Imperial eagles, Griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures and buzzards in a large walk-through aviary. Other species of birds at the zoo include ostriches, Silver pheasants, peacocks, flamingos,
Beardsley Zoo the zoo, purchased the zoo from the city. The society continues to run the zoo as a private, nonprofit institution with assistance from the state of Connecticut and the city of Bridgeport. In 2007, the zoo became the first in the Northeast to exhibit Chacoan peccaries. In October 2011, it also became the first zoo in the Northeast to breed the species. On July 25, 2009, the zoo, in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), held an Exotic Animal Amnesty Day, where people could turn in their exotic pets to the state without fear of