Southwick's Zoo EARTH's animal ambassadors which include macaws, a bush baby, porcupine, turtles, snakes, bearded dragons, and other reptiles. These animals are used in EARTH's education programs including live presentations at the zoo, ZooMobiles, and Wild Adventure Programs for younger students. Southwick's Zoo has four big cat exhibits; lions, bengal tigers african leopard, and the recently added cheetahs. Southwick's Zoo opened their larger, updated giraffe exhibit in 2011. In 2010, the zoo also began offering giraffe encounters on weekends. The zoo has the largest primate collection in New England. Species of primates found at Southwick's Zoo include chimpanzees, white-handed gibbons, siamangs, mandrills,
Zoo less regulated, roadside zoos are often subject to accusations of neglect and cruelty. In June 2014 the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Iowa-based roadside Cricket Hollow Zoo for violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to provide proper care for its animals. Since filing the lawsuit, ALDF has obtained records from investigations conducted by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services; these records show that the zoo is also violating the Animal Welfare Act. A petting zoo, also called petting farms or children's zoos, features a combination of domestic animals and wild species that are