Online Learning from Plumpton Park Zoo

Animal Learning Center

The Animal Learning Center is our online library of animal education: species profiles, adaptations, habitats, behavior and conservation. It expands the stories told on our zoo signs, so you can read it at home, in the classroom, or on your phone at the exhibit.

Two Ways to Explore

Some Learning Center pages feature animals you can meet at Plumpton Park Zoo. Others explore broader animal science, habitats and conservation. Pages about zoo residents are clearly identified so visitors always know which species are currently part of the zoo experience.

Animals at Plumpton Park Zoo

Meet the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that call Plumpton Park Zoo home. Species pages combine natural-history information with a connection to animals visitors can see at the zoo.

Explore animals at the zoo →

Learn About the Animal World

Go beyond individual species to understand adaptations, behavior, habitats, life cycles and conservation. This growing library will connect real zoo experience with broader animal education.

Explore the Learning Center

Animal Profiles

Species guides covering range, habitat, diet, behavior, adaptations, life cycle and conservation.

Amazing Adaptations

How animals use specialized bodies and behaviors to move, feed, communicate, defend themselves and survive.

Animal Behavior

Communication, social lives, feeding strategies, predator-prey relationships and other behaviors.

Habitats

Forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands and the ecosystems animals depend on.

Conservation

Threats facing wildlife, conservation status, habitat protection and ways people can help.

Kids & Teachers

Educational resources designed to connect classroom learning, zoo visits and curiosity about wildlife. Teacher resources and field trip activities →

Start Exploring

Explore Our Growing Species Library

Start with these species profiles, with more animals and educational topics coming as the Learning Center grows. Green tiles marked ✓ are animals you can meet at Plumpton Park Zoo. Blue tiles marked ✕ are online learning only.

✓ At Plumpton Park ZooRead about them here, then come meet them on your visit.
At the ZooRed-Tailed BoaLearn how constriction works, what boas eat and the adaptations that make them successful predators.Explore the species →At the ZooBinturongMeet the unusual “bearcat” and learn about its Southeast Asian forest habitat, diet, adaptations and conservation.Explore the species →At the ZooRed-Necked WallabyLearn what separates wallabies from kangaroos and how marsupials raise their young, move and survive.Explore the species →At the ZooBlue-and-Gold MacawDiscover how this intelligent South American parrot uses its powerful beak, gripping feet and loud calls to thrive in forest habitats.Explore the species →At the ZooMoluccan CockatooLearn how this expressive Indonesian parrot uses its salmon-colored crest, powerful voice, beak and feet to communicate and survive.Explore the species →At the ZooRed-Footed TortoiseExplore this colorful South American tortoise’s habitats, varied diet, remarkable shell and important role as a seed disperser.Explore the species →At the ZooSulcata TortoiseDiscover how Africa’s largest mainland tortoise uses powerful limbs, deep burrows and water-saving adaptations to survive in the dry Sahel.Explore the species →At the ZooAldabra Giant TortoiseMeet one of the world’s largest tortoises and learn how this long-lived island grazer helps shape its ecosystem.Explore the species →
Not at the ZooLearning Center profiles only. You will not see these animals on a visit.
Not at the ZooPlatypusMeet Australia’s egg-laying mammal, whose bill senses the tiny electric fields of its prey.Explore the species →Not at the ZooGalápagos Giant TortoiseDiscover the island giants whose shells are domed or saddle-shaped, depending on where they live.Explore the species →Not at the ZooCheetahSee how this slim, spotted sprinter is built to chase prey at up to 70 miles an hour.Explore the species →Not at the ZooGiant PandaMeet the bamboo-eating bear of China’s misty mountain forests, with its pseudo-thumb and cubs the size of a stick of butter.Explore the species →Not at the ZooAfrican ElephantDiscover how this savanna giant uses its trunk, tusks and cooling ears, and how wise old females lead the family.Explore the species →Not at the ZooAfrican PenguinMeet Africa’s only native penguin, a warm-weather seabird that “flies” underwater and calls like a donkey.Explore the species →Not at the ZooPolar BearLearn how the great white bear of the Arctic, with black skin under its fur, hunts seals from the sea ice.Explore the species →Not at the ZooPixie FrogExplore size, diet, life cycle and the ability to survive dry conditions through estivation.Explore the species →Not at the ZooSilver FoxDiscover the red fox in a black-and-silver coat, and the Siberian experiment that bred silver foxes to act like dogs.Explore the species →Not at the ZooSun ConureExplore the natural history, communication, diet, habitat and conservation of this colorful South American parrot.Explore the species →

The Full Collection

Every Animal at Plumpton Park Zoo

Every species currently at the zoo. Names that link have a full profile; the rest are animals you can meet here whose profiles are still being written.

Mammals

African Crested Porcupine · Alpaca · American Bison · American Black Bear · Arctic Wolf · Bactrian Camel · Bengal Tiger · Binturong · Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur · Black-Backed Jackal · Brown Lemur · Clouded Leopard · Cougar · Dromedary Camel · European Brown Bear · Fallow Deer · Grant’s Zebra · Horse · Juliana Pig · Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec · Llama · North American Porcupine · Parma Wallaby · Patagonian Cavy · Pot Bellied Pig · Pygmy Goat · Red-Necked Wallaby · Reticulated Giraffe · Ring-tailed Lemur · Scottish Highland Cow · Screaming Hairy Armadillo · Serval · Sheep · Siamang Gibbon · Siberian Tiger · Sicilian Donkey · Three-Banded Armadillo · Two-Toed Sloth · Watusi · White Lions · Zebu

Birds

African Grey Parrot · Barred Owl · Blue and Gold Macaw · Blue-fronted Parrot · Chickens · Harris’s Hawk · Kookaburra · Moluccan Cockatoo · Peafowl · Red Golden Pheasant · Silver Pheasant · Snowy Owl

Reptiles & Amphibians

Aldabra Giant Tortoise · Ball Python · Bearded Dragon · Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise · Corn Snake · Hermann’s Tortoise · Indian Star Tortoise · Leopard Tortoise · Red-Eared Slider · Red-Footed Tortoise · Red-Tailed Boa · Russian Tortoise · Sulcata Tortoise · Three-Toed Box Turtle · Uromastyx · Yellow Anaconda

Also at the Zoo

Koi · Tarantula

Not Currently at the Zoo

These animals are no longer part of the zoo, but their profiles stay here as Learning Center material. You will not meet them on a visit.

African Elephant · African Penguin · Cheetah · Galápagos Giant Tortoise · Giant Panda · Pixie Frog · Platypus · Polar Bear · Silver Fox · Sun Conure

Learning at Plumpton Park Zoo

Plumpton Park Zoo is a nonprofit zoological and educational organization in Rising Sun, Maryland. This online Learning Center is designed to extend the educational experience beyond the exhibit sign—before, during and after a zoo visit.

Explore school and education programs →