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Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat

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Coordinates:41°07′48″N74°20′27″W/ 41.129911°N 74.340947°W/41.129911; -74.340947
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Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat
LocationWest Milford,New Jersey,United States
Coordinates41°07′48″N74°20′27″W/ 41.129911°N 74.340947°W/41.129911; -74.340947
StatusDefunct
OpenedJuly 19, 1972;51 years ago(1972-07-19)[1]
ClosedOctober 31, 1976;47 years ago(1976-10-31)
OwnerWarner Bros.
ThemeNatural environmentandanimal conservation

Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat,which was inWest Milford,inPassaic County,New Jersey,United States, was aWarner Bros.-ownedtheme parkthat opened in the summer of 1972, and closed in October 1976. By November 1972, the park had 500,000 paid visitors. The park contained over 1,500 animals; it consisted of a drive-through section and a walk-through section. The drive-through section was an animal safari park and the walk-through area was called Jungle Junction.

History[edit]

The park featured a drive-throughsafarisection, which allowed for wild animals to roam free and approach vehicles as they slowly drove through. Drivers and their passenger(s) could observepeacocks,baboons,camels,elephants,llamas,giraffes,andSiberian tigersin 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 apetting zoo,camelandelephantrides, snack bars, gift shop, areptile house,adolphin show,and "Bugs Bunnyand Friends "live shows with Warner Bros.'Looney Tunescharacters, including Bugs Bunny,Daffy Duck,Porky Pig,Yosemite Sam,Tweety Bird,Sylvester the Cat,Speedy Gonzales,Wile E. Coyote,theRoad RunnerandMerlin the Magic Mouse.Guests could have their photographs taken with the characters. The shows occurred three times a day on weekdays, and four on weekends.[2]A small tram station here was calledJungle Junction.
The park did not have amusement-style rides, although there were plans (which never materialized) to add them in the spring of 1977.

Plans[edit]

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 woodenroller coaster,a steel junior coaster, acarousel,log flume,plus adult spinning rides, and a few "kiddie" rides. The township's residents were divided on whether or not to approve such a project. The potential for further traffic congestion was a major issue.[citation needed]

Closure and current status[edit]

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 wasHalloweenweekend. 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 inWeird NJmagazine, 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 toNorvin Green State ForestandGreenwood Lake Airport,is part ofLong Pond Ironworks State Parkand is administered byRingwood State Park.In 2007, under the direction of Ringwood State Park, the Ramapo Valley Cycling Club (a chapter of the Jersey Off Road Bicycle AssociationJORBA) performed a cleanup of the park, with 70 volunteers contributing. Brush was cleared and trash was removed. More recently, under the management of Ringwood State Park, JORBA built single-track trails designed for bicycle, equestrian, and foot traffic. There were 11 to 12 miles of single-track trails by 2008.[needs update]

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,[when?]the property was used to host West Milford'sFourth of Julycelebrations (known as "Thunder in the Highlands" ) under a special-use permit. A local bicycle shop sponsors "Rumble in the Jungle", an annual mountain bike race.[5]The area has become popular with dog walkers, mountain bikers, trail runners, equestrians, andAmerican black bears.

Incidents[edit]

  • On October 9, 1972, an Israeli tourist, Abraham Levy, driving through the safari in ataxi,was attacked by alion.[6]
  • In November 1972, twowolvesescaped their enclosure and were caught before leaving the property.[7]
  • In December 1972, television show hostJack Paarwas cut while "roughhousing" with a 6-month-oldtigercub while filming a TV special.[8]
  • On July 8, 1974, a woman was bitten by a babyAfrican elephantwho 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 contractedtuberculosisand were euthanized.[10]

Former attractions[edit]

  • 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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Back in the Day – July 19, 1972: Jungle Habitat struggled to survive".suburbantrends-nj.newsmemory.Suburban Trends.RetrievedOctober 18,2018.
  2. ^"Transylvania 6-500: May 2018 Employee of the Month: Eric Greenfeld".West Milford Jungle Habitat.RetrievedApril 17,2019.
  3. ^Moran, Mark."Jungle Habitat: Wild, Free and Abandoned".Weird NJ.Retrieved30 January2018.
  4. ^"Everything you wanted to know".westmilfordjunglehabitat.Retrieved9 September2016.
  5. ^Rumble in the Junglebike race, sponsored byTown Cycle.
  6. ^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 inPompton 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. "
  7. ^Hudson, Edward."Habitat Neighbors Fear Possible Animal Escapes",The New York Times,December 16, 1972. Accessed September 22, 2014.
  8. ^Hudson, Edward."Habitat Neighbors Fear Possible Animal Escapes",The New York Times,December 16, 1972. Accessed September 22, 2014.
  9. ^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).
  10. ^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[edit]

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