The Harold H. Malkmes Wildlife Education and Ecology Center is a park, zoo, and ecology site in Holtsville, New York

Holtsville, New York

Holtsville is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 17,006 at the 2000 census....

 and operated by the Town of Brookhaven

Brookhaven, New York

The Town of Brookhaven is one of the ten towns into which Suffolk County, New York, United States, has been divided. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is located in central Suffolk County and is the only town in the county that stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long...

, and located on the site of a former landfill.

Attractions

• Animal Wildlife Center, with free admission, containing over 100 injured or non-releasable wild and farm animals, including mountain lions. One well-known resident is groundhog Holtsville Hal, who emerges each Groundhog Day
  Groundhog Day
  Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end...
  
   to make a weather prediction.
• Greenhouses
• Picnic Area
• Exercise Trail: 1.2 mile paved loop
• Free Compost and Wood Chips
• Town Pool (has admission fee)

History

The site of the Ecology Center was once a general dump owned by New York State, and was acquired by the Town of Brookhaven in 1937 for use as a town dump. In 1968, the State Environmental Facilities Corporation converted the site into a sanitary landfill with seepage lagoons, and closed the facility completely by 1974. By 1971, the park was already under development, and opened in 1979.

The animal preserve has included mountain lions since 1987, when "Kimo" was recovered from an owner who had abused him.

A right of way for the Suffolk Traction Company trolley line also ran through this location.

External links

• Brookhaven.org, Ecology Center website