Great video. I remember as a kid, going on opening day! It was insane, sat in traffic for hours. Most of the animals where not visible. However, it was part of history. So watching this was really nice to see. It was a big deal for West Milford at the time, from what I remember. Nice to go back and reminisce. Thanks for sharing this! :-)
it was what is was in that time, very beautiful. but it is horrible now, to know that Warner brothers just left it just like that. and left all those animals. shame on them..
@UnlikelyMermaid In case you're still wondering a year later, the second song is called It Might as Well Be Spring from State Fair by Rogers & Hammerstein. The third one is Deep Purple. I don't know what the first one is. :)
Very cool! I remember taking the trip there from Englewood. Those Ostriches ate the rubber foam moulding off my father's Cadillac Sedan De Ville. Boy was he pissed! LOL
I remember going there, sometime in the early seventies during the gas shortage and my mom almost ran out of gas during the safari ride. Then it was so hot out and crowded we started to overheat. Our van did not have air conditioning and you can only crack the windows. Thanks for the memory!
Yikes, look at that car speeding at the end! Ah, I remember going there with a group of kids in the early 70's.Cant remember a damn thing, except I bought a stupid plastic camel.
Wow.............. I stumbled on it through "videos" tab in Google Maps looking up my old address in Bloomingdale.....It's been a long time! What a great memory!
....I was only there once, but it was memorable for sure!!
@UnlikelyMermaid The song is So In Love: "Strange Dear, but true, dear, when I'm holding you, dear, the stars fill the sky... so in you with you am I..." Cole Porter wrote for Kiss Me Kate.. listen. grooves hark .co m/#/search/song?q=so%20in%20love
I was just in it today, all I could find was the giant parking lot although my friends and I are goin back to see if we cant find all the crazy things people said that they have found
@beHaR i think I was there around 7 or 8. did you see my silver car or my friends black car cause there was a car parked infront of me? Did u see anything cool cause all we found were the parking lots before it got dark.
@1527384625 i was there at between 7 and 8 in the morning, and yes there is much stuff back there you just have to wander the trails. and there are many trails its really cool
I grew up in West Milford and went to Jungle Habitat many times as a kid. I loved it! It was great to see this rare footage. In those days, few cars had air conditioning and I remember being pretty miserable with the windows all rolled up, but it was a lot of fun seeing all those animals. They were not left there to die after the park closed. And as far as animal sightings go, only a few birds and possibly a baboon or two may have escaped over the years, but that was all.
One of the South African Crowned Cranes from 1:43 in the video came to stay at my house in Bloomingburg, NY for a little over a week in the Fall of '76. Though the Park denied having lost any animals, the proof took up residence on the roof of our barn and became my most vivid childhood memory.
Thank you for posting this. Sadly, you didn't capture any crap-flinging monkey action! : )
anybody who visited the remains of Jungle Habitat before they really started taking it apart? I guess the 90s or before? I'm curious to hear stories or see pictures of what remained there at that time.
This is such a cool vid. Thx for posting this. I only know the Jungle Habitat through Weird NJ and from accidentally stumbling across it's entrace once while driving around looking for weird places to go to. It's so surreal to see it from my orignal perspective of an abandoned Jurassic Park looking entrance to seeing what it was like in it's heyday. Very cool.
Greenwood Lake Airport is right next to it. Maybe I can rent one of the Pipers from Robbinsville Airport and fly you there! Hah, that'd be interesting to see from the air!
i remember when they released some of the animals there was timber wolves traveling new jersey they had pro hunters to take down some of the animals that were roaming west milford
Its been shut down forever but everything is still there apparently. I was staying in the area and whent down clinton road which was in the area and heard that the Jungle habitat was close by, when i looked up where it was wikipedia says they did clean up in 2007 there.
Thanks for posting! I was just there mountain biking today ... saw the otter slide, ticket booth, and a few other remnants ... didn't see any wild mutant animals but the place still has a creepy feel to it lol
This place is really old. they closed in in 1976 i believe because a man in a taxi car was killed by the lion and a lady was injuryed by a baby elephant. Its pretty sad because after it was closed they left all the animals there to live on their own - so people believe ghost is there. plus there is a road there were supposely those people who eats people lives there. like u drive a road and if u see a fallen tree go back quickly as possibly or else they will cut another tree and you die.
I went there once and some stupid ass got out of his car, raised the hood, and got pecked on the ass by a huge ostrich!Funnnyyy! Same day, monkeys got on another familys's car roof. They were all laughing,until...they saw the pieces of vinyl top flying into the air around them! HA HA!
Hey, I still have the original cassette tape they used to give you if you didn't have a car radio. It walks you through the park with sounds and commentary. Does anyone want a copy?
Today the place is overgrown with grass and weeds, but you can still make out some of the deteriorating structures. The underground walkway tunnels are still there. Why did they leave the structures standing there for over 30 years. The enterance way sign was taken a few years ago.
i wish i had my digital camcorder back then. 8mm film hardly yielded "broadcast quality". my bolex P1 was a nice camera though. the music is only random filler. Jungle Habitat was a cool place too!
i live down the road from it, i have been back there plenty of times and have done alot of research on it, the animals were not left to die, the only animals that got out was a couple of peacocks.
I remember going there as a kid when the park first opened. Very unique experience getting to drive among the animals. Some of the bigger animals would lie right down in the road and the animal handlers would come by in their jeeps and try to encourage them to move off. I remember the monkeys you see at the 6:00 mark sitting on the rocks. They hated to be stared at. If you looked at them directly them would come down off the rocks and freak out on your car.
No, animals were not left there to die, that is an urban legend. Yes, some of the animals died while the park was open, but that happens often at zoos. When the park shut down, the company (which happened to be Warner Brothers) either transferred the animals or sold them to another zoo. There might be a few parrots flying around that they could not catch, but there are no ostriches or lions wandering around the woods in northern New Jersey!
Great Video, but very sad about all those animals that were just left there to die... People said for years that they still saw some of the animals walkng around...
I found an old newspaper clipping about Jungle Habitat complete with a photo of lions climbing all over a car.
Craigers22763 3 months ago
Comment removed
Craigers22763 3 months ago
Great video. I remember as a kid, going on opening day! It was insane, sat in traffic for hours. Most of the animals where not visible. However, it was part of history. So watching this was really nice to see. It was a big deal for West Milford at the time, from what I remember. Nice to go back and reminisce. Thanks for sharing this! :-)
swimjockey 4 months ago
Clinton road brought me here lol
inxyTrolls 4 months ago
it was what is was in that time, very beautiful. but it is horrible now, to know that Warner brothers just left it just like that. and left all those animals. shame on them..
kpimm1918 4 months ago
@UnlikelyMermaid In case you're still wondering a year later, the second song is called It Might as Well Be Spring from State Fair by Rogers & Hammerstein. The third one is Deep Purple. I don't know what the first one is. :)
Emmycutie96 5 months ago
5:40 like a good neighbor statefarm is there wonder if anyone knows what i mean. :P
Robomonkey101 5 months ago
Very cool! I remember taking the trip there from Englewood. Those Ostriches ate the rubber foam moulding off my father's Cadillac Sedan De Ville. Boy was he pissed! LOL
AudiophileTubes 7 months ago
que lindo ver este video, me hizo acordar mi juventud.
mijito7 7 months ago
I remember going there, sometime in the early seventies during the gas shortage and my mom almost ran out of gas during the safari ride. Then it was so hot out and crowded we started to overheat. Our van did not have air conditioning and you can only crack the windows. Thanks for the memory!
WickitRocker 8 months ago
Yikes, look at that car speeding at the end! Ah, I remember going there with a group of kids in the early 70's.Cant remember a damn thing, except I bought a stupid plastic camel.
Tempe1962 9 months ago
I finally found it! What is to Lion King, Tarzan, Jungle Book, etc. as DC is to Marvel as Matrix is to Tron as 300 is to Prince of Persia.
SirGabriel2076 10 months ago
Ty so much for posting this!!
Wow.............. I stumbled on it through "videos" tab in Google Maps looking up my old address in Bloomingdale.....It's been a long time! What a great memory!
....I was only there once, but it was memorable for sure!!
SserenitynowW 11 months ago
@UnlikelyMermaid The song is So In Love: "Strange Dear, but true, dear, when I'm holding you, dear, the stars fill the sky... so in you with you am I..." Cole Porter wrote for Kiss Me Kate.. listen. grooves hark .co m/#/search/song?q=so%20in%20love
dotphotovideo 1 year ago
That speeding station wagon almost lost it.
damselnlace44 1 year ago
I was just in it today, all I could find was the giant parking lot although my friends and I are goin back to see if we cant find all the crazy things people said that they have found
1527384625 1 year ago
@1527384625 i was there today too, what time where you there?
beHaR 1 year ago
@beHaR i think I was there around 7 or 8. did you see my silver car or my friends black car cause there was a car parked infront of me? Did u see anything cool cause all we found were the parking lots before it got dark.
1527384625 1 year ago
@1527384625 i was there at between 7 and 8 in the morning, and yes there is much stuff back there you just have to wander the trails. and there are many trails its really cool
beHaR 1 year ago
we grew up in WM - my mom bought the season pass , every afternoon in the summer we were driving through
why did close ? I blame bob riley
STREETRACERONFUEL 1 year ago
hi UnlikelyMermaid ,
i don't know the names of the music playing in the background. it was just random music edited and used to accompany the video.
regards,
joesavana
Joesavana 1 year ago
Wow I can't believe the was in West Milford
sqwashsilver 1 year ago
lol the lions were the ticket takers no tickets needed just throw them some food and you get in else you are the ticket
ld0ne 1 year ago
I grew up in West Milford and went to Jungle Habitat many times as a kid. I loved it! It was great to see this rare footage. In those days, few cars had air conditioning and I remember being pretty miserable with the windows all rolled up, but it was a lot of fun seeing all those animals. They were not left there to die after the park closed. And as far as animal sightings go, only a few birds and possibly a baboon or two may have escaped over the years, but that was all.
pastorjackw 2 years ago
One of the South African Crowned Cranes from 1:43 in the video came to stay at my house in Bloomingburg, NY for a little over a week in the Fall of '76. Though the Park denied having lost any animals, the proof took up residence on the roof of our barn and became my most vivid childhood memory.
Thank you for posting this. Sadly, you didn't capture any crap-flinging monkey action! : )
tcwest 2 years ago
What memories! I was only 6 or 7 at the time(1976).
Zickcermacity 2 years ago
zoos in nj or ny in this era were particularly horrific examples of animal enclosures. great video.
thicktoes 2 years ago
anybody who visited the remains of Jungle Habitat before they really started taking it apart? I guess the 90s or before? I'm curious to hear stories or see pictures of what remained there at that time.
fiendwithoutaface66 2 years ago
This is such a cool vid. Thx for posting this. I only know the Jungle Habitat through Weird NJ and from accidentally stumbling across it's entrace once while driving around looking for weird places to go to. It's so surreal to see it from my orignal perspective of an abandoned Jurassic Park looking entrance to seeing what it was like in it's heyday. Very cool.
xraycat30 2 years ago
xraycat30,
glad you liked the video.
Jungle Habitat was a cool place. i went there in my old 65 chevy. i especially liked the ostrages when they came right up to the window!
regards,
Joe S
Joesavana 2 years ago
Greenwood Lake Airport is right next to it. Maybe I can rent one of the Pipers from Robbinsville Airport and fly you there! Hah, that'd be interesting to see from the air!
TonyAirlines 2 years ago
i remember when they released some of the animals there was timber wolves traveling new jersey they had pro hunters to take down some of the animals that were roaming west milford
deerhunter11590 3 years ago
Its been shut down forever but everything is still there apparently. I was staying in the area and whent down clinton road which was in the area and heard that the Jungle habitat was close by, when i looked up where it was wikipedia says they did clean up in 2007 there.
adam2207 3 years ago
It would be really cool to pinpoint where these scenes were filmed!
dgwaters 3 years ago
i remember where alot of them are filmed from when i snuck in there back in 2004.
Makoshark 2 years ago
This place mirrors Warner Bros. "Six Flags: Wild Safari" in Jackson.
ClayPeopleBroadcast 3 years ago
They were competitors, they say it was shut down because of the publicity six flags got
adam2207 3 years ago
Thanks for posting! I was just there mountain biking today ... saw the otter slide, ticket booth, and a few other remnants ... didn't see any wild mutant animals but the place still has a creepy feel to it lol
billtei 3 years ago
This place is really old. they closed in in 1976 i believe because a man in a taxi car was killed by the lion and a lady was injuryed by a baby elephant. Its pretty sad because after it was closed they left all the animals there to live on their own - so people believe ghost is there. plus there is a road there were supposely those people who eats people lives there. like u drive a road and if u see a fallen tree go back quickly as possibly or else they will cut another tree and you die.
CPchocokiko 3 years ago
The West Milford Museum now has a collection of Video and several photographs
mosca2001a 3 years ago
wow...i remember going there when i was like 6...im 39 now...i lived in hewitt from birth (1969) till 2002...kinda wish i had never moved
zoidburg111 3 years ago
wow this was in west milford! lions coming up to the cars , insane!
robaralis 3 years ago
i still have a placemat from this place. does anyone remember getting the white polystyrene pith helmets from the gift shop? great memories.
i like the music. could you please tell me the titles of the tracks you chose.
peedee67 3 years ago
I went there in 1972!
mbeth3000 3 years ago
I went there once and some stupid ass got out of his car, raised the hood, and got pecked on the ass by a huge ostrich!Funnnyyy! Same day, monkeys got on another familys's car roof. They were all laughing,until...they saw the pieces of vinyl top flying into the air around them! HA HA!
Hey, I still have the original cassette tape they used to give you if you didn't have a car radio. It walks you through the park with sounds and commentary. Does anyone want a copy?
Paul
TallPaulBiker101 3 years ago
Me too! Is it possible to get this? I could send you some $. Message me please!
aquinomelissa 2 years ago
this is a dream video for me. i visit this place all the time hoping to bump into some type of animal and find cool stuff. this is great ,great post
nationhodge 3 years ago
i'm glad you enjoyed it. after the recent tragedy where someone was hurt by an animal, i doubt if there is anyplace like this today.
i especially like the ostraches.
joe s
Joesavana 3 years ago
@Joesavana places like this do still exist, but i don't agree with them.
ChristineCreature 1 year ago
Today the place is overgrown with grass and weeds, but you can still make out some of the deteriorating structures. The underground walkway tunnels are still there. Why did they leave the structures standing there for over 30 years. The enterance way sign was taken a few years ago.
akear 3 years ago
hi.
glad you like the footage.
i wish i had my digital camcorder back then. 8mm film hardly yielded "broadcast quality". my bolex P1 was a nice camera though. the music is only random filler. Jungle Habitat was a cool place too!
Joesavana
Joesavana 4 years ago
Excellent camera work! The music is cool too!
dgwaters 4 years ago
Excellent camera work! The music is cool too!
dgwaters 4 years ago
i live down the road from it, i have been back there plenty of times and have done alot of research on it, the animals were not left to die, the only animals that got out was a couple of peacocks.
evillordzorn 4 years ago
thats bs, there were sighings of monkeys after that. there is photo evidence from a hunter i know who was being harrased after they shut down
Makoshark 2 years ago
I remember going there as a kid when the park first opened. Very unique experience getting to drive among the animals. Some of the bigger animals would lie right down in the road and the animal handlers would come by in their jeeps and try to encourage them to move off. I remember the monkeys you see at the 6:00 mark sitting on the rocks. They hated to be stared at. If you looked at them directly them would come down off the rocks and freak out on your car.
tlgpad886 2 years ago
Great posting, and very nicely shot for 8mm film.
No, animals were not left there to die, that is an urban legend. Yes, some of the animals died while the park was open, but that happens often at zoos. When the park shut down, the company (which happened to be Warner Brothers) either transferred the animals or sold them to another zoo. There might be a few parrots flying around that they could not catch, but there are no ostriches or lions wandering around the woods in northern New Jersey!
reluctantpopstar 4 years ago
I have A BOOK CALLED WEIRD NJ
It said that some animals escape!
and some people got hurt, too
eltonxxmaniac 4 years ago
I remember going here when I was a kid
renfest 4 years ago
LMAO! The cars! what a riot! Thank you for putting this in UT!
clicketysplit 4 years ago
Great Video, but very sad about all those animals that were just left there to die... People said for years that they still saw some of the animals walkng around...
donna0928 4 years ago
Thank you for sharing that ... great video!!
ElaHeyn 4 years ago