A phoned-in bomb threat emptied Cape May County Park & Zoo just after 4 p.m. on Monday, triggering a full evacuation and a lockdown as officers and bomb-sniffing K-9 teams swept the zoo and surrounding parkland in Middle Township. Zoo officials secured the facility's animals while staff and visitors were moved out, and investigators did not declare the park clear until that evening.
The threatening call came in to 911 shortly after 4 p.m. on October 5, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Because the zoo was nearing its regular 4:30 p.m. closing time, many visitors were already on their way out when the threat was called in, a detail reported by WPG Talk Radio. Park staff directed the remaining patrons toward the exit gates while the animals were secured, per the same outlet's account of the response.
Four specialized bomb-detection K-9 teams were deployed to search the zoo and the surrounding parkland, according to Daily Voice. The facility was not declared clear until Monday evening, and a secondary safety sweep was scheduled for Tuesday morning before the zoo reopened to the public, the outlet reported.
Officials Stress Caution Over Speed
Cape May County Commissioner Director Leonard C. Desiderio said, “the safety of our visitors, our staff, and the animals in our care is always the first priority,” according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Desiderio also said the grounds had been searched and deemed all clear. County officials reiterated that every bomb threat call is treated as real until it has been fully cleared, the station reported.
Primary jurisdiction over the investigation is shared by the Cape May County Sheriff's Office and the Middle Township Police Department, since the zoo sits in the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, according to the Ocean City Sentinel. Both departments are leading the ongoing investigation into the origin of the 911 call, and anyone with information has been asked to contact either agency, NBC10 Philadelphia reported.
A Beloved Free Attraction Under Strain
Cape May County Park & Zoo spans 85 acres of exhibit space inside a larger 200-acre county park, housing more than 550 animals representing 250 species, including a 57-acre African Savanna exhibit, a walk-through aviary, and a reptile house, according to ThrillZing. Funded publicly through Cape May County government with support from the Cape May County Zoological Society, the zoo offers free year-round admission and parking, drawing roughly 620,000 visitors a year, per ThrillZing's reporting. It is also one of only ten zoological parks nationwide to hold dual accreditation from both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Zoological Association of America.
The scare lands just weeks before the zoo's annual “Boo at the Zoo” Halloween event, scheduled for Saturday, October 24, which typically draws thousands of families from across South Jersey for costume contests and free seasonal activities, according to TomsRiver.org.
Part of a Nationwide Pattern
Cape May's scare is not an isolated case. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has recorded roughly 40 false bomb and active-shooter threats against zoos and aquariums nationwide since spring 2026, hitting facilities in Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Colorado, Georgia, Arizona, Washington, and Texas, per the Ocean City Sentinel. Law enforcement agencies in those states have confirmed no real explosives were ever found.
Other zoos have also faced evacuation threats, including Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo and the Akron Zoo.
