Jungle Habitat, which was in West Milford, in New Jersey, was a Warner Bros.-owned theme park that opened in the summer of 1966, and closed in October 1976. By November 1972, the park had 500,000 paid visitors. The park contained over 1,500 animals. It had 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.
There were a few incidents at Jungle Habitat. Abraham Levy, driving through the safari in a taxi was attacked by a lion on October 19, 1972, bringing negative publicity to the park.
In 1974, a woman was bitten by a baby elephant who had reached out of its enclosure with its trunk and grabbed the woman; she ultimately was awarded $200,000 for her injuries.
The park was plagued by problems, including reports of dangerous animals escaping into the nearby residential areas. Several of the park's animals had contracted tuberculosis and were euthanized. The increase in summertime and weekend traffic on West Milford's roads created problems for local residents as well.
There are many "urban legends" to be found about Jungle Habitat. For us though, it's a great part of NJ history, awesome hiking trails (bring the dogs) and a fun place to explore and imagine with the kids.
