Well it seems the endless winter is nearing an end and it’s time to get ready for another season.

We have a few special treats in store for this year!

We have some baby ruffled lemurs! Kim, who has started the last several babies on the bottle, has raised some adorable little sweethearts she calls Big Mac and Small fry. Ruffled lemurs, are the big black and white fellas who make so much noise at the lemurs pen. Visit our Facebook page for a sneak peek of them!

There are also 2 yearling Bactrian Camels. These are the 2 humped camels. With Diego our Dromedary in the same area the kids will enjoy the differences. Will that be 1 hump or 2?

We’re also expecting a yearling zebra this spring. He doesn’t even have a name yet. Do you think your kiddies could come up with one? I guess we could always hold a contest?

There is also the old new stuff. Lots of baby lambs, goats, and mountain goats! There was even a new baby cow born!

Now down to business…

COVID 19 regulations have been eased a lot, but it is still wise to follow the old protocols:
– Keep 2 metres apart from other folks.
– Respect people’s personal space.
– Bring sanitizer and use it often.
– Bring disinfectant wipes to use on picnic tables if you are planning to use them.

Remember the good things that we learned from the pandemic:
– Bring a blanket and here a good old fashioned picnic!
– Toss the popcorn at the animals, rather than feeding from your hands, thus reducing the number of bitten fingers the kids get. The decline in biting was amazing and a lot fewer kids went home with tears.
– Also, remember that horses, donkeys, and pigs have both upper and lower teeth, which make a biting accident much easier.

With the decline in COVID 19 restrictions birthday parties and group booking are back.
So you can make arrangements and take advantage of our great rates of 8$ pp including a free small animal feed for the kids.

Pony rides will begin as soon a the grounds are dry enough. They will be running on holidays and weekends until school is out and daily until Labour Day. Please be patient and recognize that we are limited in both space and ponies and there will be days with long lines. Both the ponies and your staff are doing their best too accommodate you. We, will be cross training zoo staff so the rides won’t have to shut down for lunch most days.

Monkey Mike will be serving his fabulous fare from a brand new food trailer this year.
I have heard about some of the new offerings planned for this year. I’m afraid the zoo staff will be spending the off season on diets! He will be starting his service on Mother’s Day weekend or the weekend after.

Please remember to put all litter in the trash bins.
Picking other people’s garbage is not a pleasant job for our staff. Especially PPE and diapers. ( yes people really do toss their dirty diapers on the ground for other people to pick up.)

We are trying to increase our staff and train them better to help you with your experience.

One last thing to remember …. buy your season passes and get the most out of a good, long season.

Here’s hoping that we all have a great season!

Alan

Good news everyone!!

We will be open starting this Friday, June 11 , from 10-5pm daily, weather permitting.

We ask that you please wear a mask through the entrance line up, maintain social distance with others and carry personal hand sanitizers.

If you plan to picnic, bring your own wipes to sanitize your tables, and please dispose of all garbage and PPE into garbage cans located throughout the zoo.
The zoo runs at under 20% capacity when the lot is full and is busiest at 10 am-11:30.

We encourage you to purchase day passes and season passes including popcorn in advance here to reduce line-ups. You may also purchase your tickets at the zoo.

Another COVID-19 year and another year of having two openings. We opened Good Friday, for one day, when the plug was pulled. I don’t know about you, but we’re suffering COVID-19 burnout! Now we’re getting ready for the second opening, whenever that will be. The important thing is that all of the animals are well, and waiting for you to be allowed back.

We’ve made a few changes for this year.

The number one being that you are able to purchase both seasonal and day passes online. This means that should you but your pass online, you won’t have to line up and fill out forms, pay, etc. We encourage you to take advantage of the new system.

We have a couple of new species this year! A trio of Dromedary Camels and a pair of beautiful Manchurian Cranes!

The baby makers have been busy. Goats , lambs, mountain goats, A ton of kangaroo Joeys and of course the lemurs. We have one little lemur on the bottle. He was his mother’s first and she didn’t bond with him.

In danger of losing him we sent him to Ava, Tia, Kim and Joe’s, dedicated folk who just work so hard to make sure each little lemur thrives.

Frodo, is a cute little guy who is just at the point where he’s learning to leap and maintain some sort of balance while doing so!

I can’t deny the pleasure I get from being a prop for the little fella. This is how we find joy everyday in our little zoo. I can’t wait for you to meet him.

We hand raised a few sheep this year. Frick and Frack, are weaned now, but will make you feel very welcome.

Theodore is still on the bottle and seems more like a dog than a lamb.

We planted 35 large young trees last autumn.

They have all made it through the winter and look forward to offering you shade this summer.

It’s not just the animals that make the zoo so nice. We’ll have had a lot of time on our hands waiting to open. We try not to waste too much of it. Pen, fencing and shelter improvements have been progressing well.

Monkey Mike’s will be open for the season with some great new menu items! Find out what fabulous taste likes. There are even veggie options.

I’ve saved all of the sad, COVID related things for the end. Be well, be safe and see you soon!

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

If you aren’t feeling well, please stay home.

Keep your group socially distanced 2 metres from others.

Bring your own sanitizer and wipes in case you use the toilets, tables, etc. that have been touched by others.

We still provide hand sanitizer at the entrances.

Due to potential transfer of COVID-19 , the health department asks that you don’t feed the animals from your hand and to toss popcorn to them.

The lemurs are not to be fed at all. We worry about COVID-19 moving from species to species.

We have no chick petting pen, again, this year.

There are no groups or birthday parties allowed at the zoo again. If the government changes policy we’ll let you know.

Welcome to our second opening of 2020.

There are some very important rules that must be understood.

If you are feeling ill or are having any COVID-19 symptoms, have been
out of the country in the last 2 weeks, or have been ordered to self isolate due to probable exposure to the virus, STAY HOME.

Keep a social distance of at least 2m.,or 6 feet from other families.

Respect people’s boundaries; its a scary time for all of us.

Changes to the zoo for this season.

1. Bring your own hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

2. Nothing is to be dropped on the ground. Place all used waste in the
   trash containers. Contamination of waste is a very real hazard!
3. Popcorn is being sold in paper bags this year to avoid the potential
   for cross contamination through reusable buckets. Everyone is welcome to bring their own bucket from home.
4. The chick petting area has been removed for the season to avoid
   congested areas.
5. The corn dispensing machines have been removed for the season.
6. The lemurs are not to be touched or fed for now. We know that the
   virus has crossed to dogs and cats, we don’t want to take a chance with the lemurs.
7. We have installed an extra entrance to avoid congestion. New pass holders and day passes to the left. Pass renewals and current pass holders to the right.
8. Be kind and be patient. It is going to take us a while to get used to
   the new protocols.
9. Use this seasons pass link on the website to fill out your passes and
   avoid necessary contact. You will require a printer.
10. Try to use tap for payment if possible.

We are quite excited to be opening up, again. and seeing you all again. We haven’t been resting on our laurels these last 3 months, lots of work
was done. Changing things to make them safer was our priority. Some of them are great, like the 2nd entrance and an exit only area. The painting of the buildings and shelters has the place looking pretty darn good!

We had to make some tough decisions too, like removing the chicks for
the season and ending feeding the lemurs , for now.

Some Baby Updates!!!

We’re hoping to have not 1 , but 3 baby camels for the upcoming season – they should be arriving in about 2 weeks!

We have a bottle raised kangaroo, Ruby, that had been tossed from her
mother’s pouch, and mothered by a young human. She is just getting furry now and will be expected in the zoo in early July.

We also have a baby lemur coming back. One of our new mothers delivered
a baby and didn’t know what to do with her. Human intervention saved disaster and now a lovely little girl will grace our season!

We have the usual other babies. Lambs, goats and a cow were all born at
the end of March.

This years lambs are the prettiest ever!

I look forward to having you all back as we begin this very different
season together.

Alan

PS I would like to especially thank the folks who showed amazing
kindness, offering everything from money to fresh vegetables.

Your kindness is humbling. We have the best of the best!