CHITTENANGO, N.Y. (NCC News) – Saturday, Apr. 17 marked the opening day of the Wild Animal Park. The zoo opened at 9:30 a.m. and immediately had lines at the entrance, despite the overcast weather.
The park always shuts down in the winter months, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close earlier than usual. The park had to come up with other ways bring in customers, so it opened up a drive-through safari .
“The drive- through safari is where you can take your own car and can drive through three pastures. It’s a little over a mile long. You can see a couple dozen different species that we do not have over at the main zoo,” zookeeper Margaret Kinsella said.
Kinsella takes care of the animals by helping with feeding, cleaning, training and enrichment. She said that even though visitors are coming back to the park in person, the drive through was so successful that it will be opening again in a few weeks.
There is also a number of new exhibits featured at the park.
“We have our black bear exhibit that is finally finished with four black bears. We have a baby giraffe expected this summer which we are super excited about. This is the first season we are going to get to show off our pygmy hippo and penguins. They are just finishing those exhibits,” Kinsella said.
Opening day brought in visitors of all ages. 21-year-old Tommy McMullen said he had never seen a lion in person before and was especially impressed by the monkey exhibits.
“I am right in front of the spider monkeys and currently they are swinging around acting crazy, and it’s really cool. I don’t really go to zoos often, so this is a really cool experience,” McMullen said.
The Wild Animal Park allows visitors to purchase food and feed certain animals like goats, camels and even giraffes. There is also an interactive bird exhibit.
Currently, animal shows are not being held due to safety concerns and limitations due to COVID-19. The park requires masks and encourages social distancing at its exhibits.
