What began as a rainy day heading to the Saskatoon Zoo turned out to be an almost perfect visit. It was raining as I arrived, misty as I made my way through the gate and sunny by the time I hit the paths. The weather was mild and the animals were active, and maybe that’s why I was finally able to see the Pallas’s Cat staring at me from a high platform instead of curled up in its hammock. I was so excited! They aren’t much bigger than a domestic cat but definitely way more fur.
July is a great time to see the all the butterflies in the Prairie Butterfly House. There are all different sizes and colours. Some of them look fake because they aren’t moving, but they are real.
The Butterfly House is near the Lion’s Pavilion, as in the Lion’s Club, not a home for actual lions. It’s the center of the party for the annual ZOOGALA, which was June 11th this year, and sold out once again. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation! If you have never been, think about coming next year. Your ticket to this licensed event includes food samplings from many Saskatoon restaurants, entertainment, a silent auction, and a tour of the zoo on the Kinsmen Express Train, or you can meander through on you own to check out all the animals that live in the zoo. I hear the lemurs like to move it, move it, move it! At least that’s what King Julien says. As the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation says on social media, ZOOGALA, “was paws-itively unforgettable .”
I mentioned earlier that it had rained just before I entered the Zoo grounds on my last visit. That’s why the black tailed prairie dogs in the picture below are all wet. I love that all five are looking in different directions. It kind of looks like an album cover, if these prairie dogs were a band.
There was some sad news though, that you may have already heard. A resident of the Saskatoon Zoo, Kazi the snow leopard, had to be euthanized. A news release from the City of Saskatoon says, “Kazi had been closely monitored by the Zoo’s animal care and veterinary teams as his health declined due to advanced age. After careful and ongoing assessment of his condition and quality of life, the difficult decision was made to euthanize him.” He was part of the Snow Leopard Species Survival Program before he moved to the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo for his retirement. I extend condolences to the Zoo staff and to everyone who visited him. There are two commemorative signs outside Kazi’s former habitat if you would like to leave a message for him. The last picture I have of him (below) is from this past winter.
The Saskatoon Zoo is about protecting species at risk through cooperative breeding programs, helping with conservation research and with public education. Having people come to the Zoo helps to support the animals. Another way to support the capital projects and improvements, like a larger home for the bears who are sorely in need of a new space, is to give to the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation. Click here to donate. Donate – Saskatoon Zoo Foundation
Your Saskatoon Zoo Foundation blogger,
Carol Thomson
