With this weekend’s cooler weather, I was reminded that it had been my intention to create a post about my Labour Day weekend visit to the Bowmanville Zoo. The zoo normally opens in late April and closes after Thanksgiving weekend. You can check their website at www.bowmanvillezoo.com for their schedule and location.

Friday of that long weekend had dawned a bright, sunny day which was just what Debi and I had hoped for with our plan to take her grand-daughter, Emily, to the Bowmanville Zoo. They had been there on a few occasions but to a “just turned” four-year old each visit is an adventure! For me, after hearing so many wonderful reports about this well-known little zoo but never having made the short trip there from Newcastle, I was looking forward to it as well. It’s difficult to tell that it is about 45 acres in size  when passing by it on Highway #2 at the east end of Bowmanville.

This almost 100 year-old zoo is apparently the oldest private zoo in h America and is perfect for young children as it easy to see inside the cages, there are numerous animals that they can pet, and for a fee, they can go on a camel ride! There is also an indoor show where some of the animals and their trainers show off their skills. Many of the animals, past and present, appear in movies and T.V. shows.

Little Emily enjoyed seeing the animals but was also very interested in the little playground where it was difficult to convince her that we wanted to spend more time seeing and photographing the birds and animals. I’ve attached some of the photos that I took on our very special day at the Bowmanville Zoo!

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