Saskatoon Forestry Park and Zoo

With the PFE Ukrainian dance competition behind us, this morning it was time to check out of our hotel and start making our way back home to Regina. It was another crowded morning in the hotel breakfast area! Ugh...

Once we were fed and watered, we packed up our stuff into the car and tried to decide on what to do before hitting the highway. We weren't quite ready to leave Saskatoon and head back home. There were a few options that we considered. Perhaps the Remai Modern Art Gallery? How about the Saskatoon Zoo? Maybe Waneskewin Heritage Park? After some mild debate, we decided to head over to the zoo or more appropriately, the Saskatoon Forestry Park and Zoo.

Although the zoo has been in operation for many decades, I had never visited it. I'm not sure why. I think that I might have had a perception that this facility could not measure up to the zoos in Winnipeg and Calgary and was not worth visiting. Even this morning (I hate to admit), I didn't have high hopes for this facility. I was pleasantly surprised though by how enjoyable it was to visit.

While definitely smaller in scale than the zoos in other cities, this was not a negative this morning. The Saskatoon Zoo is very walk-able and didn't leave us all exhausted by the time we were done looking at the various exhibits. The other great thing is that almost all of the animals were clearly visible. Only a couple of the cats were hiding in the shade while we were visiting. 

Unfortunately, all of the bird exhibits were temporarily closed as a precaution against the bird flu that is spreading throughout Saskatchewan right now. This didn't seem to keep the wild Canada Geese (or what should be called the Canadian "Cobra Chicken") at bay though. Hopefully the bird flu will take out a few of them. I used to love Canada Geese but in large numbers they are just awful creatures. A cull of them throughout the province would be a good thing. All they are really good at is hissing, eating, and shitting all over the place!

The Canadian "Cobra Chicken" will nest almost anywhere.

A Canadian "Cobra Chicken" showing off its rear end - the source of much poo.

Never been this close to a grizzly bear before...

Would love to see this lynx set loose on the cobra chickens.

Cute little arctic fox.

Arctic fox being fed by zookeeper.

Long horn sheep.

Huge bison with a cobra chicken

Three bison. Note the white bison in the background.

The elk herd came for a look.

Elk out for a stroll.

Opening soon: The Prairie Butterfly House. I look forward to this opening in the future.

We had a great time visiting the Saskatoon Forestry Park and Zoo. I wish that I would have discovered this place earlier. Better late than never. Time to head back home to Regina to get ready for the coming week.