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| Granby Zoo |
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| Written by Carey |
| Monday, 25 July 2011 23:06 |
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The Zoo was taken over in 1953 by the Granby Zoological Society from the mayor of Granby Pierre-Horace Boivin, who had originally opened it in 1944. It is now a major tourist attraction in the province of Quebec. I took my two young nieces to the zoo a couple of weeks ago before the heat wave that is presently enveloping the city. It was a warm day, not too hot, and they enjoyed themselves immensely. Granby Zoo is about an hour’s drive from downtown Montreal along Autoroute 10. Once there we enter the huge expanse of the zoo; it has plenty of grounds to explore. To begin with we decided that we would hit the water parks first. As I said there are four of them that sit on 12 acres of land and feature real palm trees to sit under, lounge chairs to lie on and grassy picnic areas to eat on. The four parks include Yalaka (a wave pool - the largest in Quebec), Cunucunoma (an inner tube river), Booshike (a water games basin), and Hurakan (a pool overseen by the Central American god of winds, storm and fire). At Hurakan bathers will see smoke come out of his mouth, his red eyes turn yellow and the two serpents beside him spitting fire. This lets the swimmers know that a storm is approaching Be wary as Hurakan does not like humans coming close to him. Of course all this is a result of a wave pool, audio tracks and some great scenery. If that might be a little too realistic for the young ones with you then just head over to Yalaka, the wave pool. It is a large pool that warns swimmers of the start of another series of waves with a Tarzan-like yell. The pool is the largest of its type in Quebec, so there is plenty of space for everyone. Again if you are with young ones who don’t like the waves you can head over to the adjoining wading pool to splash about in its calm waters. In one of the South American dialects Booshike means “children playing in water”. The Booshike pool allows for just that sort of thing with its giant water pistols, giant toboggan water slides and a giant water pail that pours its cooling contents on you. Finally, the Cunucunoma River was inspired by the Amazon River. It is almost 1,400 feet in which you can ride rented yellow inner tubes down. There are some nice waterfalls along the way. After lunch we went to the amusement park to sample some of the rides. The good thing is that most of the rides are geared towards kids (of a minimum height) and are free. They can go on kiddie bumper cars (there are ones for older kids as well), a carousel, small helicopters, small motorcycles, a tent with lots of inflatable games, and a little train that takes you around the exterior of the amusement park. You can also buy tickets for a roller coaster or play one of the games.
The final section of the zoo is called The Village. It is recommended to be the starting point of your day. It is comprised of the Cave, The Discovery Hut, The Market, and The Petting Zoo. The Market is where you can buy food to fuel you during the day and other supplies like sunscreen that you might need. The Discovery Hut is geared to allow visitors to use their five senses and science to educate themselves about the animals and areas they come from. Visitors in this area are encouraged to touch. Here you can learn about conservation of the planet, the diversity and splendour of nature and what kind of problems are happening right now ecologically on the planet. Inside The Petting Zoo everyone can get some hands on time with animals like chickens, cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, and pigs. Plus there is an area (for a small fee) where young people can take a pony ride. Lastly is The Cave where you can learn much about the underground world. As your eyes get used to the dark you get to use your hands to explore. It is an area filled with animals like snakes, bats, newts, and fish. Besides the things I have described there are other special programs at the zoo like Day Camp, Birthday at the Zoo and even a special program that allows you to spend the night at the zoo with the animals. Cool, eh! There are plenty of things to do at Granby Zoo. This is definitely a full day and more type outing. Pack your bathing suit, sunscreen, a picnic lunch, a comfortable pair of walking shoes, and the entire family into the car for a day everyone will remember. Additional Information: |
Granby Zoo is an attraction that almost everyone has visited in their lifetime, but I learned recently that with the updates that have been made it is a place that warrants return visits. I had not been there for many years and it has changed plenty since the last time I was there. It is not only about animals, but there are four different water parks, a train that brings you around the whole zoo and a small amusement park. It is an all-encompassing experience that can be enjoyed by thrill seekers, animals lovers and water babies. Three experiences for the price of one.
Finally we, of course, walked around and visited the animals. In the zoo there are over 1,000 animals from around 200 different species. The park is divided into different sections or continents. There is Asia, Afrika, South America, and Oceania. In the Afrika section you can see elephants, zebras, rhinos, gorillas, snakes, hippos, giraffes, pink flamingos, gazelles, and ostriches. Once you enter Asia there the animals include tigers, leopards and parrots. The exotic animals on display in South America are jaguars, anacondas, ocelots, alligators, monkeys, herons, piranhas, and bears. Finally, in Oceania you can lay your eyes on kangaroos, wallabies and emus. A new pavilion within this area is the South Pacific Odyssey where visitors can observe jellyfish, sharks, corals, and you can even feed stingrays.