Chicken Greetings
There is something delightful about being greeted by animals. I have noticed that kids who come to visit are often excited to see our large dog at the door. It was the same way when we went to visit the Folsom Zoo / Sanctuary. The kids were fascinated with the flock of chickens who ran up to greet us. These chickens, quite beautiful in plumage, roam freely outside of the zoo’s entrance. Likewise within the zoo are gorgeous peacock who strut around making sure to be seen, but not too closely.
There are those who are not so impressed with the size of this zoo. You will not see elephants, giraffes, nor animals who are native to rain forests on some other continent. But my kids are too young to understand the concept of lands far away, except when they apply to Aladdin of Agrabah or other fairy tales. The fact that the zoo’s residents are mostly limited to local creatures was fine by me. Besides, there were still plenty of local “exotic” animals that we had the opportunity to see: black bears, mountain lions, foxes and wolves, to name a few.
Each of these animals are not able to be returned to the wild. Many were captured by someone having the intention of raising a wild pet. After failure of that plan, the animals became either too sick or too socialized to be successful in their own habitat. Some animals had been rescued after an injury and, even after rehabilitation, can no longer survive in the wilderness. So the residents here each have a name and story of their circumstances that are posted on their enclosure. This, to me, was a far different experience than that of any other zoo. Here was an opportunity to help the kids understand that respecting animals doesn’t mean bringing them into the home for some snack. (That’s a whole other blog altogether!) I’m sure this wasn’t the point my kids will remember from our visit. Hard to compete with friendly chickens. But the next time a cup full of rolly pollies come into our house, I can remind them of the stories of the wild animals at the Folsom zoo.
For more detailed information about this trip, visit the site description in mini-trips.
I have issues with zoos, but this sanctuary sounds like it has the best interests at heart for the animals. I can support that. Had they been left out in the wild with injuries, they would have ended up someone’s dinner anyway.
If I tried to explain this to my 3YO, though, she would probably respond with “when can we feed the goats?”
Some day when she’s older.