WHO REMEMBERS THE ZOO
Editors Note: One of my childhood memories is going to Forest Park and seeing the monkeys and other animals in our city zoo. I have been looking for information about this zoo but have had very little success. The following article was only information I could find about the zoo. If anyone out there remembers the zoo I would like to hear from you. Jot down some of your memories concerning the zoo or just memories of coming to Forest Park. THANKS!
["Ottawa Herald," November 30, 1965, page 3, column 1]
Cold days have arrived and everyone seems to be scurrying inside and digging out their warmest wrap- everyone, that is, but Ottawa's zoo inhabitants who have a way of ignoring the weather, above or below freezing.
"They're all native animals and used to the cold," J. B. Reeves, park superintendent, said.
The furry animals did indeed seem used to the cold today. they dozed and basked in the brisk air as if were a balmy spring day.
Except for the monkeys, the animals are provided with a small pen and a hutch inside the pen, lined with straw. Water troughs and food are kept outside.
Since the animals are used to the cold, Reeves said, the cold doesn't bother them at all. The thick coats keep them warm enough.
The monkey's quarters are differently arranged than the other cages. The monkeys are kept in a larger cage, complete with high benches and a swinging trapeze.
Adjacent to the airy cage is a small brick enclosure which is heated during the cold months, also containing raised benches for the agile animals and bits of straw.
"We leave it open year 'round," Reeves said, "so they can go in and out."
The monkeys are free to enter the building through a small door adjoining the cage. their food and water is kept in the heated building only if there is a chance the water might freeze outside.
When the zoo first received the monkeys, Reeves said, officials were told to protect them from the cold since they were not used to it. But the monkeys seem to love it, he continued. Once they get used to it, it doesn't seem to bother them.
The monkeys, Reeves said, like to play in the snow just like children. Actually, the monkeys seem healthier than when they first arrived, he said.
The zoo has a total of 14 animals, almost all native to the local area except the monkeys. The colection includes five monkeys, two raccoons, two red foxes, two coyotes, a badger, a gray fox, and a gray squirrel.
Years ago, Reeves said, the zoo even had some bears.
The animals range in age from seven months to 15 years. The youngest inhabitant is a small monkey born at the zoo seven months ago.
The patriarch of the zoo residents is a 15-year-old raccoon. The other raccoon is only a few years old.
"We get along pretty well," Reeves said. "they're used to me and I can go into their cages and they'll know me.
"sometimes they'll get mean when they're old," he continued, "but as long as they don't attack we'll keep them."
The zoo, owned and operated by the city, used to maintain cages across the road from the present site. The site was moved about five years ago.
A new building for the animals may be in the planning, Reeves said, but funds for a really good zoo are badly needed.
"This zoo is not equipped for many animals," Reeves said, "and there's no place at all for birds which we've had offered to this zoo.
"We've had offer of other animals but there's no place to keep them," Reeves explained, "and we can't take them when there's no place to put them."
The only new animals that have been added to the zoo's numbers recently are those that have been born there.
Those that have made offers to the zoo are usually Reeve's friends who have or may find a baby animal.
Recently, a zoo in the area had a baboon they wanted to give to another zoo. If the space had been available here, Ottawa probably could have acquired the animal, he said.