The Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien (English: Wild Zoo of St-Félicien) is one of the largest zoos in the province of Quebec. Located in Saint-Félicien, the zoo is dedicated to wildlife conservation of the boreal climate and is managed by The Centre for Conservation of Boreal Biodiversity inc.
The Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien is an accredited member of the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA).
History
The original zoo
The zoo was founded in 1960 through the initiative of Ghislain Gagnon and six others who opened it on an abandoned fox farm lent to them by Haldaige Laflamme. The zoo was set up as a traditional zoo that showcased exotic and North American animals.
On January 4, 1961, the Fondation de la Société zoologique de St-Félicien inc (English: St-Félicien Zoological Society Foundation inc.) was registered as a non-profit society. One month later the foundation purchased Île-aux-Bernard and of land from Paul E. Gagnon for $12,000, no interest, and payments of only $500 per year.
By 1968, the zoo owned more than , and was home to 450 animals of 91 species. By this time, the zoo also included a restaurant, a kitchen, and a souvenir shop. Additional land was purchased in 1969, bringing the zoos holdings up to . Ghislain Gagnon began wondering if there was a better way to keep animals other than in cages, which resulted in the zoo being completely rethought.
Nature Park Trails
The zoo opened its Nature Park Trails on September 10, 1972. The "new zoo" covered about and included a screened-in "train" with about of roadway, from which visitors could observe animals that are native to Quebec, freeing the animals to larger enclosures and putting the visitors in the cages. An additional of land was purchased in 1974, and work began on expanding the Nature Park Trails. The expansion of the Nature Park Trails officially opened in 1978, with a new lake (Lac Montagnais) having been dug and Mount Keewatinook erected. There were now of roadway in the Nature Park Trails, as well as reproductions of historic sites including the Colonist Farm, the Lumberjack Camp, the Trading Post, the Indian Campground, the Grand Trestle, and the Western Ranch.
The St-Félicien Zoological Society Foundation
In the early 1980s, the zoo was financially strong and received over 300,000 visitors to its park. It became obvious through visitor comments that the demand for more educational focus at the zoo was growing, and the zoo came up with a Zoo of the Year 2000 plan, and the St-Félicien Zoological Society Foundation (French: Fondation de la Société zoologique de St-Félicien) was created in 1981 to help implement such a transformation. In 1985, work began to create habitats adapted to each animals way of life and to remove the animals from their cages. In order to house carnivores such as their big cats, three large paddocks were built. In addition, the chimpanzee habitat was constructed so the animals were contained only by a fence surrounding the water basin, in order to keep people out. The zoo also constructed new homes for giraffes, elephants, and hippopotamuses with walls and ditches replacing cages to separate visitors from the large animals.
In 1986, a work conflict caused a zoo lockout for three months and threatened to close the zoo. A re-launching committee was formed by Benoit Laprise, the mayor of St-Félicien, and in early 1987 was able to raise $1,300,000 to save the zoo from closure. The committee received help from numerous employees, citizens, municipalities, corporations, and governments. That same year, the zoo made organizational changes both at the employee and administrative levels, and the St-Félicien Zoological Society Foundation created their new mission statement with a focus on education, research, natural, and cultural patrimony, which was part of the Zoo of the Year 2000 plan. In the next two years, the zoo won many regional awards and changed its name to the Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien in 1989, to reflect its new focus.