Wildwood Wildlife Park

Angel on My Shoulder on January 20, 2012 at Camp Manito-wish YMCA in Boulder Junction, WI

2012-02-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed an evening with young people experiencing cancer through loved ones.

Angel on My Shoulder opens its arms with compassion and kindness to these remarkable campers who join us for Camp Angel. Lolly Rose Founder/Executive Director called and invited us to come to camp to present with Wildwood Wildlife Educational Animals. We were very delighted to be asked.

Representing the staff at Wildwood Wildlife Park were Zookeepers Jen/Brooke/Beth and Zoo Directors Judy/Duane.

We've posted photographs of our time with the campers on Flickr, which you can access here.

Angel On My Shoulder is blessed to be able to provide these campers the opportunity to meet others experiencing cancer through loved ones in a well-supervised atmosphere of love and understanding and lift them up in a positive way.

We want to Thank Lolly Rose and the entire camp staff for allowing us to share a memorable and joyous evening with the campers.

Thank You From Wildwood Residents and Staff!

2011-11-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

While our residents may be spending the winter slumbering away, we hope you will continue to follow us on our blog, Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to sharing stories and photographs with you over the next few months! But until then our residents say ...

Zoo Boo - The Movie

2011-10-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

The premier of Zoo Boo The Movie. Spooktacular!

Sleeping Goldfish

2011-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

As we move deeper into Autumn our residents are making their own preparations for the arrival of winter. We'll follow up with a blog post on the difference between sleeping and hibernation in the coming weeks but thought we'd leave you with an interesting bit of trivia.

The Sleeping Goldfish

Did you know you've probably owned a hibernating animal at one point in your life? The Domesticated goldfish that live in outdoor ponds hibernate to get through the winter.

They float at the bottom of the pond below the winter ice in a state of reduced metabolic activity. The greatest danger to the goldfish is the accumulation of ammonia in the water from their own waste and decaying plant matter.

5th Annual Zoo Boo, October 15, 2011

2011-09-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Budgie Parakeet Encounter Will Be Closing For Season September 5th

2011-08-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Our Budgie Parakeet Encounter has quickly become one of the favorite attractions of our guests. Thank you to everyone who has come to the zoo and enjoyed the Budgie Parakeet Encounter; one of the many opportunities guests have to get up close and personal with the animals.

The Budgie Parakeet Encounter will close for the season on September 5th but you still have a few days to come out to the zoo and enjoy all the animals.

September 6th will begin our daily Fall Park Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

See you soon!

Striped Hyena Baby Grows Up

2011-08-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Can you feel the summer waning? Here in the northwoods of Wisconsin we have noticed a change in the air as well as few of the trees beginning to change.

One of the most telling reminders of how fast our summer has gone is to look at how big all of the zoo babies have gotten over the past few months.

It wasn't that long ago that we were introducing Kya, the Striped Hyena when she was just a baby. Here is a photo of Kya that was taken recently.

To Our Followers and Friends: Please Accept and Enjoy With Our Appreciation

2011-08-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it! ~ George Elliston

On of the things that we never get tired of hearing is how much fun our guests have had at the zoo. Providing you, our guests, with experiences and encounters with our animal residents that will last a lifetime with every visit is important to us. Adding social media to our educational repertoire has allowed us to expand your zoo experience beyond the borders of the park.

Now it's our turn to say thank you to our loyal fans and friends for following us on our blog, Facebook and on Twitter.

We hope you will enjoy the collection of coupons being offered only to our social media followers. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you soon - at the zoo!

Click on the image below; when the new window opens, select print and redeem before the expiration date as noted on each coupon. You MUST print out the coupons for redemption.

Canadian Lynx Kits Are Growing Up

2011-08-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

On June 16th, we introduced several new additions to the zoo, including two Canadian Lynx kittens.

Fast forward a few months and we thought an update was in order.

Helping Our Animal Friends Beat the Heat

2011-07-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite "ism's" is the one that says: be careful what you wish for. Somewhere around January 18th when the thermometer was coming perilously close to twenty below, I'll bet I wasn't the only Wisconsinite who was wishing for the heat of summer. Extreme temperatures such as the heat wave we are currently experiencing offer the challenge of keeping our animal residents safe during oppressive heat wave. Like zoos around the world, Wildwood is using a variety of methods to help beat the heat.

The Zookeepers at Wildwood Wildlife Park have been preparing cold treats to help the animals cool down in the hot weather. They offer the perfect cool treat that also provides an enrichment activity.

To help prevent heat illness the animals are given daily treats: the otters are given frozen fish lollies while the lemurs and coatimundi are given ice lollies made from frozen fruit and juice. Other animals such as the capybara, otters, beavers, and tigers keep cool by swimming in their pools, streams offer other animals a chance to splash in the water. The water helps cool them off and the animals can be seen going in and out of the water quite a few times throughout the day.

All the animals have shady spots around their enclosures including shade cloth tops. The zoo incorporates fans, spray misters and sprinklers to help the animals keep cool in extreme weather conditions as well as providing a shady place to rest.

Many of the zoo animals are enjoying the heat wave including the lemurs who can be seen sitting up on their hind legs, with their arms splayed out. Our giant tortoise has been hanging out in the paddock, soaking up the sun and munching on the grass but the Zoo Keepers still have taken measures to keep them comfortable and keep a close watch on all the animals.

July Events At The Zoo

2011-07-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the events the staff at Wildwood has scheduled for the month of July. Hope to see you soon at Wildwood Wildlife Park!

Face Painting - Sponsored by Hallman Lindsay Quality Paints. All proceeds go for the Animal Enrichment Funds at Wildwood Wildlife Park.

Character Days - meet and greet Kip the Kangaroo Character and Buddy the Bear Character.

July is National Hot Dog Month Celebration - Hot Dog Specials all month long at the Hungry Bear Hut.

Celebating Amur Leopard Day supporting Amur Leopard Conservation.

July celebration for National Zookeepers with Special Zoo Chats held throughout the park.

Wildwood's Newest Resident: Kya, a Female Striped Hyena

2011-07-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

Wildwood Wildlife Park welcomes Kya, an adorable Striped Hyena.

Did you know that hyena's do not belong to the Canid (dog) or felid (cat) families? Instead, they are so unique that they have a family all their own: Hyaenidae family.

These magnificent animals are sometimes called the scourge of the Serengeti but they play an important role as the "clean-up crew."

Striped hyena's are native to North and East Africa, the Middle East and Middle, Central and Southern Asia.

Striped Hyena's have broad heads with dark eyes, thick muzzles and large pointed ears. The most striking feature on the hyena are their legs: the front legs are much longer than their hind legs. This gives them their distinctive walk. Hyenas are agile and can run, trot, and walk with ease.

Hyena's can hear sounds that human ears cannot, and they can listen for sounds from other predators miles away. Hyena's have a built-in communication system: an anal glad to mark its territory. Each hyena leaves its own unique scent.

Hyena's are solitary animals and are primary nocturnal; they typically only make themselves visible in complete darkness, and are quick to return to their lair before sunrise.

Terris Treehouse Sends Thank You After a Wild Summer Day at the Zoo

2011-06-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

We love hearing from our guests! Thank you to everyone from Terris Treehouse who signed their name to the following note; we look forward to seeing you next year:

We have really enjoyed our time spent at the zoo. Everything was beautiful, clean and informational. Some of the highlights were the peacocks, Birdhouse and the most popular, the Petting Zoo! We have so many memories and learned some great hands-on aspects. We will see you next year.

Enjoy your "Wild Summer."

(signed) Terris Treehouse

Thank You From Prentice Summer School

2011-06-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Duane & Judy,

It is amazing that every year I bring my summer school class there are new things to see at your zoo. My students have never gone home disappointed, and neither have I.

You do an incredible job at Wildwood Wildlife, and your love and care for the animals shows.

It is especially inspiring to see you share and teach that to all who visit.

Thank you for another wonderful experience!

Mary Dunbar

Prentice School

Dwarf Bunnies

2011-06-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

A couple photographs of our adorable Dwarf Bunnies.

What's New at the Zoo!

2011-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Everyone at the park is understandably over the moon about our new arrivals. We hope you'll plan a trip to Minocqua to visit. See you soon!

A recent photo of our black leopard Teeah. You can see how big she has gotten since she was first introduced a few short weeks ago. Teeah is very inquisitive and loves to explore her surroundings.

The goats are one of our park's more popular residents. Here is a photo of a mother goat with her babies. Children of all ages love to get up close and personal with the goats.

Aren't they adorable? These two Canadian Lynx kittens are just too cute for words. The Canada Lynx is found in northern forests across almost all of Canada and Alaska. It is a threatened species in the contiguous United States. The adult Canada Lynx has a dense fur that is silvery brown but in summer becomes a reddish brown color. It has a short tail with a black tip and has long furry tufts on its ears. Its long legs with broad furred feet help the lynx to travel through the deep snow.

These beautiful birds are Ring-Necked Doves, otherwise known as Cape Turtle Dove that can be found living in the Savannah's, farmlands and woodlands of southern and eastern Africa. Their name comes from a black patch of feathers on the back of their necks. The rest of their feathers are a beautiful pale brownish-grey, with darker colors on their backs. They also have white tips on the end of their tail feathers. Doves usually lay two eggs which incubate in about 15-days. The males sit on the eggs during the day, and the female at night. Ring-Necked Doves rest in the treetops during the night; they feed mainly on seeds but they will also eat insects.

Thank You Schools and Groups for Visiting the Zoo!

2011-06-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

"Nature is man's teacher. She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye

illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the

sights and sounds of her existence." ~Alfred Billings Street

Education is a large part of the Wildwood Wildlife Park mission and taking part in the school/organization field trips is something our staff always looks forward to. We would like to take this opportunity to thank many of the schools and other groups who have visited the park to learn more about the animals that we share our planet with:

Antigo, WI
North Elementary
Spring Valley Elementary School

Athens, WI
Athens Elementary School
Trinity Elementary School

Bessemer, MI
Bluff Valley School
Washington School

Birnamwood, WI
Birnamwood Elementary School

Bruce, WI
Bruce High School

Crandon, WI
Crandon Elementary School

Elton, WI
Evergreen Christian Academy

Ewen, MI
Ewen Trout Creek School

Glidden, WI
Glidden Elementary School

Girl Scout Troop 7061 Northwestern Great Lakes

Hurley, WI
Hurley Elementary School
MOPS Ministries Range Community Bible Church

Iron Mountain, WI
Pine Martin Christian School

Ironwood, MI
Sleight Elementary School

Laona, WI
Laona Elementary School

Lac du Flambeau, WI
Lac du Flambeau 4-year old Kindergarten
Lac du Flambeau Elementary School

Ladysmith, WI
Ladysmith School

Land O' Lakes, WI
Land O' Lakes Elementary School

Madison, WI
UW-Madison Field Camp

Manitowish Waters, WI
Camp Jorn
North Lakeland Elementary School

Marathon, WI
St. Mary's School

Mercer, WI
Mercer Elementary School

Merrill, WI
Jefferson Elementary School
Kate Goodrich Elementary School
Prairie River Middle School

Minocqua, WI
MHLT Elementary School
MHLT 4-year old Kindergarten
Trinity Preschool

Park Falls, WI
Chequamegon Elementary School
Park Falls Elementary School

Phelps, WI
Phelps Elementary School
Phelps School

Phillips, WI
Aspirus Assistant Living
Phillips Elementary School

Rhinelander, WI
Crescent Elementary School
James Williams Middle School
Kinship of the North
Pelican Elementary School
YMCA Rhinelander

Rib Lake, WI
Rib Lake Elementary School

St. Germain, WI
St. Germain Elementary School

Stetsonville, WI
Stetsonville Elementary School

Three Lakes, WI
Three Lakes School

Tomahawk, WI
Tomahawk Elementary School

Tony, WI
Flambeau Elementary School

Wakefield, MI
Wakefield Manenisco

Watersmeet, MI
Watersmeet Headstart

Wausau, WI
Little Blessings Child Care
Newman Child Care Center
Trinity School

Weston, WI
DC Everest Middle School

Woodruff, WI
AVW Elementary School
North Country Montessori

Announcing the Launch of Wildwood Wildlife Park New Designed Website

2011-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

The new redesigned website of Wildwood Wildlife Park is live on the Internet with a new look and website structure that will brings a user friendly design with improved readability to the park's long-time and new guests.

"The new look is lighter and a lot more user-friendly than the old design," says Al Scherwinski, Spectra Print Corp. Creative/Marketing Director. "The site's design features vibrant colors and bold graphics, updated photographs increasing the fun factor which reflects the Wildwood Wildlife Park experience. Our Web site visitors are going to love it."

Among the features on Wildwood's homepage are the 'flash tracks' taking visitors quickly to Encounters and Hours & Tickets buttons. The site is designed to provide quick and direct access to all of the resources guests to the park are looking for. "We wanted the site to reflect the park's dedication to providing their guests with up close and personal experience, interacting with the animals," says Scherwinski.

The new face of the Wildwood Wildlife Park website is the handiwork of the design and marketing department of Spectra Print Corp., Stevens Point, WI.

The online resources are as diverse as the friends and guests of the park; from the educational and volunteer opportunities offered to visitors to the special experiences guaranteed to create unforgettable memories the web site and the launched Wildwood Wildlife Park blog support of the park's mission to provide an exciting zoological collection and education facility for all visitors.

"The new design was created specifically for Wildwood Wildlife Park's online visitors," says Scherwinski. "We encourage guests to submit photos and videos. Current exhibits, news and stories will be constantly updated allowing guests to plan their visit to the park and make it a memorable experience."

Parakeet Budgie Encounter: Wildwood's Newest Attraction Is A Hit With Our Guests! Opens May 30th

2011-05-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

These cute and popular birds are instantly recognizable as parakeets or budgies. Their formal name is the Budgerigar or Shell Parakeet. Whatever you call them, we know them as one of the park's many popular residents.

These small, long-tailed parrots are seed eaters. Wild parakeets are found living throughout the drier parts of Australia and are noticeably smaller than those found in captivity. Naturally green and yellow with black, scalloped markings on the nape, back and wings, breeders have created a rainbow of blues, whites, violets and yellows, grays and even some with small crests. Budgies are popular pets around the world due to their small size, playful nature and their ability to learn to whistle tunes, mimic human speech and learn to do tricks.

Budgies are closely related to the lories and fig parrots but here in America, we call them parakeets; a term that refers to any number of small parrots with long, flat tails.

Budgies are intelligent and very social animals; they enjoy playing with toys and interacting with humans as well as other parakeets.

It is usually easy to tell the difference between a male and a female budgie that is over six months old, mainly by the color of the area containing the nostrils called the cere. Behavior and head shape will also help you tell the difference.

A mature males' cere is usually light to dark blue but can be purplish to pink in some birds. Males generally have a rounder head and are very vocal.

Females' ceres are pink as immature birds; becoming beige to white when they are not in the breeding season, brown during mating season. Typically female parakeets have a flattened back of the head, right above the region of the nape.

You won't want to miss our newest popular attraction, The Parakeet Budgie Encounter, a walk-through aviary where you can experience up close and personal, the beauty of over 500 parakeets. You can buy a “bird feed stick” for $1 and have parakeets eating right out of your hand.

Visitors agree, the Parakeet Budgie Encounter is one of their new favorite experiences at the zoo!

White-tail Fawn Wildwood's Newest Park Addition

2011-05-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

One of the park's most photographed residents are white-tail fawns.

This buck-fawn arrived at the park on May 12th, the photograph was taken when he was less than one day old.

The white-tail deer, also known as the Virginia deer, is a medium-size deer native to the United States with the exception of Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii and Alaska. They are also found in Canada, Mexico, Central America and in South America as far as Peru.

White-tail deer eat a wide variety of food including leaves, legumes, cacti, and grasses. They also eat acorns, fruit, hay, corn and other food found in neighborhoods and farm yards. Their special four-chambered stomach allows them to eat things such as mushrooms that are poisonous to humans and Red Sumac.

White-tail deer communicate in many different ways using sounds, scent, body language and marking. All white-tail deer are able to communicate by producing audible sounds that are unique to each animal. Fawns make an a high-pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers. The mother deer, or doe, makes maternal grunting sounds when searching for her bedded fawns. Another way that white-tail deer communicate is by raising their white tail, sending an alarm to other deer in the area that can see it.

Black Leopard One Of The New Babies At The Park

2011-05-17T12:08:00.001-07:00

We are pleased to announce the arrival of black leopard, Teeah, born on April 20th.

While she may not look like one of the 'big cats' everyone loves to visit, it won't be long before she'll be following in her parents paw-prints and will grown up to be a graceful animal.

Leopards are closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India and China. However, many of their populations are endangered, especially outside of Africa.

The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kill into tree branches. By keeping it aloft, the leopard hopes to keep their meal safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards often hunt from trees where their spotted coats allow them to blend into their surroundings.

Leopards are strong swimmers and are very much at home in the water. They are oftentimes seen eating fish or crabs.

Most leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes because they resemble the shape of a rose. Black leopards, which appear to be almost solid in color because their spots are hard to distinguish, are sometimes called black panthers.

Teeah's proud mother is Tenzin

and her father is Toby.

New Arrival: Red-Handed Tamarins

2011-05-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wildwood Wildlife Park is pleased to welcome our newest residents, red‐handed tamarins.

Also known as the golden‐handed tamarin, the red‐handed tamarin is a New World monkey named for contrasting reddish-orange hair on their feet and hands. They are native to wooded areas north of the Amazon River in Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

They live in cooperative groups of 4 to 15 members with little competition among a group even between breeding males. A female will typically give birth to two offspring.

Young tamarins are cared for primarily by the father and turned over to the mother only to

nurse; however the entire group helps with the care of the young.

The red‐handed tamarin is an exceptional climber and spends most of its time among the vines and branches of the trees. They are quick and agile and superb jumpers know to jump distances of over 60 feet from a tree to the ground with no sign of injury.

The red‐handed tamarins body measures 12 ‐17 inches including the tail and they

weigh .88 ‐1.2 pounds. The tamarin's diet consists of fruit, flowers, insects, frogs, spiders, lizards, and nectar.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-handed_tamarin

Summer Internships: No Vacancies for 2011

2011-05-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who has contacted Wildwood Wildlife Park concerning summer internships for 2001. We have filled all the internship positions for this year and regretfully will not be able to accept any new applications.

We will, however, we accepting applications beginning in September for the 2012 season.

Thank you to everyone who has inquired about our internship program and we look forward to receiving your application in September.

2011 Membership Rates (Click To Enlarge)

2011-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Nigerian Dwarf Goats

2011-05-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Nigerian Dwarf goats are a miniature dairy breed of goats that originated in West Africa. While small in stature, these animals can produce a surprising amount of milk: their production ranges from one to 8 pounds of milk per day! The high butterfat content of their milk makes goat milk excellent for cheese and production of soap.

Nigerian goats are gentle and easily trainable. They are very friendly and can be easily trained to walk on a leash - some goats enjoy coming into the house with their owners. While they are very friendly, they are, by nature, a 'herd animal,' and thrive in the companionship of other goats.

Nigerian goats come in many colors which is another reason why they are so popular. The goats can be white, black, red. cream, black, gold and chocolate. They can also be pinto-patterned, tri-colored or Dalmatian-spotted.

Some goats have china-blue eyes but most of them have chocolate brown eye color.

There is no truth to the myth that goats have such a strong stomach that they can eat a tin can. Like all animals, Nigerian Dwarf goats can live a long life if care is taken with their health and that does not include eating tin cans.

They need exercise and fresh air and love to play and climb on anything which is why we provide an entire environment that keeps our goat herd happy and healthy.

Our goat area is one of the many highlights of the park and one we know you will enjoy and remember on your next visit to Wildwood Wildlife Park.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Dwarf_(goat)

www.americangoatsociety.com

Barbados Sheep Lambs

2011-04-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Well here at Wildwood Wildlife Park, March came in with 4 lambs - Barbados Lambs that is!

We welcomed these adorable Barbados sheep on March 28, 2011.

These regal looking sheep is a breed of domestic sheep that originated in the Caribbean island of Barbados from hair sheep brought in by traders from Africa during the 1600s. They are also known as Blackbelly Barbados.

The Barbados sheep are very fast and in many ways resemble deer. They are "hair sheep" which means they do not grow wool. Instead, they have long coarse hair. Barbados sheep raised in cooler climates, such as at Wildwood Wildlife Park, will adapt to the cooler temperatures by developing a very fine wool undercoat that they will shed in the spring.

Bibliography:
Internet: www.blackbellysheep.org; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_Blackbelly-Sheep

Wildwood Welcomes Baby Capybaras

2011-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

These two adorable Capybara babies are the newest editions to our Wildwood family who arrived on March 4, 2011.

Some of our visitors think Capybaras look like large, hairy pigs! Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world whose diet consists mainly of grass and aquatic plants.

Capybaras can run very fast and are excellent swimmers; you can see their webbed feet in the photograph. Did you know Capybaras can dive in the water and have been known to remain underwater for as long as five minutes?

Adult Capybaras can be as long as 4 feet and weigh more than 100 pounds. These little ones have a lot of growing to do before they are that big! They weighed about 2 pounds when they were born and will be full grown by the time they are 18-months old.

Capybaras live in South America which is where they got their name which means "master of the grass." They don't dig burrows like some rodents but they like to make beds in the shallow dirt.

Bibliography:
Internet: http://nationalzoo.si.edu; www.switcherroozoo.com

Spring Raking Clean-Up At The Park

2011-03-28T15:37:00.001-07:00

The annual spring event we've all been waiting for: Spring Raking Clean-Up At The Park!

Bring your own rake and garden gloves. Lunch will be provided for all the volunteers. If you just can't wait to greet our animal friends, join us April 16-17, 2011.

Sponsored by our Friends of the Zoo and UW-Stevens Point Natural Resource Students.

Questions? Email nature@wildwoodwildlifepark.com or Phone: 715-356-5588

Welcome To Our Blog!

2011-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Wildwood Wildlife Park. The zoo has been privately owned since we purchased it in 1997 and is home to 700 animals featuring more than 100 varied species, many of which are endangered. So many of our friends have come to know and love the park thanks to its former owners, the Peck family. For our new friends, we'd like to share the story of the Wildwood Wildlife Park.

Wildwood Wildlife Park's story began more than 50 years ago when Jim Peck, purchased land on the then outskirts of Minocqua, Wisconsin with the vision of creating a place where his love of animals could be shared with the public. In 1957, Jim's first order of business was the creation of two large ponds inhabited by Rainbow Trout and Muskellunge. In the spring of 1959, "Bambi", an injured Whitetail fawn, became the first resident of what would become "Jim Peck's Wildwood Kingdom."

Jim's love of animals and reputation as a rehabilitater grew beyond the Minocqua area as he opened his home to care for orphaned, abandoned and injured animals. The animals that were nursed back to health were unable to be released back into the wild; these creatures needed constant care and protection from other predators. Soon, exhibits were constructed to house these new residents and Peck allowed neighbors to come to the park to see how the animals were adjusting to their new homes. At the suggestion of friends, Jim placed a donation box at the park entrance to help defray the cost of feeding the park's permanent residents. By the end of that first year, Jim Peck's Wildwood Kingdom, now a family affair, officially opened to the public.

During the early years, the zoo consisted of over 35 varieties of animals including a fawn yard as well as barnyard friends: calves, goats, baby chicks and bunnies. It wasn't long before word began to spread, people from around the state began traveling to Minocqua, joining area residents as guests at the park. Without a doubt, the Petting Zoo was the top attraction. Jim's theme was "Pet 'em - Hold 'em - Love 'em" and the guests couldn't get enough of the hands-on exhibits. Walking among the Whitetail deer was another popular spot where guests could pet and feed the deer. As the exhibits grew, barns were constructed to provide year-round homes for the resident animals.

In 1995 the family owned business known as Jim Peck's Wildwood approached us, Duane and Judy Domaszek, with a proposal to purchase the Minocqua park. At that time we owned and operated, along with son's Ryan and Shawn, a private game farm in Rosholt, WI. We all understood the commitment, total dedication, daily supervision, care and responsibility this endeavor would require. Aware that there are no days off when you are responsible for a park of live animals that need full-time care, the family made the decision to accept the offer.

In 1997 we purchased the park from the Peck family and moved to Minocqua with a vision of nurturing and rebuilding the zoo as the new owners of Wildwood Wildlife Park.

Our family and staff are dedicated to the preservation and conservation of all animals. Wildwood Wildlife Park teamʼs mission: to provide an exciting zoological collection and educational facility for all visitors. Promoting life-long learning by enriching minds, fostering environmental respect, while helping prepare our visitors for our conservation future. We strive to provide experiences that last a lifetime with every visit no matter your age.

Wildwood Wildlife Park is a privately owned zoo which means the zoo does not receive local, state or federal funding of any kind. All admission proceeds go directly towards the care of the animals and upkeep of the zoo which includes animal housing, appropriate animal diets, veterinary care, new exhibits, utilities and year-round maintenance of the zoo facilities.

From its humble beginnings with a trout and musky pond and the acceptance of "Bambi" as the first park resident in 1957, the zoo has experienced a multitude of changes and extensive growth.

Daily programs are held at the Wildwood Wildlife Park amphitheater where visitors learn about various mammals, birds, primates, and reptiles. The park's staff works hard to provide a variety of educational programs and learning experiences at the zoo. Thanks to this hard work and dedication, the park received the prestigious Zoological Association of American accreditation in June 2008.

Wildwood Wildlife Park supports classroom studies and offers an environment where students can engage in meaningful science and wildlife experiences, all while having fun.

Wildwood Wildlife Park has embarked on a master development plan which highlights proposals for future expansions and renovations. This on-going development will enable the zoo to continue to build a world-class destination.

We are excited to include social media as part of our conservation and education conversation and hope you'll follow our blog and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

In the end, we will conserve only what we love;

We will love only what we understand;

We will understand only what we are taught.