Exotic animals from around the world wait for visitors at Willow Park Zoo
With spring officially started, many students head outdoors to take advantage of the warm weather and the sunny blue skies. There are many places in Logan and Cache Valley where students can go to take a break from school, places like Logan Canyon, First Dam and even the Quad.
Another one to add to that list is the Willow Park Zoo.
Rod Wilhelm, superintendent at the zoo, has been told by many of the thousands that come through the zoo he manages that Willow Park is “one of Logan’s best-kept secrets.”
The 9 1/2-acre zoo is home to some 500 animals coming from more than 100 animal species, Wilhelm said. With its unique water landscape, the zoo features mainly birds, more particularly waterfowl like geese, ducks, swans and many other species of birds that live in and around water, Wilhelm said.
These birds at the zoo come from all over the world, as peacocks native to India roam the ground along with large Australian emus and birds from South America and Europe. Wilhelm said the zoo opened in 1970 and was originally patterned after the Tracey Aviary in Salt Lake City. He said that’s why there is such a large porportion of birds at the zoo.
Since then the zoo has become home to many more animals like bobcats, coyotes, deer, elk and even a few wallabies and a lemur.
Wilhelm said it’s hard to pick out what the most popular animals at the zoo because they all get a good deal of attention.
Throughout the year, he sees quite a few university students come down to the park. He said many of those students come to the zoo are because of classes that relate to animal or plant life.
But not all the students that come to the zoo and the surrounding park come because of classes. Wilhelm said several students come to the zoo on dates as well.
“A popular thing students like to do is come to the park, have a picnic, then come look at the animals,” he said. Wilhelm has been working at the zoo since 1980.
He has seen some pretty creative dates and even a few wedding proposals during his time at the zoo.
One of the most memorable proposals he has seen was done in the wintertime, when a young man sprinkled rose pedals along the paths of the zoo. “I’m sure that cost a lot,” he said.
“It’s a place you should at least visit once when you live in Logan,” Amber Bown, a junior majoring in social work, said.
According to the zoo’s Web site, the parks just adjacent to the zoo can be reserved for group parties starting April 15.
The zoo is open from 9 a.m. to dusk seven days a week, and admission is $1. The Willow Park Zoo is located next to the fair grounds at 419 W. 700 South.
“The zoo is small but has something for everyone,” Wilhelm said.
-dwkoecher@cc.usu.edu