Discovery Wildlife Park owner, Doug Bos, is a finalist for a Travel Alberta Award.
“Hopefully it says something to people in town and chamber that we strive to promote tourism and bring people to town,” said Bos of being one of two finalists.
Bos is up against Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, Fresh, for a Travel Alberta Award (Alto). He’s in the finals for the sustainable tourism award and finds out this week where he placed.
“Part of being sustainable is the tourism … how do you make a business sustainable and bring in tourists? Some of it is our newspaper we print and our online social media stuff that helps bring in people to Innisfail,” he said.
Open from May to October, entrance numbers broke a record this summer when 1,450 came through the gates over the August long weekend to view more than 40 animals, most of which are orphans, adopted by the park. Most of the exotic animals have come from zoos facing closure.
“We’re up about 12 per cent,” he said of the season. “It’s the same old farmer story; if the weather would have been better it would have been better. But we are up 12 per cent which is not what other tourists facilities can boast.”
Another part of the zoo’s sustainability is in the fact it adopts animals and uses recycled materials to build enclosures.
Many of the park’s buildings were rescued from the landfill, as well as most of the building materials used to construct animal enclosures.
Bos and others at the zoo also offer eco tours for school groups, free access for research for university and college students, a recycling program and the addition of solar power areas.
The season, that started out slow because of weather, only got worse when Cleaver, the 14-year-old Bactrian camel, passed away because of an enlarged heart. The zoo was still recovering from the loss of two female lions and a tiger that succumbed to old age.
But the season picked up with the birth of a monkey, animals at the zoo were chosen to be starts for the Canadian television show, Pet Heroes and Barney, the grizzly bear, was the star of a movie when Dremax, a Japanese film production company came to town to film the bear.
Closed now for the season, Bos said they are looking ahead to replace some of the animals who passed.
“Well we’re still looking for lion cubs and another camel so hopefully we’ll be able to find something this winter or spring.”
Bos won a Central Alberta Economic Partnership award last year for the zoo’s work in marketing. The Alto awards were presented in Banff last night but results weren’t available for press time.
