Snuggling Lion Cubs at the Bowmanville Zoo

We were  invited to explore the Bowmanville Zoo in Ontario with the lure of snuggling with the lion cubs and of course we jumped at the opportunity. The Bowmanville Zoo is Canada’s oldest private zoo ( founded in 1919) and it was the perfect size to navigate with a toddler and baby. I was actually surprised to learn that it is one of the largest suppliers of animals for Hollywood movies and television programs!

As you may recall, I am not a fan of visiting zoos in the summer months and it was with some caution that I agreed to visit. You only get one chance to snuggle with lion cubs so obviously I couldn’t say no! Our day started off by catching  a show at the Animatheatre (included in the price of the ticket) and then got to play with the lion cubs. Little Monkey wasn’t too keen on it at the start but she soon warmed up. My mom was absolutely enamored by it all. This is most definitely a cool experience and one to check off the bucketlist! Our visit was part of a special event but throughout the rest of the summer you can get photos with the cubs for just $10. Photos will be taken by the tent outside of the Splash Pad and the schedule will be posted at the gate each morning. Pretty good deal!

We also got to meet Robbie. Robbie has a very interesting (and slightly sad) tale as he was rescued by the Bowmanville Zoo. Robbie used to be involved in the adult entertainment industry (long story -google it!) but is now safely in the care of the Zoo. Kids were not allowed near Robbie but we adults got pretty close to him. The hubs kept the kids far away whilst my mom and I went and stared the tiger in the eye! I believe they have some especial encounters where adults can get up close and personal with a Tiger but it costs about $500!

Since it was a hot day we grabbed a quick lunch at the Zoo Cafe and cooled down inside (brought our double stroller in with no issues). We then roamed around the zoo and it was actually quite fun as the animals were out and about. We had our double stroller and for the most part had no issues navigating around the place. The only time we had some trouble was when we were up by the bridge watching the wolves howl away.

The Bowmanville Zoo has a good mix of animals, such as giraffes, lions, lemurs, camels, deer and baboons – to name a few. However they also have a playground which the toddler loved. She’s all about the park and it was my mom who was more fascinated by the animals! They also have a ‘Splash Bash’  and a ‘Funland’. Now the Little Monkey LOVES carousels so we were glad to see that there was one here. It was included in the price of the entrance tickets so everything was free once we got it. It was most definitely is one of the oldest carousels we’ve been on. This Funland is a bit of a disaster I must admit – there were a couple other rides but I wasn’t too keen on getting into rickety rides so we quickly made an exit with a tantrum throwing toddler. You see, she wanted back in on the carousel but there was only one operator and the kids had to follow her around like they would the pied piper and so the rides happened one at a time (at least when we were there). Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that there were some rides but don’t expect a full on amusement park, it’s no Centreville.

During our visit we got to learn a bit about the rescue work and re-habitation programs in place at the Bowmanville Zoo. They are doing their best to look after the animals under their care and educating the public about working and taking care of animals. I also learned that they are training some of the baby cubs to survive in the wild.

The Bowmanville Zoo is about an hour outside of Toronto and it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon out of the city. Kids under three are free and adults are $25 approximately (kids 3 and older are about $20). If you plan to visit this year before August 31 ( my birthday!!) use the coupon to get $10 off your ticket! Use the money saved to grab a photo with the lion cubs…or ice cream!