November 10, 2007
[MUSKOKA, ON]—A house of refuge, an educational destination and much more. The Muskoka Wildlife Centre and Family Park (MWC) caters to the needs of endangered wildlife while providing a valuable service to the public.
Located in the heart of cottage country, the Wildlife Centre has provided homes for countless wild animals, whether it is personally or through their vast network of housing options. Most animals here are species native to Ontario; however, there have also been more exotic animals such as a wallaby, coatimundi, and sugar gliders.
“Many of these animals have been removed from abusive situations” says Judy Gienow, Owner of the MWC. “When they’re taken into the MWC, they’re bathed, fed, medically treated and housed until placed in the appropriate facilities.”
The MWC was developed with two goals in mind, firstly to provide an enlightening and inspiring environment where individuals or groups could spend time learning about Ontario’s wildlife. The second was to create a home for wildlife, many of which were abandoned or were injured in their own habitats and had to be removed to ensure survival.
Since its opening in 2000, the MWC has had nearly 100 000 visitors, becoming a tourist destination. This reaps benefits for the surrounding rural community by drawing crowds, but also by raising awareness and creating a niche that people will travel to see. “We have traveled all throughout rural Ontario with our live-animal outreach team, sharing information while providing advise and tools for living in harmony with local wildlife.” says Gienow.
In the last 6 years the MWC has also created a half hour television program, airing on local cable and featuring local wildlife. Public service announcements are aired on local news stations. This centre has played a role in creating wildlife documentaries to be aired on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. The MWC also acts as a liaison between scientific study groups and the public, relaying information received from groups such as the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in an effective manner.
The local economy has benefited by the existence of the MWC, because of the creation of five full time and seven seasonal, employees. The centre is a tourist destination which also attracts nature enthusiasts, conservationists, film crews and photographers; thereby creating business in local shops, restaurants and hotels.
Through services such as husbandry expertise and rescue, the number of animals helped is in the thousands. The number of animals that have been helped indirectly through their wide reaching education is immeasurable. Local schools have been fortunate to have the MWC within the community as they benefit from their visits to the classroom and are encouraged to come and experience the MWC and family park firsthand.
The benefits of the MWC are fundamentally intended to save wildlife, but have blossomed into a symbiotic relationship between the MWC and the surrounding rural community.