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If you’re in the Lake Simcoe area in the summer time, one place you really must visit is the Muskoka Wildlife Centre. The centre fashions its self on being not a zoo, but an ‘interactive learning centre’.  I’ve been there twice, and will be looking forward to visiting once more in august of this year.

It’s situated 20 minutes north of Orillia, Ontario or 10 minutes south of Gravenhurst, Ontario on HWY 11 North – so if you’re travelling north you’ll see it on your right, and if you’re travelling south it’ll be on your left. You’ll spot it by their large sign by the side of the road.

The Centre offers a glimpse at the wonderful world of Ontario wildlife in and around the Muskoka region- you’ll get to see all the native species such as the Raccoon, Wolves, Skunks, Moose, Bald Eagles, North American Badgers, Porcupines, a Brown Bear, Lynx, Bobcat, Cougar and a whole lot more – a definite must if you want your kids are interested in wildlife, or even for you!

The park is not just set in a typical open area with fences and paths. It’s set in a beautiful setting, in a small wooded area with meandering paths which go up and down small hills – making your trip more exciting and more of an adventure as you walk about the park on carefully signposted tracks hunting for your next enclosure.

But there’s more than simply animals just to look at – as i mentioned earlier, the centre classes its self as being interactive, and that is certainly the case – if you are not told by the kind people when you pay your admission ~ ask them when the next handling is. You will get to meet a variety of different animals from skunks, raccoons, ground hogs and some snakes  – though the animals you meet will depend on which animals are available for handling when you visit. This allows yourself and your kids to get a hands on experience – finding out – how do some types of animals actually feel like – is the fur on a skunk super fluffy – or is it more coarse? I’ll leave it up to you to find out!

Please read on to see a gallery of photos and to read more about this must see location:

All the animals in the centre are animals that simply cannot be reintroduced into the wild – they may be former pets which were abandoned – or injured and in no condition to be able to fend for themselves in the wild – every admission they take goes to the running of the centre, feeding the animals and the high quality of care which the centre provides.

If you fall in love with a particular animal – the centre also offers a service where you can sponsor an animal. Included in all sponsorships depending on the period you undertake you will be able to enter the centre and get to meet your sponsored animal personally! The sponsorship money directly goes towards the upkeep of your chosen animal, food, bedding and medical costs to keep the animal in top condition and I’d highly recommend this if you can afford. We have sponsored Juniper the Raccoon in the centre. When we first visited in 2008 she was but a small hyper bundle of fur scampering about exploring the enclosure in the main office area – but she’s grown into a big healthy raccoon now and loving helping people learn about wildlife in the area (though it doesn’t stop her from finding out what is in each of the handler’s pockets when she’s doing so)

For opening hours and to make sure the centre is open in the season you may be traveling in – and for more information about the centre, their facilities and what they have to offer please visit their website http://www.muskokawildlifecentre.com/

Below is the Google Maps location of the park so you can find how to get there by using the directions, though there are also directions on their own website.

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As i personally adore this place, i’m enclosing some of the photos i have taken in my trips there – these ones were taken in May this year

Also, while you’re in the area, if you’re hungry – why not stop at the locally famous Webers Hamburger resteraunt: http://www.webers.com/highway11.html which is located just down highway 11 from muskoka wildlife centre

If you are thinking about staying in Orillia or Newmarket, or any of the towns near Muskoka Wildlife Centre on a holiday soon, click the following link for information about prices and hotel locations:

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Lake Simcoe, Muskoka, Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.