Best Date Ever

It was date night: 1 month shy of our anniversary, but I wanted to make it an all-together different, fun and memorable rendezvous! I’ve been secretly planning this date with my husband for a month now. When I worked with my skydiving buddy Jill at the CNE, she spoke about her friend Peter, who happens to be the owner and Manager at the Jungle Cat World in Orono {just 30 minutes from our home base in Oshawa}. From the moment I heard about this unique privately-owned zoo, I was intrigued. And when I met Peter during one evening stint at the CNE, I was intent on exploring the possibility of a ‘Behind the Scenes‘ tour of the zoo. It sounded fascinating. AND the perfect rendezvous for our mas-iversary (monthly anniversary) date night — next month marks our 10 year anniversary since we first started dating! So in the penultimate of special dates, I surprised my husband with an unforgettable date to the Jungle Cat World Wildlife Park, an excursion that will forever be etched in our memories and hearts.

We engaged in a remarkably playful and fun tour with Head Zoo Keeper Jen Bird. She was fantastic and extremely knowledgable. The love for her job shone through in her enthusiasm and generosity. The baby Cougar (aka Puma / Mountain Lion) Sassy and endangered Amur Tiger at Jungle Cat World were the highlights of our visit. Additionally, we were blessed to also experience the Safari Zoo Camp education evening shared with 20 other grade school students. We were introduced to 10 wild animals of the park. Sassy and Nadine both made an appearance, which was thrilling yet again to see them playful and at home. The evening tour of the big cat feedings was extremely informative and enjoyable. The big cats were so much more active than from our daytime tour. Carl Tordiff was an entertaining young man who is beyond knowledgable and accommodating. Kudos to such an incredible facility far beyond any ‘zoo’ I have ever visited or experienced. An incredible experience that I recommend highly to any folks of all ages. Thank you to Peter Klose for his generosity in letting us visit with the baby cats :). Check them out at their Jungle Cat World website and on Tripadvisor.