PDF - Emily Roche

Oh my, lions and tigers and giraffes – right here
in Central Massachusetts at Southwick’s Zoo
W
hen I told friends and family I
was going to visit Southwick’s
Zoo, I got a universal reaction.
“Oh really?” everyone said, eyebrows
arched in pleasant surprise. “That is so
cool — I didn’t think that place was still
around.”
Well, Southwick’s Zoo is very
much still around. Since Justin and
Clarice Daniels Southwick opened it in
1963 with a collection of exotic birds and
other assorted animals, this zoo, located
off a quiet street just off Route 16 in
Mendon, has grown into New England’s
largest zoo, attracting more than 200,000
Precious the Tiger chilling out. (Emily Roche photo)
visitors each season.
“One hundred acres are in a forestry in the world), and some llamas strolling
Today, Southwick’s Zoo is a program,”
explained Betsey Brewer, who around their spacious pen. Further
major regional attraction and education
is
Justin
and
Clarice’s granddaughter. along the path in their own private park
center is home to over 500 animals,
“The
zoo
itself
is on between 175 and complete with a blue wading pool stand
some endangered. The zoo’s collection
200
acres.
[The
Wetlands habitat and the pink Chilean flamingoes, waiting to
is wide-ranging and includes more
Woodland
Express
train ride] is 50 acres, be admired.
than 100 different species, including
and Deer Forest is Africa is well represented at the
the exotic, I-can’t35.”
zoo.
Leo and Lexie are Southwick’s
believe-I’m-seeing
The
grounds
lions,
and a 6-acre section, appropriately
these-in-CentralDayTripper
are
easily
navigated
named
the African Plains, is home to
Mass-ones
such
via
the
zoo’s
wellsome
zebra,
water buffalo, and an ostrich
as giraffes, lions,
Emily
designed,
very
or
two.
Giraffes,
possibly the most
rhinos, and fabulous
Roche
clean
walking
beloved
animals
in
the
zoo, are located
pink—not plastic—
paths.
Just
about
in
their
own
section
near
the petting zoo.
flamingoes.
every
continent
For
those
who
want
a
taste
of the Sahara,
“I’ve
been
is
represented
at
double-and
single-humped
camels can
coming here since I
Southwick’s
—
walking
the
zoo
is
sort
be
found
right
next
door
(Camel
rides are
was a little kid,” said Amy Parsekian, a
of
like
taking
a
United
Nations
tour
of
available).
And
if
anyone’s
interested
in
fellow day-tripper who was visiting the
the
animal
kingdom.
In
fact,
there’s
so
just
hanging
around,
there
are
monkeys,
zoo with her husband John and their son,
Michael. “It’s been one of our best trips much to see and do at the zoo, it’s hard to lemurs, and gibbons throughout the zoo
who can show you how it’s really done.
here in a long time. We’ve seen a lot of decide where to begin your world tour.
Map
in
hand,
I
decided
to
start
my
Just beyond the Plains is Deer
things that have changed since last year,
tour
in
the
Australian
Outback,
where
Forest,
the fenced-in area that lets you
even.”
some red kangaroos, sitting on their walk around with and feed the doe-eyed,
powerful legs on a hot summer afternoon, fallow deer who live there.
Animals from around the world
“I’d have to say that Deer Forest
The zoo is still privately owned and and a smaller but similar-looking wallaby greeted
me
with
silent
curiosity.
is
the
most popular thing here,” Betsey
operated by the descendants of Justin and
After
receiving
a
loud
and
robotic
Brewer
said. “Because you can go in and
Clarice, the Brewer family. The zoo sits
“Hello!
Hello!”
from
one
of
the
gorgeous,
see
the
deer
and get up really close.”
on over 300 acres of land and, besides
jewel-colored
macaws,
I
saw
other
What’s
it like inside Deer Forest?
animals, includes other attractions such
representatives
from
South
America,
Well,
depending
on the type of deer you
as camel and elephant rides, a carousel
including
some
capybaras,
which
look
see,
it
can
either
feel like you are an
and other rides for young children, and
like
a
cross
between
a
mouse
and
a
really
extra
in
Bambi
or,
if you see the ones
a small outdoor show area that features
short
pony
(they
are
the
largest
rodents
with
antlers,
a
bit
like
Christmas. The
barnyard-themed reviews.
14
Central Mass Magazine September 2007
only thing missing, as one little boy in
a stroller pointed out, is Santa.
A visit to Southwick’s just
wouldn’t be complete without checking
out the popular and fascinating Red Bat
exhibit. It’s been at the zoo for a long
time and, even though I didn’t catch its
origins, I have a sneaking suspicion it
has strong ties to the Southwick and
Brewer families.
A Family Affair
Southwick’s growth and success is
solely due to the hard work, dedication,
and passion of the Brewer family.
According to the zoo’s site, the zoo
grew rapidly after it opened and the
Southwicks formed two privately-owned
corporations: Southwick Wild Animal
Farm and Southwick Birds & Animals.
Justin and Clarice ran the zoo with their
son Dan and their daughter, Justine and
her husband Robert Brewer.
After a few years, Justine and her
family moved to Vermont to run another
business, leaving the management of
the businesses to Dan.
Southwick’s fell on hard times in
the late 1970s and early 1980s when
Dan died unexpectedly, leaving the
zoo in disarray. In 1980 the Brewers
moved back to manage the zoo, and
Justine, Betsey, and the four other
Brewer children have been running it
ever since. When you consider that the
zoo has always been privately owned
and does not receive any federal, state,
or local aid, it’s a small miracle it exists
today at all.
“The first 10 years [back] were
brutal,” recalled Betsey. “My mother
and I lived in this house and we didn’t
have heat. We lived worse than the
animals!”
Educational commitment
“The premise of every zoo is you
want to pull people in for entertaining
purposes,” Betsey said, “and once you
get them in there hopefully you can
educate them.”
Southwick’s takes its commitment
to
education
and
community
development seriously. The leopard
exhibit, currently under construction
and scheduled for a grand opening next
spring, brings that philosophy to life.
The exhibit was built with the help of
a group of seventh grade girls from the
Miscoe Hill Middle School in Mendon.
Southwick’s designed the project to
help them increase their skills in science
and math, engineering and technology.
On the day I visited, Betsey gave
some students from Tufts University’s
veterinarian school a lesson in the fine
art of using a blow-dart gun to try and
sedate an animal, using a trash can as a
target.
The zoo’s commitment to
education is so strong that Betsey
started EARTH Limited, a non-profit
educational center located inside the
zoo. EARTH Limited’s mission is to
provide environmental and conservation
education with an emphasis on animal
ecology, endangered species and
threatened habitats. The center offers a
wide variety of educational programs at
the zoo and will expand its horizons to
the small island of Utila in the Western
Caribbean when it opens the Blue Moon
Eco Lodge next year.
The Brewers’ devotion to the place
THINKING OF PURCHASING A HOME IN CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS?
is evident as you walk around the clean,
well-maintained grounds and facilities.
That, I think, is what keeps families
coming back year after year.
“It’s like a family tradition I
remember from being a kid,” said Nicole
Lavalle, who had her small child in tow.
“There aren’t that many places you can
go and remember it from being from
when you were a kid. And it has the same
charm, only it’s bigger and better.” l
If you go
Southwick’s Zoo is located 4 miles off
Route 16 in Mendon at 2 Southwick Street.
The zoo is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days
a week, holidays included, through October
21. Admission is $12.75 for children aged
3-12 and seniors 62 and over; $16.75 for
adults 13 and up; free for children 2 and
under. For more information on the zoo,
including educational, animal adoption,
and volunteer opportunities, visit www.
southwickszoo.com or call 1-800-258-9182.
For more information on the EARTH Limited,
the non-profit education center located at the
zoo, visit www.earthltd.org.
Emily Roche can be e-mailed
at roche@centralmassmedia.com
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