Roadside zoo near Ocala, help wanted

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
This goes out to our American buddies or anyone else that can help, writing my replies on the Miami metro zoo thread to snowleopard got me thinking back to my honeymoon to Florida.
My wife and i amongst others visited DAK, Seaworld, Lowry park zoo, Busch gardens and the other main theme parks, we took a detour to my wifes relatives who lived in one of those huge retirement villages near Ocala.
During that visit we went to an open air market, and on the way out i noticed a sign for a zoo;).
So we about turned and went into this roadside zoo, in the entrance area was a vivarium for i think was a lace monitor, and into the zoo, the first exhibit was for an extremely large American crocodile, next to which was an enclosure for what i am sure was a single Baird's tapir, further on was a wire cage for a group of mangabeys (species i can't remember) then a small wire enclosure again for a lar gibbon.
Next was a barn and enclosure for a single giraffe, with a group of addax in the next enclosure.
A group of mandrills in a fully enclosed wire enclosure (very small) was next.
This all from memory and there was an open enclosure for a disabled bald eagle as well as very dark cages for lions and tigers.

All this stood on a piece of land next to the road of about 5-6 acres, really your typical roadside zoo, but there was an educational element to this zoo, i'm quite sure.

Can anyone identify the name of this zoo for me.
 
2000 was the year we got married (separated now:(), and it was very near ladylake.
Any ideas?
 
Sorry, I dont. I've actually been all over that part of Florida, except for that one highway...I never needed to go to the Villages.

However, I did find an animal attraction on the internet that is near Lady Lake...does it bring back any memories??

UNCLE DONALD'S FARM

Florida is full of roadside zoos...I remember going to several as a kid growing up in South Florida. Of course, most of them are now gone.
 
okapikpr said:
Sorry, I dont. I've actually been all over that part of Florida, except for that one highway...I never needed to go to the Villages.

However, I did find an animal attraction on the internet that is near Lady Lake...does it bring back any memories??

UNCLE DONALD'S FARM

Florida is full of roadside zoos...I remember going to several as a kid growing up in South Florida. Of course, most of them are now gone.
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Thanks for looking, appreciate that, but that is not it, perhaps it is closed now.
But it struck me as odd this small place with animals like the Bairds tapir and the addax.
 
Bairds Tapir, Addax, and many others are rather easy to obtain in the US, especially if you have the right contacts.
 
Marion Nature Park

Hi Kiang , My name is Tom, I have lived in Ocala since 1996. The Zoo that you are talking about ,I believe , is the Marion Nature Park. It Closed around 2005... The park was trying to get accredited as a zoo and met all the requirements except a Long term lease. By the time it closed it had been in existence for around 15 years but it's property was owned by the Market of Marion Flea Market and they could not get a long term lease. The Owners of the Flea Market would only give them short term leases. (At least that is my understanding.) It was a 7 Acre Teaching Zoo Located at Market of Marion 12888 S. Highway 441 in Belleview Florida about 10 - 15 miles South of Ocala and Probably around 10 Miles north of Lady Lake / The Villages . The Villages is a Huge Retirement Community that is partly in Marion County and partly in Lady Lake which is in Lake County FL.
My daughters 4-H Leaders were part of the group that help relocate the Animals to other areas when they closed. I have been to the Park a couple of times and I remember a Giraffe , Tiger , Python, Tortoise , and a few various other smaller animals. Sometimes on weekends they would bring in an Elephant for Elephant rides.

I believe some of the Animals were relocated to the Sante Fe Teaching Zoo in Sante Fe Florida near Gainesville.

This may be more info than you wanted if not you can e-mail me at ufotom@webtv.net and I can try to find more info for you from my daughters 4-H leaders that were involved in the Relocation of the Animals.
 
Thank you Ocala tom that is brilliant, really appreciate that, would be interested to know where that tapir went to
 
I believe the owner of the Marion Nature Zoo has partnered with Lex Salisbury on a new park Safari Wild. Something that has gotten Lex in a lot of trouble these days. Possibly many of the animals got transferred there. I know for a fact none were taken in by the SFCC Teaching Zoo.
 
okapikpr said:
I believe the owner of the Marion Nature Zoo has partnered with Lex Salisbury on a new park Safari Wild. Something that has gotten Lex in a lot of trouble these days. Possibly many of the animals got transferred there. I know for a fact none were taken in by the SFCC Teaching Zoo.
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I'm not sure why I thought that some of the Animals went to SFCC Teaching Zoo... Probably because they were both Teaching Zoo's and that Ocala and SFCC are close to each other. My only knowledge of what happened with the Marion Nature Park when and why it closed was most likely a Newspaper article at the time. My Daughters 4-H leaders Son did some work there and was to some degree involved in helping relocate some of the animals ... most likely the reptiles because the 4-H Club was all about Snakes, Turtles , Lizards , Frogs and most any reptile. ... I havent heard back from the 4-H leader other than she said she would ask her son if he knew where they might have been relocated . I'm not sure of the year they closed but it was during the time that my daughter was in the 4-H club and that has been a few years ago so my memory is a little cloudy on most of the info. But I remember the Marion Nature Park because I have been to the adjacent Flea Market many times and the 1st time I rode an Elephant was at the Zoo.(That was unforgettable) :)
 
kiang said:
Thank you Ocala tom that is brilliant, really appreciate that, would be interested to know where that tapir went to
Click to expand...

My friend from 4-H e-mailed me last night and said that the Tapir was Old and died from old age/ Natural causes.
 
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