Alberta Game Farm - Guidebook Cover

Guidebook from the late 1970\'s. This park was later named Polar Park, and opened on August 1st, 1959 and closed to the public in 1998. The list of species was close to the best in the world at the time, and this thread has more information on the animals at the park:

http://www.zoochat.com/223/edmontons-polar-park-11902/index2.html

Alberta Game Farm (later renamed Polar Park) = now closed.

Complete list of species at the park (approximately late 1970's). This list is not a total of what the park had from its August 1st, 1959 opening to its 1998 closing...but rather a list of what was there AT ONE TIME in the late 1970's. Incredible collection, but mainly in huge, fairly basic wire/wood paddocks. I visited at least a couple of times ever year for the first 10 years of my life, and this species list is from a 74-page guidebook from the late 1970's. It is amusing to see some of the names given at that time, but it almost seems as if this is a listing of species at the Berlin Zoo!

HOOFSTOCK: 90 species

Grevy's Zebra
Damara Zebra
Chapman's Zebra
Grant's Zebra
Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
Woodland Caribou (only park with all the caribou species in the world)
Barrenland Caribou
Peary's Caribou
Osborn Caribou
Reindeer
Bighorn Sheep (the first zoo in the world to have Bighorn, Dall + Stone Sheep)
Dall Sheep (the Brookfield Zoo is the only other zoo with this species)
Stone Sheep
"Fannin" Sheep (hybrid mix of Dall + Stone Sheep)
Barbary Sheep (Aoudads)
Moufflon Sheep
Himalayan Tahr
Rocky Mountain Goat (the only captive breeding herd in the world)
Yak
Moose
Muskox (approx. 20 at the park and largest herd in captivity)
Wapiti
White Elk
Przewalski's Horse
Onager (Persian Wild Ass)
Sicilian Donkey
Poitou Donkey
Mule Deer
White-Tailed Deer
Fallow Deer (white, black + spotted colour variations)
European Red Deer
Pere David's Deer
Indian Sambar Deer
Roe Deer
Chinese Water Deer
Muntjac Deer
Eld's Deer
Japanese Sika Deer
Peking Sika Deer (also called Dybowski's Deer)
Formosan Sika Deer
Barashinga Deer
Axis Deer
Prairie Bison
Wood Bison
European Bison (Wisent)
Chamois
Markhor
Caucasian Tur
Siberian Ibex
Asian Elephant
Reticulated Giraffe
Bactrian Camel
Dromedary/Arabian Camel
Llama
Alpaca
Guanaco
Vicuna
White Rhino
Pygmy Hippo
Malayan Tapir
Brazilian Tapir
White-Tailed Gnu
White-Bearded Gnu
Blackbuck
Blesbok
Gemsbok
Addax
Scimitar-Horned Oryx
Beisa Oryx
Nilgai
Dama Gazelle
Thomson's Gazelle
Grant's Gazelle
Goitered Gazelle
Defassa Waterbuck
Common/African Waterbuck
Pronghorn Antelope
Saiga Antelope (wow!!!)
Cape Hartebeest (1st cape hartebeest born in Canada)
Ankole Cattle
Eland
Greater Kudu
Cape Buffalo
Asian Water Buffalo
Roan Antelope
Sable Antelope
Nyala
Gayal (1st gayal born in North America in March of 1976)
Gaur
Banteng

FELINES: 14 species

Siberian Tiger (approx. 8 at the park)
African Lion
Snow Leopard
Amur Leopard (North Chinese Leopard)
Cougar
Asian Golden Cat (Temminick's Cat)
Leopard Cat
Pallas' Cat
European Wildcat
Cheetah
Bobcat
Canadian Lynx
European/Siberian Lynx
Caracal

CANINES: 8 species

Grey/Timber Wolves (approx. 18 at the park)
Coyote
Arctic Fox
Kit Fox
Korsak Fox
Fennec Fox
Blue Fox (colour variation??)
Silver Fox (colour variation??)

OTHER CARNIVORES/OMNIVORES: 8 species

Grizzly Bear (3 Swan Hills Grizzlies)
Polar Bear ( 6 at the park - 2.4) - the enclosure has a 600,000 gallon pool
Wolverine
Fisher
Marten
River Otter
Raccoon
Raccoon Dog (almost nonexistent in North American zoos)

GNAWING MAMMALS: 10 species

Prairie Dog
Richardson's Ground Squirrel
Columbia Ground Squirrel
Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel
Parry's Ground Squirrel
Pika
Arctic Hare
North American Porcupine
Muskrat
Beaver

OTHER:

Gorilla (Sultan + Zakula)
Wallaby
Red Panda
Baikal Seal (these seals were turned loose in a mile and a half long lake)

BIRDS:

Ostrich
Pheasants - 10 species
Cranes - 8 species Sandhill, Sarus, Demoiselle, Stanley, East African Crowned, West African Crowned, Lilford and Wattled.
Great Grey Owl (only San Diego and the Bronx also have these owls)
Snowy Owl
American Hawk Owl
Chilean Flamingo
Caribbean Flamingo
Peacock
Marabou Stork
European Stork
Grouse - 5 species
Swans - 5 species
Geese - at least 15 species
Ducks + Gulls - at least 15 species

That list is making me salivate, especially the Hoofstock

ungulate nerd said:

That list is making me salivate, especially the Hoofstock

Click to expand...

I second that. I wonder why that places closed down.

elefante said:

I second that. I wonder why that places closed down.

Click to expand...

It was due to a lack of funds. The entire time that owner Al Oeming ran the Alberta Game Farm (later called Polar Park) he received absolutely zero government support. Times have changed with some North American zoos receiving up to 40% of their budget directly from the government/tax payers. The collection at the Edmonton zoo was just about the best on the planet, but with hardly any visitors in the bitterly cold winters it was always a struggle to maintain the facility each year.

Moose at Polar Park/Alberta Game Farm?

The moose that became the iconic critter (fetchingly named Chocolate) of Northwest Trek Park in Washington State probably came from the Alberta Game Farm. He arrived at Trek in 1971 at about 4 years old, so was born about 1967. I'm writing a non-fiction children's book about him but lack a sense of his life in Canada before being trucked South.
I'd love to hear from a keeper from the 1960s or early 1970s. Wondering if the AGF baby moose were brought in as wild orphans, or born on-site? What was the feed? Were antlers removed from feisty bulls? Etc.
Actually, recollections from anyone who visited the AGF and remembers moose are welcome. You would know, for instance, What the enclosure(s) were like: Chain-link fence? Hard-packed dirt? Trees? Were more than one moose kept together? Were there flies about? Did you see piles of hay? Did the moose come forward, or hide at the back? Etc. etc. Anything along these lines will help me put the young reader "there."
Many thanks, "Westsong" of Seattle