@Mr. Weasel or somebody else who knows: What exactly is this Ponderosa Therapy Center? Is it a rehab center with a bad zoo? This facility is puzzling from the photos.
From what I understand, Ponderosa is a therapeutic centre built for the disabled. It keeps a small collection of exotic animals on a small plot of land which the centre uses to develop new skills and increase confidence in less able people. I remember how small the farm was when it first opened. In the early days they only kept llamas, emus, cattle, wallabies and a few reptiles. Over the years the collection has vastly grown to include monkeys, tapir, deer, meerkats and smaller mammals like raccoon dogs, racoons and civets. A lot of their collection is not even listed on their website. Of course, the centre isn't restricted only to less able visitors, in fact, the centre encourages people of all walks of life to visit, so that they can "bridge the gap" between disabled and able-bodied people.
I think the idea of the facility is great and I think the owners and staff are doing a commendable job, but the centre really should increase their finances and improve their existing exhibits and enclosures before expanding their collection. Some of their current exhibits were extremely dire.
DavidBrown:
I think the idea of the facility is great and I think the owners and staff are doing a commendable job, but the centre really should increase their finances and improve their existing exhibits and enclosures before expanding their collection. Some of their current exhibits were extremely dire.
Thanks Mr. Weasel. This does sound like a very worthwhile institution that perhaps is in over their head in terms of trying to maintain a zoo in somewhat substandard conditions. I try not to judge from photos, but some of these enclosures look really bad and I know from reading your posts that you have concerns from what you saw. Hopefully they can upgrade as you suggest.
