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About Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary
Situated on ten acres north of Prescott and overlooking Willow Lake, the sanctuary has many opportunities for visitors including a covered picnic pavilion with a BBQ grill, a children’s playground, and large, naturally landscaped enclosures for the animals with paths that allow visitors the opportunity to get an up-close and personal view of them. One of the most interesting exhibits, and one which is unique to the Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary, is the Tarantula Grotto. This building has a distinctive cave-like feel, and houses 26 different spiders from all over the world – 17 of which are on display at any given time. Included in this stunning collection are two specimens of the world’s largest spider, the Goliath Birdeater. This is one of the largest public displays of spiders in the country. Currently under construction is a 2,600 sq. ft. state-of-the-art Reptile House, which will be home to countless species including a 13 ft. Burmese Python; gila monster; geckos; skinks; iguanas; crocodilians and monitor lizards.
Other members of the sanctuary’s collection include a tiger who came from private ownership in Texas; a melanistic (black) jaguar who came from a zoo after his mother rejected him; an American Black Bear who came to the sanctuary as a cub when his mother was mistakenly shot by a hunter; a mountain lion who was found as a kitten in a burn pile in Montana; and a gray fox who was rescued from the Aspen Fire in Tucson where she stayed to protect her newborn kits.
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary also has a prestigious role as participant in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Species Survival Plan for the critically endangered Mexican Gray Wolf, one of the most endangered large mammals in the world. After a 20-year absence in the wild, this animal is being reintroduced to its former range following a successful captive breeding program. The sanctuary is a holding facility for wolves not currently ready for release.
This non-profit organization relies heavily on a large body of devoted volunteers to keep the sanctuary running. Volunteer opportunities abound; |
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from assisting with landscaping and construction projects, helping in the animal care department, and working in the gift shop to the docent and educational outreach programs. The sanctuary hosts a number of special events throughout the year, such as the raffle of a Jaguar automobile, photo safari tours, the Zoofari benefit dinner as well as several holiday and moonlight events and Summer Zoo Camp for kids.
The sanctuary’s motto is “Conservation through Education,” and it is a mission that this facility services with pride. Henry Beston wrote “ …man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err.” Indeed the whole of Earth has paid a heavy price for man’s reckless disregard of her other living inhabitants. As many of the wild places of the planet are disappearing and zoos become the last sanctuary for much of the world’s wildlife, Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary offers a place to animals who have no other. This sanctuary is working to give something back – helping to restore some balance and trying to tip back the scales for animals who have lost so much. Through educating the public, Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary hopes to help ensure the sustained existence of wildlife species throughout the world.
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary is open every day of the year and located off of Willow Creek Road across from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, at 1403 Heritage Park Road in Prescott. Admission prices are very reasonable: $8 for adults (ages 13 and up), $7 for seniors (age 65 and up), and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. Animal adoption and membership opportunities are available.
For more information on the sanctuary and how you can become involved, call (928) 778-4242.
Read more >> Sanctuary History
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