TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —If you’re looking for a fun indoor summer activity and you’re keen on wildlife, this is the place for you!
“Upwards of ninety-five percent of our animals are rescues,” Sinuhe Montoya, Sponsorship Director, said.
Montoya said there’s a wide variety of animals at the zoo.
“Amphibians, there’s reptiles, there’s a few mammals, there’s fish, there’s birds, and there’s insects of different kinds,” Montoya listed.
Something interesting about the Twin Falls Zoological Center is that most of their exhibits are interactive, like the ball python.
“You’re able to feed the turtles, you’re able to feed the tortoises, and they’ll come up to you, and they’ll follow you around with a thing of lettuce. The parakeets, like I mentioned, you have the seed that they land on your hand. And there’s the doctor fish, you put your hands in the tank, and they nibble on your fingers,” Montoya explained.
There are a handful of animals in the zoo that are rescued, and zoo owners and workers have made this a sanctuary for them.
“We provide medical care for the animals, so veterinary care. We feed them, we make sure that they’re well taken care of, and that there are enclosures that fit them well. The alligator Levi, he was growing up in somebody’s bathtub,” he said.
He also adds that it’s extremely important for the community to come to the zoo and take it as a learning experience.
“I do care that people understand what it takes to keep these animals alive and healthy, not only in enclosures here, but in the wild, and why it’s so important that we take care of the Snake River and the surrounding ecology,” he said.
The Twin Falls Zoological Center runs through donations and admission from the community, and right now they are in desperate need of donations.
“If you care to support the Zoo, by all means, please come through those doors. But if you really want to go above and beyond, go to the website, there is a giving tree there. You can make a simple donation of as little as $10 on up, and that would mean a whole lot to the animals, and it would mean a whole lot to the Zoo,” he said.
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