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GarLyn Zoo
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(906) 477-1085; www.garlynzoo.com
 | | Cougar like two-year-old Zeke here are now thought to roam the U.P. The cats can grow to 200 lbs. | Visiting this small zoo was a surprisingly pleasant experience. It could make a good travel break for families making a long drive across U.S. 2, and for anyone with an interest in animals. The enclosures are on ten acres of mostly shady pine and birch forest, back on a drive, away from the highway. Woodchip paths wind through the area. The animals seem relaxed yet alert; only a wolf was pacing on our visit.
Wanting to see wildlife - especially carnivores like wolves and big mammals like bear and moose - seems to be something almost hard-wired into vacationing Americans when they come north of the 45th parallel. GarLyn gives you a good look at all the well known animals of Michigan's north woods except the moose - with non-native bison and alligator thrown in for extra glamor. (Wolverines may be state icons but they are hardly ever found in Michiganl) Plan on from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours to visit GarLyn Zoo.
Children and adults are likely to enjoy the intimacy of this small woodland zoo, where animals are never far away. They can feed sika and whitetail deer, llama, sheep, goats, ducks, and chickens. Pheasants, ducks, African guinea hens, chickens, and peafowl roam around the grounds.
 | | The gift shop (above) and zoo are tucked in a shady forest of cedars and pines. | Many wild animals at GarLyn are rescues - orphaned animals, or injured so they could no longer live in the wild, or adopted from owners who could no longer care for their pets. The bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, whitetail deer, bison, skunks, porcupine, tortoise, alligators, and foxes were all rescued. Some animals were purchased from breeders. Some were Gary and Lynn Moore's pet domestic animals like pygmy goats, potbellied pigs, and sika deer. They already had quite a menagerie before they took the big step of selling their house in St. Clair (near Port Huron) in 1993 and starting to work on developing the zoo. The Moores were familiar with Naubinway because Lynn's parents spent summers here.
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 | | This 400+ lb. American bear, born in captivity, is now 13 years old. |
The much-discussed cougar, whose possible sightings have been widely reported in Upper Peninsula news media, is actually here, so you can see for yourself. Until cougars were hunted to extinction (supposedly) throughout the eastern United States, they were native to Michigan. Also called panthers, mountain lions, and pumas, cougars once were, in fact, the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, ranging from Canada to Patagonia. These days sightings are consistently reported in the U.P., even by skeptics. Are they escaped pets? Cases of mistaken identity? The DNR has downplayed their existence until definite tracks are recorded and more bodies discovered.
For books and gifts about animals and nature, the zoo's excellent gift shop is the equal of many a gift shop in an urban zoo. High-quality Safari plastic animals encourage play related to wildlife and the natural world. Gary and Lynn are good at fielding questions about the animals, if time permits.
The excellent GarLyn web site has lots of goodies, starting with a printable 10% discount page for zoo visits. Gary does it all himself. He's self-taught on computers, and in winter he has lots of time to learn and work on the site. It has notes on many animals at the zoo, video clips of wolves, cougar, coyote, black bear, deer, river otter, and wallabies. A 360° panorama gives a good idea of the zoo's woodsy setting and intimate scale. You can print out coloring pages of animals, and get tips for photographing zoo animals.
Some people feel that keeping wild animals in relatively small spaces is cruel. The GarLyn Zoo is inspected twice a year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (mostly for the domestic animals) and also by the DNR (most concerned about wild animals native to Michigan). Inspections look at animals' health, housing, food, cleanliness, and opportunities to play. Carnivores require a lot of meat, and people in the area have given the zoo road kill and other meat.
Animals appreciate getting their food delivered daily; at least, that's what many wildlife specialists say. Bear and deer have to work so hard for their food. Having areas to roam in, above a certain minimum for exercise and play, doesn't seem to make much difference to many species if their food is supplied. The bear at Oswald's Bear Ranch may have many acres to roam, but they gravitate to the perimeter where people are. After listening to state park naturalists, wildlife consultants, and zoo keepers, it seems fair to say that the best way for most people to see animals is in zoo settings like this. It's certainly better than the feeding wild animals. Feeding can cause disease to spread - as probably happened with bovine tuberculosis in the northeastern Lower Peninsula deer herd. Feeding puts animals at risk if the food source is withdrawn.
If you really want to observe a black bear on your trip to the Upper Peninsula, stop here at the GarLyn
Zoo. It's way better than helping to create wide-ranging nuisance bears by feeding bears around campgrounds or patronizing restaurants that leave garbage out for bears. Nuisance bears have become big problems in some areas. Feeding bears leftover human food and sweets like ice cream cones is bad for their health, and potentially very dangerous to humans.
On U.S. 2 just east of Naubinway, 38 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. (906) 477-1085. Open from sometime in March through November. From April through September open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In October and November open daily from 10 to 5. Opens in March after the snow is gone, from 10 to 5. Call before coming in March. $8/adult, $7 kids 3-16, 2 & under free. Families of up to 6: $28. Annual family pass for up to 6 people: $75. Wheelchair-accessible. Assistance required on some slopes.
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