The Rise and Fall of Chippewa’s Zoo

Among the many attractions that brought people to Chippewa Park over the last century, the zoo stands out. While it became a subject of controversy in more recent years, it remained a popular attraction for generations of park visitors.

It began simply enough in 1923 when the MPP for Fort William and Minister of Mines, the Honourable H. Mills donated the first animals - a raccoon and some squirrels! Large game such as buffalo, elk, and deer were added and enclosed in areas large enough to allow them to roam freely. Wildlife typical of our region - fox, raccoons, beaver, and wolves – were introduced over the following decades, and the collection grew to include a variety of birds such as pheasants, owls, swans, geese, eagles, and even peacocks.

Exotic animals were not entirely excluded. Three rhesus monkeys named Pepper, Salt, and Sage were so popular that they were awarded their own building in 1955, courtesy of  the Fort William Rotary Club. (These monkeys also kept the St. John’s Ambulance personnel busy on Sundays treating those who stuck their fingers into their cages!). Occasionally, the zoo would receive an exotic pet from a resident who no longer wanted to keep it: at one time this included a beautiful tropical bird, a toucan, and a baby alligator.

But if the Chippewa zoo had star attractions, it was always the bears. From the 1930’s until the 1950’s, the most popular animal was Teddy, a large black bear. He was famous for pointing to its mouth as viewers tossed peanuts to it. When he died in 1955 it was a major news story, and he was the only animal ever buried in a marked grave within the park.

The other star bear came in 1956 but didn’t stay long. He was Snowball, a polar bear cub from the Hudson’s Bay region. When it arrived, it was a small cuddly ball of white fur, but within two years, it was a massive 500 lb. bear. Too big for Chippewa’s zoo, he was donated to the Winnipeg Zoo in 1958.

By the 1960’s, complaints began to emerge about the animals’ living conditions, especially after rides such as the roller coaster were installed right alongside the pens. In 1973, City Council decided to close it down. A new zoo was proposed, however – one which would house the animals in a more natural environment. Thus, the Chippewa Park Wildlife Exhibit was born.

It took ten years for the new exhibit to be constructed. The City had provided only $45,000 a year to build the facility. The park Superintendent, Frank Banning, had to be creative to secure the necessary materials on a limited budget. “I just about lost my life over heart attacks building that damn thing,” he recalled years later. But he was blessed with a dedicated staff: “If I asked them to stand on their head, they would,” he said. 

The result was a Wildlife Exhibit that included an elevated walkway that allowed visitors to view animals safely in their natural settings. It contained woodland caribou, elk, moose, deer, foxes,  cougars, bears, otters, raccoons, bald eagles, turkeys … and of course, bears.

The new layout was a vast improvement over the previous wire mesh pens and proved popular with visitors.  However, three factors contributed to Council’s decision in 2017 to close the exhibit; public opinion on confining animals, the capital cost required to maintain the facility and a desire by some on Council to reduce taxes. Ironically, the facility will remain in place until such time as City Council provides the funding to tear it down.