WEBVTT 00:00:08.899 --> 00:00:10.839 Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Good 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:12.980 News York. You might notice that we are not in 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:15.640 the studio again today. No. We've been taking 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:17.679 lots of field trips lately. Yeah, this one. I 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:18.960 feel like we're slacking. Are you not doing your 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:22.160 homework? Is that what's? No. Amanda booked this. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.100 I don't know what she's getting us into, but 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:27.059 I'm very excited. Yeah, we are at the wild here 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:31.469 in Chittanango. This place is absolutely incredible 00:00:31.469 --> 00:00:33.890 from what we were told. There is a zoo, there 00:00:33.890 --> 00:00:37.789 is a drive -through safari, and there is a resort 00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:41.829 animal experience we've seen on the brochure. 00:00:42.289 --> 00:00:45.090 We're really excited to take a look and see what's 00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:46.850 really happening here. Yeah, I think what we 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:49.710 can do is feed some animals, talk to some animals. 00:00:49.929 --> 00:00:52.329 Might feed you to an animal. Feed me to an animal. 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:53.649 You better not get out of line today, buddy. 00:01:02.990 --> 00:01:05.430 I always say it all started with a couple goats. 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:10.689 I had my landscape company. It was a small landscape 00:01:10.689 --> 00:01:15.310 company. I had an acre of land. And for his first 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:17.569 birthday, my excuse is you're kind of weird if 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:19.170 you just go buy a bunch of animals and put them 00:01:19.170 --> 00:01:21.780 in your backyard. for his first birthday, his 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:23.680 birthday present was I built him a petting zoo 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:29.459 in my backyard. So yeah, yeah, like a full blown. 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:31.959 There was even like feed machines, quarter machines. 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:35.359 It was all for fun, you know, like and we had 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.959 goats, we had donkeys, we had then we added I 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:41.319 had zebra over there. Like it's weird. So just 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:44.489 an acre of land. And just like slowly I turned 00:01:44.489 --> 00:01:49.290 my garage into like an indoor area. I had Codamondis, 00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:50.810 which are like a South American raccoon. I had 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:54.129 reptiles in there. And with opening that for 00:01:54.129 --> 00:01:57.849 him, I think it was that fall, I started like 00:01:57.849 --> 00:02:01.469 a small fall festival. And the funny thing is 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:04.620 I had like no parking. And I think it was $2 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:07.620 to get in into my backyard. I had an outdoor 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:10.879 bar here. We turned into a food area. We had 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:12.740 like one bounce house that kids could bounce 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:16.340 in. It just it started with that. And then the 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:20.740 next year for his second birthday, I surprised 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:23.159 everyone. I've got him a camel for his birthday. 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:29.340 So, yeah. Yeah, I had it. I had it in my garage. 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:31.039 Everybody and then my dad opened up the garage 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.879 and almost fell over. We saw a camel standing 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:35.840 there. But that camel still to this day we have 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:39.599 over on the safari. So he's like the OG, like 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:43.520 he's been around forever and. Like it's his camel 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:49.000 and yeah, we just expanded. Man, so what happens 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.719 on like the 14th birthday? I mean, you went from 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:54.620 a zoo and then a camel. I think you're seeing 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.139 it. Yeah, yeah. Camaro. I just keep building 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:00.139 stuff all for them. You know, like that's my 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:04.500 goal is just to build a massive, you know. North 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.740 Chittanango kind of take over the area and businesses. 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.819 And it's all for both of my boys. That's incredible. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.020 How big of property do you have here altogether? 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:18.719 So I have roughly I have over 300 acres total. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.819 Oh, wow. Between all the different properties, 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:24.259 because I basically I have the zoo here, which 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:27.080 was 15 years ago, opened up the safari, opened 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:29.840 up during covid. And then the haven, which is 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:34.629 another 117 acres. We just opened up this year 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:38.330 and then I have support farms around 100 acre 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:41.250 farm where we live that we do all like I try 00:03:41.250 --> 00:03:43.150 to be as self -sufficient as we can like all 00:03:43.150 --> 00:03:44.849 our own construction crews and for the bigger 00:03:44.849 --> 00:03:47.330 projects I have to bring other people in but 00:03:47.330 --> 00:03:50.270 we do all our own hay. My father like because 00:03:50.270 --> 00:03:53.830 the farming he manages like the hay aspect of 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:56.789 it so we have all our own hay equipment so we 00:03:56.789 --> 00:04:00.490 have to bail you know. 20, 30 ,000 bales of hay 00:04:00.490 --> 00:04:03.409 on our own. And so it's complex, like there's 00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.750 a lot of moving parts to it, a lot of different 00:04:05.750 --> 00:04:10.129 managers, pretty big staff. And yeah, like I 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:11.750 said, we have in -house construction crew, in 00:04:11.750 --> 00:04:14.569 -house maintenance, everything. So I got to ask, 00:04:14.669 --> 00:04:17.649 you got all these incredible exotic animals from 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:19.990 all over the world. What do you do with them 00:04:19.990 --> 00:04:22.269 in the winter? So that's part of like all the 00:04:22.269 --> 00:04:24.069 properties I have. Most of the animals here at 00:04:24.069 --> 00:04:26.509 the zoo aside from like the goats and the stuff 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:28.610 around the pond stay here. They have heated buildings. 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:31.750 Anything that needs heat has heat. My passion 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:34.110 is African wildlife. I mean I have animals from 00:04:34.110 --> 00:04:35.850 all around the world but African animals are 00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:38.430 my passion so there's more of them. which is 00:04:38.430 --> 00:04:41.149 challenging because Africa's a lot warmer than 00:04:41.149 --> 00:04:43.449 here. But if they need heat, they have a heated 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:45.870 building. Some animals, the bison, different 00:04:45.870 --> 00:04:49.050 things, don't need heat. But with my support 00:04:49.050 --> 00:04:51.170 farms and stuff, we move them in the fall once 00:04:51.170 --> 00:04:54.689 we close down. And just everything always has 00:04:54.689 --> 00:04:58.790 a place to go. And it's all about ensuring. So 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:02.149 our number one goal is to ensure the best lives 00:05:02.149 --> 00:05:06.360 that animals can have in captivity here. Safety 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:09.899 is obviously a top priority. Guest experience, 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:12.519 try to create. It's a different style zoo. It's 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:16.019 very up close, personal, interactive. And I think 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:17.899 people have gotten away from the interactive 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:20.339 side of things. I mean, I remember as a kid when 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.279 they used to do elephant rides at Rosemont Gifford. 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:26.199 And you know, like the thing is, is we need to 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:28.199 protect the planet, protect the species. A lot 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.759 of species are endangered or threatened, and 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:32.920 you can only learn so much in a book or the excitement 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.519 you don't get from a book. They can see it in 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:37.139 a classroom that when you interact with these 00:05:37.139 --> 00:05:39.040 animals, it gives you a connection. It makes 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.120 you more likely to save the environment, to protect 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:44.120 them, to contribute to conservation. I always 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:47.100 say it's like conservation through education 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:49.720 is like one of our main things is educating people 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:51.800 about the animals and the need to protect them. 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:55.399 But what better way to establish a bond with 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:56.819 people, whether it's interacting with a baby 00:05:56.819 --> 00:06:01.120 camel or feeding goats like kids, they they form 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:04.110 this, you know. sort of bond, you know, as they 00:06:04.110 --> 00:06:06.569 come to the zoo and they get to interact with 00:06:06.569 --> 00:06:09.889 them. And hopefully it carries on. And because 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:11.509 that's what did it for me, it was my interaction 00:06:11.509 --> 00:06:13.310 with animals. If I didn't interact with them, 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:17.430 I probably wouldn't be sitting here today. But 00:06:17.430 --> 00:06:20.769 yeah, so it's there's a lot. Speaking of interaction 00:06:20.769 --> 00:06:23.649 with animals, you know, you said that you specifically 00:06:23.649 --> 00:06:27.910 like animals from Africa. Have you ever traveled 00:06:27.910 --> 00:06:31.850 to Africa for? research? No, that's like my ultimate 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:33.610 trip. I've traveled around the world, different 00:06:33.610 --> 00:06:36.449 places. Africa was supposed to go for my birthday 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:38.889 during COVID and then COVID happened. So that 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:41.410 kind of changed that. But that's still going 00:06:41.410 --> 00:06:44.009 to be like my ultimate trip is to go there and 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:48.410 see them in their natural element. Being a private 00:06:48.410 --> 00:06:50.589 zoo, we're kind of looked down on because we're 00:06:50.589 --> 00:06:52.829 not AZA and that's just an accreditation you 00:06:52.829 --> 00:06:55.490 pay to be a member of. We still strive for high 00:06:55.490 --> 00:07:00.870 standards of animal care. But It's just we don't 00:07:00.870 --> 00:07:03.730 feel like our resources are spent on an organization 00:07:03.730 --> 00:07:06.230 I'd rather put it into the animals in the exhibits 00:07:06.230 --> 00:07:14.209 into the guest experience I mean, you know, I 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:16.889 own a couple dogs. I've owned a couple cats. 00:07:16.949 --> 00:07:19.730 You have some pretty exotic animals Can you peel 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:21.550 the curtain back a little bit? What do you have 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:23.410 to do? You opened the zoo. I'm assuming you have 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:25.750 to get some crazy permits. Is there a lot of 00:07:25.750 --> 00:07:27.970 hoops you got to jump? Oh yeah, like we're federally 00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:30.709 and state licensed. We get randomly inspected. 00:07:30.910 --> 00:07:33.769 We have to prove that we can care for the animals. 00:07:34.649 --> 00:07:37.370 They'll show up and we have to go through full 00:07:37.370 --> 00:07:41.490 inspections. That's enclosures, diets, vet care, 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:46.339 public safety. um everything and it's funny because 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:49.279 when I first started and my boys were young my 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:51.199 parents like they were against everybody was 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.040 against it when I started and then as I got going 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.420 they've been some of my biggest supporters and 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:59.120 embraced it my father works for me um full -time 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.060 does excavation stuff my mother just recently 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:04.120 retired per se but she always did my bookkeeping 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:09.560 and everything and uh yeah so it's uh it's it's 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:12.160 it's really a lot but they've they've embraced 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.699 it and then my mother or father one of them years 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.660 ago said, you know, you can get whatever, whatever, 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:19.519 but as long as it can't eat our grandchildren. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.800 And yeah, well, I don't pay attention to anybody. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.620 And now we have some of the most dangerous animals 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:29.600 from around the world. I mean, we have I think 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.240 that I have probably the largest big cat collection 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:34.779 privately in the country. I mean, we have 10 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:38.179 lions, 11 tigers, five leopards. We have. all 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:40.120 the different big cat species. We've got grizzly 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:42.419 bears, black bears, pygmy hippos. You know, I 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:45.320 think we have 18 alligators. What's the most 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:50.860 dangerous animal in the park? It's hard to say. 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:55.539 I would say like a jaguar is pretty legit. Like 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:57.480 I say they're like a leopard on steroids. They're 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.679 just like solid muscle. And, you know, they're 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.460 all like that's what you have to like you can 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:06.139 raise them in captivity. We've hand raised all 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:09.230 of our cats. And by hand raising them, we bottle 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:11.210 feed them as babies. It doesn't affect them in 00:09:11.210 --> 00:09:14.149 a negative way, but it's just like people. Like 00:09:14.149 --> 00:09:16.250 if you're stressed out, it's not healthy. So 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:18.070 these animals by us hand raising them doesn't 00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:19.570 tame them. It doesn't take the wild out of them. 00:09:19.850 --> 00:09:21.389 But when they see us, they don't get stressed 00:09:21.389 --> 00:09:23.690 out. If we have to do vet care, they'll walk 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.269 over and we can inject them or, you know, it's 00:09:26.269 --> 00:09:28.750 a lot easier and they see the public. They don't 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:30.289 see them as a threat, like they're not going 00:09:30.289 --> 00:09:32.250 to be back in the back of the enclosure scared, 00:09:32.409 --> 00:09:34.230 but they're also not going to want to kill them. 00:09:35.230 --> 00:09:38.690 So it kind of makes them have a better life in 00:09:38.690 --> 00:09:40.210 captivity because none of these animals, they're 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:41.990 all born in captivity. None of them are ever 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:44.230 going to be released back into the wild. They 00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:47.970 can't learn to hunt. They never survive. So with 00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:50.330 them in captivity, we want to give them the best 00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:52.570 lives possible and that's by hand raising them. 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:56.269 And probably one of our biggest compliments is 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:58.480 how like... Most people don't go to zoos where 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.360 you can see the animals so up close and they 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.259 have nice enclosures But they're right there 00:10:02.259 --> 00:10:04.200 a lot of places you go you they're in the back 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:07.980 thing closer. They're in the weeds So it's just 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:10.580 a different experience sitting here as these 00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:13.539 giraffes are like ten feet away from yeah amazing 00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:16.639 I I recently heard a survival tactic. I might 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.600 have talked about this on the show. You're an 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:20.240 expert So now's the time to ask we're talking 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.889 about dangerous animals I was told if you are 00:10:23.889 --> 00:10:26.830 ever come in contact with bears, what I was told 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:30.230 was if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, 00:10:30.370 --> 00:10:33.889 lay down. And if it's white, good night. Is that 00:10:33.889 --> 00:10:37.490 true? I mean, fairly like a polar bear is like 00:10:37.490 --> 00:10:42.110 they're known to actually hunt you. I mean, like 00:10:42.110 --> 00:10:45.730 a grizzly is still really serious. I mean. A 00:10:45.730 --> 00:10:47.429 grizzly can smell a drop of blood from a mile 00:10:47.429 --> 00:10:48.889 away. That's a black bear. And they're hunters. 00:10:49.190 --> 00:10:52.669 Grizzly, no. Black brown bear. Got it. Black 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:55.789 bears are an omnivore. They eat meat. They eat 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:57.909 vegetables. They eat everything. They're dangerous. 00:10:58.289 --> 00:10:59.850 But what you usually hear about bear attacks 00:10:59.850 --> 00:11:02.389 is either a polar bear, grizzly bear. Polar bears 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:04.769 are by far the most dangerous. But grizzlies 00:11:04.769 --> 00:11:06.730 are definitely dangerous. I mean, if you come 00:11:06.730 --> 00:11:09.649 across them, I mean, you lay down, you're probably 00:11:09.649 --> 00:11:13.600 in trouble. Oh, polar bear, you're definitely 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:15.500 in trouble, but I guess you just got to hope 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.419 that you're with someone and they're slower than 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:20.539 you. So you just take off. That's why I hang 00:11:20.539 --> 00:11:24.679 out with Matt. He thinks he's fast, but no, I'd 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.519 I'd take it for him along those lines, sort of, 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:30.700 I guess. Maybe you talked about, you know, hey, 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:33.659 that you raise here and use for different things. 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:36.500 But when we talk about the diet, a lot of these 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.159 things, I'm guessing, eat meat and things like 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.100 that. How do you source that sort of thing? So 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:44.299 right now, with my carnivores that I have, I 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:46.779 probably go through about 7 ,000 pounds of meat 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:50.200 every month. Wow. So yeah, that's a lot. And 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:51.879 I mean, when you think about it, probably your 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:53.480 average cow that you butcher, you might get four 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.220 to 500 pounds out of. So you're talking 20 cows 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:01.539 a month. But we obviously have to source that 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:03.879 and we can't raise cows. It's not feasible. It 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:07.399 wouldn't sustain. So we work with a beef company. 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:11.399 We get chicken by just the cases brought in. 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:14.259 It's restaurant quality chicken. but you can't 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:15.860 also there's more to it like we work with the 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:18.620 veterinarians and the diets formulating you can't 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:19.759 just feed them meat because they're not going 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.279 to get all the nutrients in the wild they're 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:22.559 going to eat the stomach they're going to eat 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.940 the intestine they're going to eat the fur they're 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:25.940 going to eat the bones they're going to eat everything 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:29.440 so part of our diet is adding vitamins to it 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.220 so we have all this these vitamin supplements 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:33.980 we have it's it's pretty extensive it's pretty 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:36.980 there's a lot to it but then you go to penguins 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:40.309 and penguins eat fish um you go to tortoises 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:43.490 they eat all vegetables so like our kitchen is 00:12:43.490 --> 00:12:47.570 is crazy and and uh like a penguin will eat 20 00:12:47.570 --> 00:12:51.649 fish a day per penguin and we have 17 18 penguins 00:12:51.649 --> 00:12:54.629 something like that so but we've been fortunate 00:12:54.629 --> 00:12:57.570 to where we uh like we have penguins that are 00:12:57.570 --> 00:13:00.149 an endangered species that hatch out chicks so 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:02.090 we're able to contribute to the population and 00:13:02.090 --> 00:13:05.320 captivity of an endangered species and We have 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.940 a Saimang baby, also an endangered species, so 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:11.200 we've been pretty successful at breeding things. 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:14.159 It's not necessarily our goal, but it's nice 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.080 to be able to supply other quality zoos with 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.700 animals or sustain ourselves. That's the challenge. 00:13:20.019 --> 00:13:24.379 People tend to humanize everything, and they 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:25.940 have an outlook of animals being like people. 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:27.809 They're not, they're different. everything, but 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:30.610 they also have like a shorter lifespan. So my 00:13:30.610 --> 00:13:32.470 goal with building all this is for my kids to 00:13:32.470 --> 00:13:34.909 take it over and for it to be theirs. Well, a 00:13:34.909 --> 00:13:37.429 lot of animals have a 10 year lifespan, 15 year 00:13:37.429 --> 00:13:40.289 lifespan, 20 year lifespan. So I have to plan 00:13:40.289 --> 00:13:42.450 for this for the future with breeding and setting 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:44.350 up breeding pairs in different groups, whether 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.750 it's off site, so that if we need, you know, 00:13:48.090 --> 00:13:51.809 more primates that we have them in line or have 00:13:51.809 --> 00:13:53.909 them off site or different things to be able 00:13:53.909 --> 00:13:58.850 to sustain this as. a business for years to come 00:13:58.850 --> 00:14:01.289 for them to take over. So there's a lot involved, 00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:04.830 just future planning. And that's a nice thing 00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:06.269 with me having all the different facilities. 00:14:06.450 --> 00:14:09.250 I'm able to have, I have lions here, I have lions 00:14:09.250 --> 00:14:11.470 at the safari, I have lions at the haven. I have 00:14:11.470 --> 00:14:14.470 tigers at all different places. So we have different 00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:21.049 sites to hold them. So there's a lot to it. How 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:23.649 many people you got on your team now? I would 00:14:23.649 --> 00:14:26.690 say 60 to 70 employees seasonally because we're 00:14:26.690 --> 00:14:29.549 a seasonal business. We've expanded our season 00:14:29.549 --> 00:14:32.470 with we added Christmas lights to where we light 00:14:32.470 --> 00:14:34.509 the whole zoo up. We have a professional guy 00:14:34.509 --> 00:14:36.029 come in and put Christmas lights up. So it gives 00:14:36.029 --> 00:14:38.190 us another month and a half of being open to 00:14:38.190 --> 00:14:40.769 sustain staff because it's challenging because 00:14:40.769 --> 00:14:43.590 if we're only open from April to October, what 00:14:43.590 --> 00:14:45.529 do you do with all these employees? And to get 00:14:45.529 --> 00:14:46.850 them to come back, they're going to find other 00:14:46.850 --> 00:14:48.870 jobs. So the longer we can extend our season, 00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:52.389 we're able to keep better employees. And we do 00:14:52.389 --> 00:14:55.110 encounter where you get to interact with otters, 00:14:55.370 --> 00:14:57.629 sloths, penguins, different things. We do that 00:14:57.629 --> 00:15:00.370 year round where people get a one -on -one, two 00:15:00.370 --> 00:15:02.570 -on -one with a keeper and these animals and 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:04.370 interact to learn about them, get educated about 00:15:04.370 --> 00:15:07.990 them. So the business just keeps expanding. I 00:15:07.990 --> 00:15:11.350 would say I'm an entrepreneur, and business drives 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:14.070 me with a passion for animals, and I try to combine 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:18.490 business and animals and conservation. We recently 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:20.090 started, and we're getting it up and running. 00:15:20.750 --> 00:15:23.049 a non -for -profit called Friends of the Wild, 00:15:23.350 --> 00:15:24.909 where we're going to contribute to conservation. 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:26.769 We're going to contribute to the lives of animals 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:29.470 in captivity. So that, you know, it's kind of 00:15:29.470 --> 00:15:31.549 a controversial thing. People say it's a business. 00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:33.649 You're making money off animals. It's not that. 00:15:33.669 --> 00:15:36.129 It's my passion. And we want to contribute, whether 00:15:36.129 --> 00:15:38.830 it's conservation and education, which we've 00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:41.190 done for years. But now we want to raise money 00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:44.649 to give back monetarily, enhancing the wild, 00:15:44.830 --> 00:15:47.450 enhancing captivity, enhancing every aspect of 00:15:47.450 --> 00:15:54.360 it. So there's a lot to it. We've talked a lot 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:57.899 about this incredible place, but as we were walking 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.639 in, you were telling us about kind of an expansion 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:02.580 that's kind of a whole different concept, right? 00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:04.779 A little event space, a little Airbnb. Can you 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:07.120 talk about that? Yeah, so basically it all started 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.200 with a traveling petting zoo, and I didn't really 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.779 get into that. I had a landscape company, started 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:15.720 a traveling petting zoo, traveled around the 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:18.460 state doing fairs, festivals, and was doing everything 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:21.580 at once, then opened the zoo. And the zoo got 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:23.259 so busy, I had to get out of landscaping, which 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:24.860 benefits me because I do all my own landscaping 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:26.279 around the zoo and the different properties. 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:29.220 And eventually got out of doing the Ferris festivals 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:32.500 focused on this. And as I said, business is my 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:36.039 passion and my mind never stops. I keep thinking 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:38.960 of different things and different ways of, you 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.840 know, expanding, doing different projects. And 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:47.659 the Haven was a dairy farm that, you know, dairy 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:49.659 farms. It's tough for them to make it, didn't 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:52.139 make it. The property came available was 117 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:54.419 acres a mile away on the road that I live on. 00:16:54.820 --> 00:16:58.799 So I purchased it and just my mind started thinking 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.639 about what I could do. And I like to travel. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:03.899 I like to, you know, experience different things 00:17:03.899 --> 00:17:07.940 and my goal. was to first was an event center 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:10.039 and this and then it kind of expanded and now 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:11.960 it's going to be a full -blown resort called 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.220 the Haven with lodging with an event center we 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:18.480 can do weddings we can do parties we do outdoor 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:21.359 events we recently had an Ashley Cook concert 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:23.619 she's an up -and -coming country star I have 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:25.660 like a mini outdoor amphitheater with outdoor 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:29.670 bar outdoor bathrooms everything It is utilizing 00:17:29.670 --> 00:17:32.150 that property for everything we can, but it will 00:17:32.150 --> 00:17:34.609 be a full -blown resort with places to stay, 00:17:34.849 --> 00:17:37.930 pool area, spa, everything. Let's say I was going 00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:39.490 to have a wedding here. I'm already married, 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:42.369 but let's say I was. Most people do it two or 00:17:42.369 --> 00:17:44.529 three times. That's right. I'm on my first. I'm 00:17:44.529 --> 00:17:47.309 on my starter marriage. Is there going to be 00:17:47.309 --> 00:17:50.210 an add -on feature to where you can include the 00:17:50.210 --> 00:17:53.049 animals in some sort of way? Well, the unique 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:58.230 thing about our wedding venue is it's unique. 00:17:58.369 --> 00:17:59.470 I don't know if there's any other one in the 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:02.730 country of that style is you get married. This 00:18:02.730 --> 00:18:05.009 massive event center that I built it all up, 00:18:05.109 --> 00:18:07.130 brought in tens of thousands of yards of fill. 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:10.910 It's set on an African savanna. So out the wedding 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:15.539 venue is of big huge area of giraffe, zebra, 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.799 antelope, ostrich. And then part of the lodging 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.819 is around that we have luxury African tents at 00:18:23.819 --> 00:18:27.019 work and I get open and basically you stay it's 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:29.880 built on a deck. it's these tents are manufactured 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:31.599 right in Africa they're high -end they all have 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:34.240 bathrooms they have tv they have wi -fi they 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.900 have all luxury interiors and you can rent these 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:41.119 rooms and basically wake up go out on your porch 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:43.880 and have a coffee and look at giraffe and zebra 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:48.079 right from your your room and we did the same 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.079 thing with lions and tigers we're basically outside 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:52.279 your bedroom kitchen you look into a tiger or 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.200 lion exhibit and that's the whole focus is the 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.039 interaction with animals our Thursday night events 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.940 party on the patio is our big outdoor area and 00:19:01.940 --> 00:19:04.200 people can come there's a band every Thursday 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:08.619 there's full menu restaurant um full bar and 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:10.400 you're listening to music you're sitting out 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.559 in lounge chairs and you're looking at giraffe 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.599 wandering around and zebra and you can also go 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.400 down to our feeding area you can feed the giraffe 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:20.180 while you're there um so it's just expanding 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:23.339 just off of everything it all started here and 00:19:23.339 --> 00:19:27.640 it's just kind of progressed and yeah And it's 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:29.579 kind of a blessing and a curse that I'm never 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:31.559 satisfied. So I finished one project, good, it's 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:33.140 done. Okay, let's move on to the next, which 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:35.640 makes it tough to sleep, makes it tough to slow 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:38.940 down. And it's my passion. I don't have the ability. 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:41.799 Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a blessing and a curse. 00:19:41.980 --> 00:19:45.579 I mean, we've really, really expanded, but it's 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:47.559 not like a lot of people will compliment me of 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.599 how amazing things are. I'm just part of it like 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:53.099 I you're only as good as the people around you 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:55.279 and I'm surrounded by great people so they all 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.920 deserve the credit too as we go forward because 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:01.759 it's way too much for me to do on my own yeah 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.720 it's obvious you've done an incredible job Mike 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.900 mentioned it the second that we walked in and 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:09.079 started looking around I mean the place is just 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:13.099 immaculate and you know from the fixtures to 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:15.720 the literally no trash on the ground. So I'm 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:17.700 just just it's making you doing a great job. 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:20.220 The whole team, the landscaping aspect. And now 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:21.960 it's clicking with me because I had said, you 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.420 know, I have no disrespect to other zoos and 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:26.960 parks like this. But, you know, you have wild 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.500 animals around us. It's it's hard to keep things 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:31.180 clean. I mean, this is pristine. They don't have 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:34.079 a professional landscape. Right. It's very impressive. 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:37.740 Even the layout. Everything's clean. I've got 00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:41.039 to ask your son, are you are you still in school? 00:20:41.259 --> 00:20:42.819 I don't know, I graduated a couple years ago. 00:20:42.819 --> 00:20:45.359 Alright, so when you were in school, I have to 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.799 ask, what were your classmates' reactions when 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:51.319 they would come to hang out and what did they 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:53.180 think about the park? They just thought it was 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:55.200 crazy because I would bring them here sometimes. 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:57.140 I'd get them for free and we'd walk around and 00:20:57.140 --> 00:20:58.799 they would just ask me all about it. It was just 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.559 awesome. I liked their reactions and stuff and 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.920 it's pretty cool. I'll go up and some of the 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.859 animals know me and stuff like that and their 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:09.559 reactions are just crazy. Yeah it's kind of unique 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:12.700 because like they grew up a different lifestyle 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:16.019 like literally had lions and tigers in our living 00:21:16.019 --> 00:21:19.619 room so and I was always like are they gonna 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:25.380 realize that this isn't normal and you know it's 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:29.880 and I've got two amazing kids and like just to 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:31.819 be able to go to work with your children like 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:35.220 it's the best thing there could be so. You know, 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:38.200 you mentioned you did a big pivot during COVID. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:42.019 And I remember specifically during COVID, the 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:48.539 big thing was Tiger King. That was a whole cultural 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:51.119 thing. Did you guys watch that? Do you have any 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:55.380 opinions on that? So I watched it out of, you 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:57.740 know, what do I have to combat? What are people's 00:21:57.740 --> 00:22:00.539 opinions going to be? And, you know, first of 00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:03.990 all, Carol did it. Yes. All right. I mean, I 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:05.769 mean, I hope that she doesn't watch this. I'll 00:22:05.769 --> 00:22:07.450 probably get a cease and desist or a lawsuit. 00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:10.349 But I mean, the facts of the facts. No, she's 00:22:10.349 --> 00:22:13.750 about the most evil human there is. But but no, 00:22:13.869 --> 00:22:16.670 I watched it kind of like like how bad it can 00:22:16.670 --> 00:22:20.009 make my industry industry look. And it wasn't 00:22:20.009 --> 00:22:22.789 as bad as I thought. I mean, it made her look 00:22:22.789 --> 00:22:25.230 like the person that she is. Right. But it did 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:28.920 kind of bring some negativity to it. And. You 00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:33.599 know, I have differing opinions on it. I've met 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.420 a lot of the people in the movie. It doesn't 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:37.099 represent our industry. There's a lot of really 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:40.339 professional people in the industry that do amazing 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:43.799 things. And it kind of, you know, the movie kind 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:48.740 of made a negative perception of the field, but 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:52.619 that's what movies do, since sensualization. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:59.250 And like... Yeah, they're crazy. But even Joe, 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:01.890 you know, I personally have a pain. I've met 00:23:01.890 --> 00:23:04.930 the guy. Really? I think he was set up. It was, 00:23:05.069 --> 00:23:06.809 I mean, who's going to pay three thousand dollars 00:23:06.809 --> 00:23:09.549 for a hit man? And, you know, I mean, he should 00:23:09.549 --> 00:23:11.349 have done go fund me. The zoo industry probably 00:23:11.349 --> 00:23:12.730 would have really helped him out with that. No, 00:23:12.730 --> 00:23:16.190 I'm just kidding. But it's just I don't know. 00:23:16.309 --> 00:23:19.130 I think that it was I don't I think that it was 00:23:19.130 --> 00:23:23.150 kind of a setup. But I did, I had stopped at 00:23:23.150 --> 00:23:24.990 that facility and there was probably two, three 00:23:24.990 --> 00:23:27.049 hundred tigers, which is insane. When I was there, 00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:29.210 it was clean. It didn't smell. The animals were 00:23:29.210 --> 00:23:34.829 healthy. I think that he just let his feud with 00:23:34.829 --> 00:23:38.690 her like just consume his life. And I think it 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:41.190 drove him to just and I don't know him on a personal 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:43.089 level or anything, but I think it just pushed 00:23:43.089 --> 00:23:46.609 him to the point of like a little insanity. But 00:23:46.609 --> 00:23:50.630 I still don't think that. That's the full story. 00:23:51.549 --> 00:23:56.430 Free Joe Exotic, I guess. We can tell. This is 00:23:56.430 --> 00:24:00.069 nothing like that at all. The way you speak about 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:02.390 the animals and your staff here, you can tell 00:24:02.390 --> 00:24:05.970 that this isn't just a hobby, obviously. It's 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.150 not even just a career. It's a lifestyle and 00:24:08.150 --> 00:24:10.450 it's something that you love. It's infectious, 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:13.200 man. And you can see it. when you walk around? 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:15.779 No, I'm fortunate. You know, I get to, you know, 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:19.859 live my dreams. And I mean, I mean, my kids have 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:21.480 sacrificed a lot throughout their lives with 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.099 me because I work all the time and and I feel 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:27.019 bad. But I mean, like trying to build this for 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:30.400 them. And it's time consuming. But like now it's 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.079 nice because we get to work together, you know, 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:36.250 and. It's it's been an experience and a lot of 00:24:36.250 --> 00:24:39.230 hard work by a lot of people to get us to this 00:24:39.230 --> 00:24:40.950 point. And it's kind of like it's like my own 00:24:40.950 --> 00:24:43.289 little like Disneyland here, Disney World. And 00:24:43.289 --> 00:24:45.650 and that's when like we'll travel to zoos and 00:24:45.650 --> 00:24:47.529 visit zoos and we're walking around and I'm not 00:24:47.529 --> 00:24:49.329 looking at the animals. I love the animals, but 00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:51.089 I'm looking at the rock work and taking pictures 00:24:51.089 --> 00:24:52.809 and send it to my construction guys being like, 00:24:52.849 --> 00:24:55.609 can we do our own spin on this and and what can 00:24:55.609 --> 00:24:58.609 we do to enhance the enclosures? And the enclosures 00:24:58.609 --> 00:25:00.490 that we built in the beginning 15 years ago, 00:25:00.490 --> 00:25:02.480 I don't think there's a single one still. standing 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.859 because we're always striving to improve tearing 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:08.140 enclosures down that you know they were okay 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:11.160 15 years ago but the zoo industry evolves just 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:13.859 like everything like we started out with you 00:25:13.859 --> 00:25:15.960 know wood and this and we've gotten then we went 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:19.259 to a clean metal look that is clean it's more 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:20.700 industrialized so now we're getting away from 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:22.319 that and we're doing more than natural carved 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:25.200 rock work and and just trying to evolve with 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:28.140 it but it's challenging too because like I've 00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:30.490 got three different properties we're working 00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:32.569 on, so you try to spread the time out, keep improving 00:25:32.569 --> 00:25:37.269 the zoo. The haven is meant to be very high -end. 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:41.440 There's a resort. It's going to have a spa. It's 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:42.980 going to have pools. It's going to have pickleball, 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:45.940 basketball. Basically, you go there and everything's 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:47.720 there. And I look at it like the cruise ship 00:25:47.720 --> 00:25:50.980 model. I'm trying to come up with basically excursions. 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:52.460 When you're on a cruise, you go to a stop. You 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:54.460 can add on all these things. Well, I'm trying 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:56.579 to come up with all the things, whether it's 00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:58.880 the animal encounters, or you have a horseback 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:02.259 tour, or you have ATV tours, stuff like that. 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:05.819 So they come to Chittanango. and they can experience 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:09.099 the area around and do different things and it's 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:11.319 crazy because we've been fully booked with the 00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:14.400 Big Cat Bungalows and It's all people from out 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.819 of state and from New York City, from Long Island. 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:18.619 We've had two different families fly all the 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:22.660 way from Hawaii to stay here. California, Arizona. 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:26.099 And my big cat bungalows are the first in the 00:26:26.099 --> 00:26:27.539 Western Hemisphere. There's only four of them 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:29.700 in the world of that style. There's one in Africa, 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:31.480 one in England and one in Australia. So we're 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:34.220 the first one. I'm sure now someone will copy 00:26:34.220 --> 00:26:38.819 me. But you can't do it anywhere else in this 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:41.500 side of the world. So you got me thinking too. 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:44.049 It's kind of cool. is you know we're always talking 00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:47.509 about how technology is changing daily in social 00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:50.190 media and you know there's a lot of industries 00:26:50.190 --> 00:26:52.950 that are affected by the rapid movement but I 00:26:52.950 --> 00:26:55.369 feel like you're kind of protected here like 00:26:55.369 --> 00:26:59.150 no matter how much technology and AI develops 00:26:59.150 --> 00:27:01.450 you have your own little world here like people 00:27:01.450 --> 00:27:03.369 are still going to want to come see animals in 00:27:03.369 --> 00:27:05.789 person. This is the real life experience. Yeah 00:27:05.789 --> 00:27:08.430 to an extent social media is our greatest ally 00:27:08.430 --> 00:27:11.029 and our greatest enemy because we're able to 00:27:11.029 --> 00:27:13.769 like promote like Thirty years ago, zoos couldn't 00:27:13.769 --> 00:27:16.269 promote events, couldn't promote new exhibits 00:27:16.269 --> 00:27:19.289 like you can now. You just put it out there and 00:27:19.289 --> 00:27:21.930 people see it and they'll come. But you also 00:27:21.930 --> 00:27:26.089 empower radical animal rights people. And, you 00:27:26.089 --> 00:27:29.049 know, I would say 95 percent of people love zoos, 00:27:29.049 --> 00:27:31.410 maybe 98 percent, two percent despise them. They 00:27:31.410 --> 00:27:32.829 don't believe in animals and captivity. They 00:27:32.829 --> 00:27:35.109 don't believe in dogs and cats as pets. Those 00:27:35.109 --> 00:27:37.569 people are very organized. And social media gives 00:27:37.569 --> 00:27:42.299 a, you know, a platform. And I We get attacked 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:43.839 here and there not a lot because we try to put 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:46.200 ourselves like to a different standard but you 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:48.680 know somebody behind a keyboard and faceless 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:51.440 with a fake you know profile picture they feel 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.720 pretty tough when they're typing everything and 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:55.779 and they can attack you and you know they're 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:58.140 always pushing for new laws to restrict it and 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:00.039 make me not be able to have big cats and this 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:03.819 and that so it's it's uh another aspect of my 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.079 business is we're always fighting we're always 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:09.180 contracting contacting congressmen or different 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:12.480 people to be like hey this law is like it's really 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:15.299 bad for my business it's not there's not it's 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:18.339 not valid it's not necessary but those people 00:28:18.339 --> 00:28:20.400 are effective in raising funds and buying off 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:22.859 congress people and getting you know a new york 00:28:22.859 --> 00:28:25.480 city politician to pass a law that they have 00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:28.400 no clue about anything but they just get financing 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:30.400 from it so they push it through and we've got 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:32.740 to fight it and hope they don't gain steam so 00:28:32.740 --> 00:28:34.980 it's it's a never -ending battle and we're always 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:37.650 facing stricter regulations and new laws and 00:28:37.650 --> 00:28:41.630 different things. So it's a challenge. There's 00:28:41.630 --> 00:28:44.890 a whole other aspect of it. But yeah, I mean, 00:28:45.009 --> 00:28:47.250 that's the thing too, is like kids live on tablets. 00:28:47.470 --> 00:28:49.430 They live on phones. They live on that. Like 00:28:49.430 --> 00:28:51.750 this gives them an experience to put the phone 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:53.529 away, put the tablet away and just go out and 00:28:53.529 --> 00:28:55.690 enjoy the animals and experience it and see it. 00:28:55.900 --> 00:28:58.140 Which is a tough thing to do is to get kids or 00:28:58.140 --> 00:29:00.240 even adults to put their phones down at this 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.299 point. Too much more of your time, but I do. 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:07.839 I gotta ask you one question and see maybe we 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.980 can get some news. What is the next coming piece 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:15.579 that? we might see in the zoo or obviously we 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:17.759 know the spawn all that's coming but is there 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:20.319 another exhibit on deck or things like that? 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:22.859 Um we've got some new animals coming in that 00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:28.779 we're working on new exhibits um some you know 00:29:28.779 --> 00:29:32.160 at the at the haven we've got a flock of flamingos 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:35.539 coming in that it's a unique experience that 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:38.539 it's Basically, we're going to build a flamingo 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:41.799 exhibit next to the pool area and do like a tropical 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.720 Caribbean type feel where basically you can lay 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:46.779 by the pool, lay out in the sun, enjoy the pool 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:48.519 with your kids, but look to your right or left 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:51.539 and you see flamingos just hanging out. And then 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:54.599 we're going to do encounters with the flamingos 00:29:54.599 --> 00:29:56.160 where you get to go and interact with them and 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:58.440 feed them. We're going to do Caribbean style 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:01.640 Airbnbs where you can stay looking in on the 00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:06.319 flamingo exhibit. And so that's one of the big 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.200 things coming up, our African tents opening, 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:10.539 wolf Airbnb's where you get to stay with a pack 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:13.059 of wolves outside your bedroom and lit windows, 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:19.480 the spa, and then basically. a lot more. It'll 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:22.000 never stop. I've got a lot of land. If we do 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.420 a campground, if we do, you know, we're looking 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:29.000 at doing a miniature golf course, basically coffee 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:33.319 shop, ice cream shop, different things. So it 00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:37.779 never stops. It depends on what I think of and 00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:41.380 come up with. your to -do list is gonna be changed. 00:30:41.380 --> 00:30:43.839 Yeah, it just keeps expanding. You check one 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:46.640 thing off, you add four things. I have one last 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:48.079 question. I mean, I feel like you've answered 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:50.740 it in that everything you just named, but, you 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:52.640 know, just walking in, you get a sense that this 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:55.380 place is different than most of the zoos or animal 00:30:55.380 --> 00:30:58.119 parks that I've been to. Not just it being clean, 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:00.319 but a lot of the things you're talking about. 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:02.200 But maybe you can give a little more detail. 00:31:02.380 --> 00:31:06.349 What sets you apart from the average zoo? Maybe 00:31:06.349 --> 00:31:10.690 in the area, but maybe even anywhere. What separates 00:31:10.690 --> 00:31:16.730 you guys? I would say that, you know, it's there's 00:31:16.730 --> 00:31:21.109 more of a passion. It's more of like a family 00:31:21.109 --> 00:31:25.670 run facility and these animals. aren't just animals 00:31:25.670 --> 00:31:28.750 to us or exhibits to us. They're like family 00:31:28.750 --> 00:31:33.109 to us. We recently, and my boys helped me, we 00:31:33.109 --> 00:31:35.630 raised raccoons and up until recently, it's crazy. 00:31:35.809 --> 00:31:37.849 I get tigers, lions, anything. I couldn't get 00:31:37.849 --> 00:31:39.650 raccoons. Like you couldn't get them. You couldn't 00:31:39.650 --> 00:31:41.829 get them on your permit. They changed it. And 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:45.190 raccoons are where it all started. Yeah, on the 00:31:45.190 --> 00:31:47.029 farm with me raising raccoons that my parents 00:31:47.029 --> 00:31:48.450 brought in. We bottle raised them in the house. 00:31:48.890 --> 00:31:51.210 We never like kept them in enclosure or anything 00:31:51.210 --> 00:31:52.890 and they would just take off in the fall and 00:31:52.890 --> 00:31:56.619 go back down. the wild. So like it's you know 00:31:56.619 --> 00:31:59.400 and they helped us help me raise the raccoons. 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:01.339 So these raccoons like they can go in with they 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:04.279 can walk around the zoo. So like the animals 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:07.819 like their lives are more than just exhibits 00:32:07.819 --> 00:32:10.319 to us like we truly care and I feel like my staff 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:14.700 truly cares about them. And you know I have people 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:17.240 that have been with me a long time and helped 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:19.579 out and when it started it was a lot of just 00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:22.309 family and friends helping out. and you know 00:32:22.309 --> 00:32:25.029 they have I've got a guy that helps feed out 00:32:25.029 --> 00:32:27.710 meat and stuff and he'll walk up to an enclosure 00:32:27.710 --> 00:32:29.390 and the cats come right over to him because they 00:32:29.390 --> 00:32:33.390 know him and uh yeah so it's there's a lot a 00:32:33.390 --> 00:32:36.910 lot to it um and then you know the safari is 00:32:36.910 --> 00:32:39.890 a whole nother place for you you know you drive 00:32:39.890 --> 00:32:41.250 through with the animals and the safari is an 00:32:41.250 --> 00:32:43.349 interesting story because it was covid we were 00:32:43.349 --> 00:32:46.130 looking at possibly being shut down for a year 00:32:46.130 --> 00:32:48.609 or so and I'm like not being able to sleep, thinking 00:32:48.609 --> 00:32:50.529 of different things to save my business. I mean, 00:32:50.589 --> 00:32:53.049 you got 500 animals to feed. It's not cheap. 00:32:53.109 --> 00:32:55.890 And if you have no income. So like 11 o 'clock 00:32:55.890 --> 00:32:58.589 at night, I like had an idea. I own this property 00:32:58.589 --> 00:33:00.150 next door. I was like, you know, I can fence 00:33:00.150 --> 00:33:02.170 it and I put roads and you have people stay in 00:33:02.170 --> 00:33:04.029 their cars. It's safe for them and we can make 00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:07.509 money. I messaged my buddy that does excavation 00:33:07.509 --> 00:33:09.410 at like four in the morning, told him to call 00:33:09.410 --> 00:33:11.730 me up. He called me like six. And I was like. 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:14.319 I want to do this. And he was like, all right, 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:16.720 let's do it. And in 12 days, we put over a mile 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:19.099 of road and we put up fencing. I traveled all 00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:22.059 over the country, stocked with animals and opened 00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:24.160 up a safari and had bumper to bumper traffic. 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:28.460 The whole safari was full and just survived only 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:30.420 to be sued by the town to get to shut me down 00:33:30.420 --> 00:33:31.799 because I didn't go through the proper channels 00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:33.460 because everything was shut down. I couldn't. 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:36.950 But we end up winning. and we're good now we 00:33:36.950 --> 00:33:39.809 have the safari so it's you know it's a it's 00:33:39.809 --> 00:33:41.809 always a fight but it's a fight that we're always 00:33:41.809 --> 00:33:45.549 up for. You go to zoos and animal parks right 00:33:45.549 --> 00:33:48.250 and you you take it all in and you enjoy it but 00:33:48.250 --> 00:33:50.710 you don't really know You never meet who's behind 00:33:50.710 --> 00:33:53.029 it. I'm genuine when I say, I mean, you are such 00:33:53.029 --> 00:33:55.410 an impressive person as an entrepreneur, but 00:33:55.410 --> 00:33:58.569 you really can hear and see how much you love 00:33:58.569 --> 00:34:01.150 these animals and your passion. We really appreciate 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:03.430 you. No, I appreciate it. And I mean, I think 00:34:03.430 --> 00:34:06.490 that the whole private sector, like through the 00:34:06.490 --> 00:34:10.340 years, like I. I'm nobody special but I was like 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:12.960 a nobody in the industry and just I got going, 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:15.579 I got meeting people and there's just so many 00:34:15.579 --> 00:34:17.940 great people in the private sector industry that 00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:19.960 have similar goals, similar passions. Some of 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:22.679 my best friends I see twice a year and they own 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:26.400 zoos in Minnesota or North Carolina. just all 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:29.480 over the country and they share the passion and 00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:32.059 and they do a great job you know and it's pretty 00:34:32.059 --> 00:34:35.480 cool to to get to a point where you know we can 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:37.699 get these animals from other zoos that they entrust 00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:40.280 us with them and we send them to quality zoos 00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:42.920 that we trust and It's just come a long ways. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:45.780 That's awesome. The last thing I'll ask is just 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.320 kind of give us the basic details. Where can 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:49.980 people find out the information and then what 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:53.239 is your seasonal schedule? So basically the zoo 00:34:53.239 --> 00:34:56.599 itself, our regular season is April through October. 00:34:57.579 --> 00:34:59.719 You can find all our information on thewildpark 00:34:59.719 --> 00:35:04.710 .com. The Haven is thehavenofthewild .com. But 00:35:04.710 --> 00:35:06.809 we come up with different ideas, different things. 00:35:07.090 --> 00:35:09.969 October, we open up for flashlights for Halloween 00:35:09.969 --> 00:35:11.550 nights. We've done it from the beginning. We 00:35:11.550 --> 00:35:13.610 decorate with Halloween. We have animatronics. 00:35:14.050 --> 00:35:16.090 And you can come and see the animals at night 00:35:16.090 --> 00:35:17.510 on Fridays and Saturdays. And a lot of these 00:35:17.510 --> 00:35:19.650 animals are more active at night. And it's all 00:35:19.650 --> 00:35:23.590 lit up, food, everything. And we have campfire 00:35:23.590 --> 00:35:26.309 out there. It's a fun experience. We go through 00:35:26.309 --> 00:35:30.250 the end of October. We then close for about two 00:35:30.250 --> 00:35:33.389 or three weeks. put animals away that can't handle 00:35:33.389 --> 00:35:36.090 the cold and then deck the entire zoo out with 00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:38.130 Christmas lights. Then we're open I think Thursday 00:35:38.130 --> 00:35:41.010 through Sunday. That's on our website. For Christmas 00:35:41.010 --> 00:35:42.650 lights we have Santa here where you can get your 00:35:42.650 --> 00:35:44.789 picture taken with Santa, baby kangaroo, bounce 00:35:44.789 --> 00:35:48.349 houses are open, gift shop, we have animatronics 00:35:48.349 --> 00:35:52.110 singing reindeer. It's really really pretty extravagant 00:35:52.110 --> 00:35:55.789 and so they can do that. The haven, the big cat 00:35:55.789 --> 00:35:58.590 bungalows are open year -round. We'll have more 00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:00.289 lodging there that's open year -round. There's 00:36:00.289 --> 00:36:02.159 just a lot. Our animal encounters are year -round. 00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:05.360 You can find all that on our website. But yeah. 00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:07.219 So cool. Yeah, there's a lot to it. What is the 00:36:07.219 --> 00:36:10.860 website? Thewildpark .com. That's awesome. I'll 00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:12.519 be back with my kids, and you have my word on 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:14.760 that. Oh, no, perfect. Listen, I've been here 00:36:14.760 --> 00:36:17.480 with my kids, and they absolutely love it. But 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:18.840 it's been a little while, and there's a lot more 00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:21.059 to see. So I'm excited to get them back here. 00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:23.840 This has been awesome. Thank you so much for 00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:25.099 taking the time with us. Yeah, I appreciate you 00:36:25.099 --> 00:36:28.139 guys coming out. I like talking about it and 00:36:28.139 --> 00:36:30.909 giving people more of an in -depth. insight into 00:36:30.909 --> 00:36:33.280 it because A lot of people have contributed to 00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:35.440 it and like people don't necessarily see that 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:38.280 just walking in and I'm just fortunate and you 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.300 guys are nothing better than working with my 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:44.440 kids, my dad, my mom. It's just and it all started 00:36:44.440 --> 00:36:47.380 with a couple of goats and you know, just reinvested 00:36:47.380 --> 00:36:49.579 and a couple of goats and got into the point 00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:51.079 where we're at and we're not looking back. We're 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:53.039 just going to keep pushing forward. You're going 00:36:53.039 --> 00:36:54.880 to make a lot of aspiring young entrepreneurs 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:56.980 run out and grab a goat right now. Yeah, yeah. 00:36:56.980 --> 00:36:59.340 Don't do that. Just stay outside a hundred mile 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:01.500 radius of me or something like that. You know, 00:37:01.699 --> 00:37:04.199 no, but that's the thing. And like kids, you 00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:07.300 know, they need to realize like if you work hard, 00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:11.079 you can can have your dreams come true. I mean, 00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:14.199 this is a different dream. But like I just work 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:16.159 and work and work. And I've been lucky that a 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:18.840 crazy idea took off. And I'm lucky to be surrounded 00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:21.480 by the people I'm surrounded by. And, you know, 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:24.559 just just work hard and you can you can do things. 00:37:24.780 --> 00:37:27.940 You guys are so inspiring and. You know, you're 00:37:27.940 --> 00:37:29.880 such great people. Oh, I appreciate it comes 00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:32.059 out in the way that you speak about your family 00:37:32.059 --> 00:37:35.079 in this place. So I'm wildly impressed. No pun 00:37:35.079 --> 00:37:37.760 intended. I see what you did there. Yeah. Yeah. 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:40.280 Perfect. Well, thank you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate 00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:40.619 it.