HARPURSVILLE – Animal Adventure in Harpursville has welcomed a new resident to their facility this summer, drawing thousands of visitors to look on – and look up – to all the park has to offer.
Oliver, the three-year-old giraffe, made his local debut at Animal Adventure Park in May. The 12-foot-tall, 1,200 pound animal is the only giraffe in the region, giving visitors a unique spectacle when they visit the park.
“We were excited to get him,” said park owner Jordan Patch. “This is actually a perfect transition time for a giraffe. Normally at this age, they would move on from their mom and go live the nomadic bachelor life if they were living in the wild. But having him here where our trainers and our animal behaviorists can work with him is an excellent opportunity.”
The plan to give Oliver a home at Animal Adventure was more than a year in the making. The specialized barn that houses Oliver was built to unique specifications which include 18-foot-high windows to accommodate Oliver when he’s fully grown, a yard that’s just shy of 10,000 square feet, and an elevated deck where visitors can get up close and personal with Oliver. The facility was made possible thanks in part to financial support from Blueox Energy.
Patch and the team at Animal Adventure committed to adding Oliver to the community last July. In spite of the approximate $75 daily cost of maintaining the facility and feeding Oliver his roughly 20 pounds of grains and hay, Patch said visitors to the park have made the risky investment well worth it.
“We went to a facility that had Oliver in Ohio last year, met him, and we knew that he was the right guy for us,” said Patch. “He came from a facility that was also a contact place, so he’s very human tolerant already. He’s used to kids, noises, traffic, and he has good ground manners which makes it easy for our trainers to safely work around him.”
“We haven’t had a giraffe in this community in over 50 years,” he added. “I’m shocked by how many people, grown adults included, have never seen a giraffe; so it was a neat thing to bring.”
Oliver is only one of the 200-plus animals at Animal Adventure, an interactive educational animal park located just beyond the Chenango County border. Design of the park encourages up close viewing and hands-on interaction with most of the animals which represent more than 65 species from all seven continents. The park is home to endangered species, common petting zoo animals, carnivores and rare exotics.
“We believe that through an understanding of animals, our guests will further appreciate them and become educated on them,” Patch said, adding that the park’s hands-on mantra is what separates Animal Adventure from a typical zoo.
Animal Adventure is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until it closes for the season on Oct. 26. For additional information about the park, visit their website at theanimaladventurepark.com or call 607-760-4429.