Family devotes life to zoo
Sixteen years ago, two bear cubs featured in a Jeep Wagoneer commercial were brought from a warehouse in Detroit to their new home in Fayette County. The black bears, Cindy and Boo Boo, were among the first animals acquired by Darwin “Sonny” and Jill Herring, who at the time were involved with the state Game Commission in developing food cover crops for whitetail deer.
Throughout the years, the bears got more and more furry neighbors as wild animals in need of a safe haven arrived at the Herring’s.
“We weren’t a zoo, just the Herrings who had animals. But we put up perimeter fences and the next thing we knew we had a zoo,” Sonny Herring said. Today, Cindy and Boo Boo are still there, surrounded by neighbors that include bobcats, reindeer and buffalo.
Seven years ago, the Herrings opened The Woodland Zoo to the public. The five-acre facility, located along Gibbon Glade Road in Wharton Township, features more than 100 animals and has a primary focus of North American animals.
“The African stuff is redundant,” Herring said. In addition to whitetail deer, the zoo features animals such as wolves, coyotes, goats, beavers, horses, and other small animals such as skunks, rabbits and raccoons. Two dogs and three cats roam the area as well, going to and from the Herring’s house, which is located in the middle of the zoo.
“We live in a zoo, literally,” Herring said. The Herring’s two sons, ages 19 and 23, are now attending college but will likely become involved with the zoo in the future.
Herring said many people have a misconception about his operation.
“People think this is a petting zoo,” he said. “A portion of it is a petting zoo, but it’s a zoo.”
Some of the more exotic animals on display include an ostrich, a black leopard, a South American Coatimundi, cougars, an elk and a moose.
The number of visitors to the zoo has remained between 15,000 and 20,000 annually for the past five years. Herring said the location, only three miles off of Route 40 via Route 381 south and Gibbon Glade Road, is a sleepy back road that many people view as way off the beaten path.
But all that could change soon. Herring is hoping to expand the zoo by moving it to the dormant Great Meadows Amphitheater on Route 40.
The Herrings are seeking to purchase the 121 deed-restricted acres surrounding the amphitheater from Fayette County, expanding the zoo to possibly 30 acres. Unlike the prior Fayette Films LLC proposal that sought to turn the site into a movie production studio and drew objections from Fort Necessity and others, The Woodland Zoo proposal has received virtually unanimous support.
Legislation to allow the sale has the support of State Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar and State Rep. Larry Roberts, D-South Union. Herring said they are hoping to be moved by January. A short-term lease may be used in the interim. A meeting is pending between legislators, the county commissioners, Herring and Larry Williamson of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to iron out the deal. The Herrings will be paying the average of two appraised values for the property, which is about $190,500. Herring said he would like to eventually purchase the 6.1 acres that include the amphitheater as well.
Herring said initially plans were to move the zoo to an inoperative dairy farm between Farmington and Ohiopyle but that turned out not to be feasible. Using the property around the amphitheater as well as the amphitheater for animal demonstrations could turn out to be a perfect fit. Herring said moving to a main road will likely make an impact on the number of visitors to the zoo.
“We may not pull people off the road every day, but they’ll go by and know there’s a zoo here,” Herring said. He said a lack of a full-day attraction in the area should help his business as well. Visitors going to Fort Necessity can add a trip to the zoo in with their plans fairly easily, Herring said.
But while the size of the zoo may change, the Herrings said they want to keep the close relationship they have with many of their animals.
Walking through the zoo with Herring is like hearing a history of his own personal pets. Every animal has a name and a story. The male coyote, Fred, came to the zoo from Ohio. Fred could have either been destroyed or moved. Now he and the female coyote, Wilma, make their home beside Smoky and Pretty, the wolves.
During a recent visit to the menagerie, a couple of the visitors commented about how clean the zoo is. Jill Herring said they get a lot of comments on cleanliness. “It has to be clean,” she said. “We live here.”
Strolling around the grounds, Sonny Herring calmly reaches in to pet Bonnie the bobcat, while explaining that the cat came from an abusive situation and initially lived in the house until her bones hardened and healed.
Seeing Herring with the animals, it is easy to forget that they are wild. But when a photographer moved behind a mesh walkway to get a photograph of the two Cougars, their glaring stares and nervous movements remind visitors that they are indeed predators.
Every morning, the animals are fed 60 pounds of chicken and beef, 300 pounds of grain, and 300 to 400 pounds of hay. Herring said many of the animals view him as a father figure more than a zookeeper.
“Animals can’t talk but they certainly communicate. So much of dealing with animals is being highly observant,” Herring said.
Herring said when he moves the animals, he would like to do everything in one day for the animals’ sake.
“Change is stress for animals,” he said. Everything, including the homemade pens, will have to be moved. Since the zoo is active in breeding programs and the breeding season is in September and October, moving the animals by January becomes necessary, or the move will have to be postponed another year.
The zoo closes at the end of November and opens in the beginning of March. Herring said of the 100 animals, about 60 will have to be tranquilized and 40 of those will be bred females.
Since there don’t appear to be any major issues or setbacks to halt the deal, Herring said he will take advantage of a cooperative effort with owners of other privately owned zoos to move the animals.
“With animals the main thing is consistency and continuity,” he said. Herring said the move must be an orchestrated and planned event. “It takes 50 percent less drugs to subdue a calm animal,” he added.
The Herrings spent years traveling to zoos around the country. Through those visits, Herring said he has been able to provide a unique experience for visitors to his zoo.
The zoo has the only Moose in captivity east of Mississippi and south of Maine. A groundhog at the zoo was a celebrity a couple years ago when she participated in the Groundhog Day event and took a trip to New York City.
Near the cat cages, Herring proudly announces that he has a display not available anywhere else in the United States. Inside the pen are three Himalayan Tahr, which are members of the mountain goat family. Herring said there are only five in the country, and he has three. He said to hunt the animals, a hunter has to pay $20,000 to the Himalayan government for a license.
The Coatimundi, a South American raccoon, is the only animal that the Herrings must provide heat for in the winter. The animal has a heater in its box because its tail begins to freeze at 40 degrees.
While talking about the animals, it is evident that running a zoo is a way of life more than a job. Herring said they had to monitor the temperature for two years before getting the moose from Thunder Bay, Canada. Sheba, the black leopard, was a refugee from the state of New York. She is the only member of the large cat family at the zoo.
Herring said he frequently gets new animals. The newest addition is a two-month old Tibetan Yak, who is currently quarantined. The youngest of Boo Boo and Cindy’s cubs is still at the zoo, and will soon be going to a new home. Herring said they have sent animals from New York to California.
The new site will feature a gift shop, paved walkways, a playground and picnic area and will be professionally landscaped.
“It will be more of a big zoo concept at a small zoo price,” Herring said, noting he plans to hire an additional seven to 10 full-time employees. The Herrings are also considering moving to the site. Herring said the current site will likely be kept as a place to continue to quarantine new animals.
Herring said he is looking at offering some new species as well. He said they are looking at getting some penguins, explaining that of the 13 different species only two live in the arctic.
He also wants to get some primates and have displays of birds of prey, such as bald Eagles, Falcons and hawks.
“I want to have animals not readily available on display at other zoos,” he said. “It requires a larger area.”
A lifelong resident of Wharton Township, Herring said his family has lived in the area for 100 year. He grew up on a nearby dairy farm and owned a John Deere dealership for 15 years, before devoting all his time to the zoo.
“I returned to this facility cut back to one full time job instead of two,” Herring joked.
Plans for the new site are to have the capability to house 100 additional animals. Herring said they will have planned exhibits as well as space for unplanned exhibits.
But he said the most important part of the expanded zoo will be to continue giving the animals a happy home.
“I believe a zoo should be a progressive, growing place and not a downtrodden place to hold animals,” Herring said.