Bear Creek Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary

11/01/2026

🎃🦁 ZOLA HAS A LITTLE REQUEST!

Halloween is over, and our beautiful lioness Zola would like to remind everyone that your pumpkins can have a second purpose now that the festivities are over.

We will be happily accepting donations of UNCARVED pumpkins after Halloween!

Pumpkins make wonderful seasonal enrichment for many of our animals, providing opportunities to explore, play and investigate something a little different!

A little favour to keep our animals safe: We kindly ask that donated pumpkins be uncarved, whole and in good condition. Once pumpkins are carved, they begin to deteriorate and can develop mould rather quickly, making them unsuitable for our animals.

So, if you’ve decorated your porch with beautiful whole pumpkins and aren’t sure what to do with them after Halloween, we’d love to give them a new purpose!

📍 Drop-off location:
Bear Creek Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary
8633 10th Line, Barrie, Ontario

From Zola, who is not impressed with her empty pumpkin box donated by Justin & Stacey's No Frills in Angus, and all her furry and feathered friends, thank you for thinking of our animals! 🧡🐾

Your leftover pumpkins can become someone else’s favourite enrichment! 🎃🍁

10/16/2026

🐻A Sweet Treat for Baloo & Edna! 🐻

Our two resident black bears, Baloo and Edna, would like to send a great big BEAR HUG and THANK YOU to Lynne for bringing them a delicious banana cake!

As you can see, these two certainly enjoyed every bite!

Now, before anyone worries about bears eating cake, here’s a little bear fact!
Black bears are omnivores, meaning they naturally eat a wide variety of foods, including fruits, berries, nuts, plants, insects, and animal protein. Their digestive systems are adapted to a very diverse diet.

Of course, banana cake is not part of Baloo and Edna’s regular diet! Their daily meals are carefully planned to meet their nutritional needs. But just like us, an occasional special treat, offered in moderation, can be a little extra enjoyment in their day!

At Bear Creek, we believe that providing our animals with a good quality of life includes not only proper nutrition and care, but also opportunities for enrichment and those occasional special moments.

Thank you again, Lynne, for thinking of our beautiful bears and making their day a little sweeter! 🐻

10/10/2026

🍁🦃 Happy Thanksgiving Weekend from all of us at Bear Creek Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary! 🦃🍁

As we head out to enjoy this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend, surrounded by the breathtaking colours of autumn, we’d like to share a little reminder.

While you’re admiring the beauty of fall, please remember to watch out for wildlife along our roads.

This time of year, many animals are busy preparing for the colder months ahead. Deer are becoming more active, squirrels and chipmunks are gathering food, and countless other creatures are on the move.

🦌 Please slow down, stay alert, and keep an extra eye out, especially at dawn and dusk when wildlife is most active.

Remember, they don’t understand the dangers of our roads. It’s up to us to help keep them safe.

From Boo, our curious ring-tailed lemur, Rufus, our handsome turkey vulture, and all the wonderful animals here at Bear Creek, we wish you and your families a happy, peaceful, and safe Thanksgiving weekend!

🍁 Be thankful for nature, respect our wildlife, and remember that every life matters. 🍁

10/08/2026

10/06/2026

Hi everyone, Ollie here!

Just checking in from my very busy life here at the sanctuary. Apparently, being this adorable is exhausting, so naturally I require a weekly massage.

This week, Roxann is on duty—and I must say, she’s doing a pretty good job! A little to the left, Roxann… yep, right there! 🤣

Some may call it massage therapy. I prefer to call it the treatment I deserve after such a chilly night!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some serious relaxing to get back to.

❤️ Ollie Groundhog

09/27/2026

TEAM POLAR CAME TO WORK! 💪

This weekend, Mike rounded up a few of his work colleagues, officially dubbed them “Team Polar,” and brought them all the way from the Bay Street area of downtown Toronto for a very different kind of workday! 😄

With some exciting new builds ahead, we first needed to say goodbye to a few of our older enclosures and clear the space for what’s to come. Team Polar rolled up their sleeves, got to work, and WOW, did they ever accomplish a lot in one day!

They worked incredibly hard, but thankfully there were a few furry and feathered supervisors keeping a close eye on their progress. Many of our animals seemed quite entertained having all the extra activity and new faces around!

After a long day of tearing down, hauling, cleaning and clearing, Team Polar still had the long trip back to Toronto ahead of them.

A huge THANK YOU to Team Polar - in order in photo - Oleh, Mike, Conrad, Percy, and Mia for giving up your time, your muscles and your weekend to help us prepare for the next chapter here at the sanctuary. ❤️

And a very special thank you to Mike for organizing the crew and making the day happen!

We think Team Polar definitely earned their name… and maybe a good night’s sleep too! 💤. Conrad is pretty sure Zola our lioness, is able to reach him somehow, so he keeps an eye on her instead. 😂

09/25/2026

Back in the middle of August, three young foxes from the Collingwood community came into our care suffering from sarcoptic mange. Today, after weeks of treatment, healing and dedicated care, all three were released back home, healthy, strong and free once again.
This year has been especially challenging for foxes, and these three are a wonderful example of what can happen when people work together for wildlife.

A very special thank you to the SSimcoe County Emergency Animal Responseteam, who dedicated countless hours to safely capturing these foxes and getting them to us for the treatment they desperately needed.

Once in our care, many more hours went into their recovery — medications, good nutrition, constant cleaning and fresh bedding as their skin healed and their beautiful coats began to return.
Before release, they spent some time in our outdoor pre-release enclosure, allowing them to readjust to the sights, sounds and weather of the outdoors while preparing for their return to the wild.

Today, the same dedicated team that helped bring them to us had the privilege of taking them home and setting them free.

We are incredibly proud of everyone involved, including all who donated towards their care. Wildlife rehabilitation truly is a team effort, and moments like this make all those long hours worthwhile.

From intake to release… this is what a second chance looks like.

Run free, little ones. May your future be wild, healthy and free.
“Finally, I have time to cut the grass.”😁

09/15/2026

🦨 From tiny orphans to wild and free…

Skunks may not be everyone’s favourite backyard visitor, but these little animals are actually pretty amazing — and incredibly beneficial to our environment!

Skunks are nature’s little pest-control experts. They eat insects, grubs, mice and other small rodents, helping to keep populations naturally under control.

Sadly, many of the orphaned skunks that come into our care are here because their mother has been trapped and relocated. What many people don’t realize is that somewhere nearby, there may be babies completely dependent on her for survival. Without their mom, these tiny orphans can quickly become dehydrated, weak and, sadly, many will not survive.

These are some of the lucky ones. ❤️

From tiny, vulnerable babies needing around-the-clock care… to growing, learning, exploring and becoming the feisty little skunks they were meant to be — every step has been leading to this moment.

Release day. 🥹🦨

Watching them disappear into the wild is always bittersweet, but this is exactly where they belong.

So the next time you see a skunk wandering through your yard, perhaps give that little black-and-white visitor a little more appreciation. They have an important job to do.

Rehabilitated. Released. Wild and free.
That’s what a second chance is all about.

08/30/2026

🦊 FOX UPDATE — WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

There are few things more rewarding in wildlife rehabilitation than looking back at the day an animal arrived and seeing just how far they have come.

From the day these foxes came into our care to today, the transformation has been incredible. They are steadily gaining weight, the layers of dead and damaged skin are falling away, and perhaps most exciting of all, we are beginning to see their beautiful fur growing back. Each small change is another step toward recovery.

We also want to extend a very special thank you to Simcoe County Emergency Animal Response (S.C.E.A.R.) and their entire team for the many long hours, patience and dedication that went into safely capturing these foxes. Capturing compromised wildlife is not always an easy task, and their persistence gave these little souls the opportunity to receive the treatment and care they desperately needed.

Their journey isn’t over just yet. They still have a few more weeks with us to continue gaining weight, rebuilding their strength and giving those new coats a chance to fill in.

But when we compare intake day to today, we can’t help but smile, or cry.

This is why we do what we do.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared our posts, provided supplies Stuff and supported their recovery. You are part of their journey too! 🥰