Animal Ark open for the season

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Animal Ark Wildlife Sanctuary is officially welcoming guests back after a whirlwind of a year. However, COVID-19 wasn’t all bad news for the local non-profit organization.

While many businesses struggled in 2020, Animal Ark was thriving.

“Being one of the only places in reno that people could come out and visit, we actually had a very good year last year.”

COVID did shorten the nonprofit’s last opening season, but Area Supervisor Theresa Owens says the largest impact has been the lack of school groups attending the park.

“That’s a big part of our budget that wasn’t met last year, that’s not being met this year, more than likely,” Owens said, “Hopefully 2022 we’ll start to have our school groups coming back.”

As Animal Ark continues to adapt, your next trip will not only include learning about the animals but also staying safe.

Owens added, “We made the park one way so that guests weren’t going against each other, We’ve kept our six-foot distancing and groups of 10. We’re doing a lot more sanitizing in our gift shop and our bathrooms.”

Its hope for the future includes more growth and community involvement.

“Continually fixing things, improving things, adding programs, building new enclosures,” Owens said, “Continuing to provide animals with a safe, happy place to live and educate people.”

As the virus remains a threat and businesses still work to bounce back, they hope you’ll consider this slice of nature and joy for your next outing.

Along with visits, donations are a huge reason the nonprofit is able to stay open. If you’d like to give to Animal Ark, click here.

“Their support, in general, has been so important to animal ark throughout our years, our history.”

Animal Ark is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from now until November.

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