Central Okanagan

 

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

Caroline MacPherson feeds a kangaroo.

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

Nia Warfield holds a baby kangaroo.

Photo: Amy Jackson-Shelling

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There were no turkeys this Thanksgiving Day on the farm, just kangaroos.

Located in Winfield, just of Hwy 97, is the newly opened-to-the public Kangaroo Creek Farms.

The farm is home to 13 kangaroos, an assortment of parrots, pigs, emus, and goats. The farm opened its doors to the public this spring and will remain open through to October 31.

“We’ve been very surprised in a good way at how many people are interested in what we have going on here,” said owner Caroline MacPherson.

“We’ve had exotic animals here for over twenty years. The first kangaroos came here in 1989. And they came here as a type of rescue. They came out of New Zealand back when New Zealand started its eradication of non-native species program. If we didn’t remove them, they would’ve eventually been destroyed,” says MacPherson.

“They were brought here with the cooperation of Agriculture Canada. They weren’t supposed to stay here; they were only supposed to quarantine here. But the person who organized their removal from New Zealand never came to pick them up.”

Unfortunately, four years ago disaster struck the farm’s population when a rouge lynx came through one night and killed most of the animals.

“We thought very hard whether or not to replace them because we were worried it would happen again, but Fish and Wildlife told us it would be very unlikely (it would happen again). We went ahead and replaced most of the animals from North American breeders, and now we have a combination of two species, a type of greater kangaroo called a Wallaroo, which is not a cross, it’s just a name, and a smaller species of kangaroo called a Wallaby; we have four of those including an albino one called Irwin.”

The farm has been a local sensation, sometimes drawing 500 people in one day during the summer. Children and adults alike are given the opportunity to hold the baby kangaroos. While parking is limited at the moment, there are plans to increase parking in the near future.

Admission to the farm is by donation. Kangaroo Creek Farms recommends $5 per person as a guideline. For more information visit the website http://www.kangaroocreekfarm.com/.