Safari Niagara opens with Mother’s Day deal, new conservation talks

Safari Niagara opened its 2026 season Saturday in Stevensville with $9 admission for moms on Mother’s Day weekend and two new keeper talks focused on conservation.

The Stevensville zoo launched its season on May 9 with the discounted admission running until May 10. Ian Shulman, guest experience manager at Safari Niagara, told Fort Erie Radio the park expected its largest crowds of the weekend on Mother’s Day itself.

The two new talks centre on Andean condors and on macaws and parrots, both tied to the park’s expanding focus on wildlife education and the pressures facing animals in the wild.

The condor talk draws on one of the more dramatic recoveries in zoo history. The American condor was brought back from the edge of extinction largely through captive breeding programs, with the San Diego Zoo playing a central role.

“Zoos exist for a reason,” said Shulman. “We have Andean condors, but they are at risk, certainly one of the high at-risk species in the world.”

The macaw and parrot talk introduces visitors to Nolan, a macaw who spent 20 years as a pet in Halifax before arriving at Safari Niagara. He had no experience living among other birds and required about a year of rehabilitation before staff could reintegrate him into the park’s collection.

“He had never interacted with another bird, never eaten as a bird, never treated as a bird–he was basically treated as a pet,” said Shulman.

Shulman said habitat loss drives most wildlife decline, and the park uses its programming to connect that pressure to everyday choices visitors make at home.

“The number one reason that animals are endangered in the wild is because of habitat loss,” he said.

A wet spring kept the giraffes off exhibit on opening day. Their paddock was too saturated for use, though Shulman said the park works around seasonal conditions as a matter of routine.

Safari Niagara’s 2026 season runs until October 11.

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