While the Valley Zoo in Edmonton may not be as flashy as some of its counterparts, it has a certain charm. In my first visit in years, I was instantly transported back as I remembered Humpty Dumpty, the whale, and the boat from my family visits as a child. Despite that lingering nostalgia, the Valley Zoo’s “Master Plan” looks at revamping the facility to be a better zoo in the future.

“We are working on a facility that will be more in tune with our climate: the cold weather zoo with the warm heart,” explained team leader Wade Krasnow. “We are starting with the Polar Extremes exhibit, and the first part of that will house the harbour seals and South American sea lions for now. We will keep them until they pass away and then will look at getting some more northern animals like northern fur seals. It is hard to get pinnipeds. By the time this is built and the seals and sea lions pass away we will probably have found some. Our oldest Sea Lion is 29 years old, which is very old considering the average lifespan is 18 to 20. We are doing something very well here.”

“That is the first phase and then we are looking into more terrestrial animals. The full collection for Polar Extremes has not been set yet. We have some of the animals now - our arctic wolves and foxes. The master plan will be precincts - the animals will be related to the precinct. We will have a tropical animal area for example. We are not getting rid of any of the animals we have here. We will also have a wonderful children’s section, which will be a complete discovery for families and children…it is a wonderful idea.”

Those who have their own memories and don’t want to see change, meet the idea with some resistance at times. They are working to balance the past with the future, Krasnow says.

”It is hard when you are making changes to the zoo. We are 50 years old and a lot of people grew up with the old zoo, what we used to be with the train and the merry-go-round. When we are looking at replacing it, modernizing, getting better and creating new memories for the generations coming up, they have a nostalgic approach of why can’t you keep the train? It is hard to keep these things when they are 50 years old and we can’t get parts for them - they are antiques. We like to move forward. We still offer a train ride but it is a different type of train. As people see parts of it developing it is going to create excitement for when they see some of the final products.”

Though there has been much talk about the planned changes, little has been actually started yet. Krasnow hopes that as things start happening, it will generate a great deal of excitement, to help them move towards raising money for conservation and species survival plans.

“In the future we are going to have a zoo that appeals to the family but also adults like us, who grew up going to the zoo and appreciate animals and what the zoo has to offer.”

Krasnow, an openly gay keeper at the zoo, has seen a lot over his 22 years.

“This has been my entire career. I started volunteering here when I was in University. I thought it would be cool to do something and volunteered as a guide, got a job with the traveling zoo and worked my way up to where I am today. I am the team leader so I am responsible for animal care. I supervise all of the keepers and animal care staff. I think it is because the job draws a lot of people with compassion for animals, and a gentler type of guy. It does seem like at a lot of conferences I have been at for zoos you do meet a lot of gay keepers.”

Krasnow took members of the GayCalgary and Edmonton staff on an extensive behind the scenes tour of the zoo recently. If a lemur has never leaped upon you, I can attest that it is a pretty cool experience. While the ring-tailed lemurs were a bit more reserved, simply licking crushed banana off our fingers after taking pieces from us, the red-fronted lemurs in the next enclosure wasted no time in leaping onto our shoulders as well as walls and fences of the Makira Outpost in their eagerness to get a treat. After a visit with the zoo’s adorable 1-year-old red panda cub, we were off to meet the seals and sea lions; we were privileged to watch Laura, one of their keepers, do a training session with them. These sessions are important both to keep these intelligent animals stimulated as well as train them for things like medical exams and drawing blood, activities that once required anesthesia to be done. These incredible experiences were just a sample of some of the programs the zoo offers, Krasnow told us.

“We have a lot of programs here. We do a lot of school tours, day cares, and birthday programs as well. We have sleepovers for groups, and adult programs which are offered in the evening. There are no other people here so you get a better experience with the animals. We have photography programs, and private tours. We can concentrate on the specific animals that you want to see and are open to all kinds of suggestions for programs.”

Another highlight was meeting the zoo’s gentle giant Lucy, the Asian elephant. She was out for a walk with her keepers, a regular activity, and it was amazing to be able to stand next to her and realize how massive she is. It is very obvious that the zoo staff care for her, but the zoo has come under fire by animal rights activists for keeping her. A sanctuary in Tennessee has offered to take her and integrate her with other elephants, an offer the Edmonton zoo has politely refused.

“We are looking after Lucy, we take very good care of her. We spend a lot of time with her and adjusted the schedule so that people start at 6am and the last keeper leaves at 11pm. Throughout that period of time we spend a lot of time with her. The main elephant keepers are on from 7am to 6pm and spend all of their time with her. There are times when they have to leave to do other work on the shift, but [Lucy] is very well looked after. We have a very good vet who makes sure all of her health is taken care of. I have worked with her for 18 years and she is very well adjusted and a very happy elephant. When you go down there and she comes over and gives you a hug, that makes you think she is happy.”

Some have criticized that the zoo doesn’t want to lose its “meal ticket” in the elephant, but Krasnow pointed out a situation that contradicts this, where the zoo put another elephant’s needs above their own desires.

”We moved our African Elephant Samantha who had been here for many years. It was a hard decision for us and hard to say goodbye but we knew it was the best for her to go to a facility where she could go to a herd and possibly breed. For the best of the animal we had to give away a piece of our heart.”

Krasnow went on to explain how bad rumors about the zoo can get out of hand, and what you can do to help the truth win out.

“If you hear negative words against us, take the time to get informed about what is really going on. We see a lot of people who hear something that isn’t true, believe it, and go from there. If there is ever a question, someone can just call us up. We are open to answering questions. Once you have that knowledge you can say no, this is what I found out.”

Having visited the zoo firsthand it is evident that the staff is very capable and loving. The zoo itself does need work, and will be the first to admit that. The master plan, which can be viewed on their website, shows a great deal of promise. The best thing you can do to help is to find out for yourself.

“The first way [of helping] is to support by donating to the society and the conservation fund through the zoo. We have a volunteer program as well. You can work with a keeper and work with the animals. It is not play, it is work but they get their rewards like feeding the animals. A lot of people think it is easy work being a zookeeper but it is not.”