Safari Niagara (formerly known as Zooz) is a tribute to Stephen J. Tykolis. 'His philosophy in life, according to his children was “everything is achievable if you worked hard enough”. In retirement Mr. Tykolis didn’t go fishing, he honed his love for animals. He started a private hobby farm for his personal enjoyment. Soon he discovered that family and friends shared his love and curiosity of animals.

Mr. Tykolis passed away in December of 1992 at the age of 72, however his legacy lives on through his children in the form of Safari Niagara. In memory of their father, his children, Terry, Tim and Marianne, developed his hobby farm into a small petting zoo and eventually the full-scale animal adventure known today as Safari Niagara. The park is dedicated to his passion for sharing the wonders of wildlife while providing a learning and fun experience for all ages and abilities.'

It's a wonderful zoo with a wide variety of animals. And if you get tired, you can hop on the tram for a while and ride around the many paths for a different look at the animals. Here are a few pictures and as you will see, I had a bit of difficulty with some of the cage bars.

The first thing we saw were swans. This one guarded her nest carefully.
 

On to the bird exhibit we went - owls glared at us.
 

A turkey vulture was very interested.
 

There was a petting area nearby with some lovely rabbits and goats.
 

'Hey lady! Is it Christmas yet?'
 

There were many cute monkeys but it was hard to photograph them.
As well as the problem with the bars, the monkeys were too fast for me.
 

'Would you like to take me home?'
 

These two cuties were having a snooze in the shade.
 

A tiger lazily eyed us as we strolled past his cage.
 

Next was a colorful display of tropical birds.
 

Pi the Puppet made a new friend, thanks to Brian.
 

The Lion King slept the morning away, up high on his perch.