Families flocked to the Ecomuseum Zoo on Sunday to take in all of the sights and sounds.
It’s hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago, the zoo had to shut down after April’s ice storm destroyed dozens of trees and knocked out power for days.
“Almost 60 trees were down or had been cut so we really had to take care of all that and also secure all the pathways for the visitors,” said Sarah Prince-Robin, a spokesperson for the Ecomuseum Zoo.
The day after the storm, the zoo’s team managed to secure all of the animals and started to clean up.
Though it reopened for Easter weekend, many visitors had to cancel their plans.
So to make up for lost time, the ecomuseum decided to create a post-ice storm event on Sunday, offering up free chocolate for kids, and activities and raffles for all
“We haven’t been here yet, this is the first time this year, but I can imagine, we are in Hudson and we got hit very bad too,” said Danielle Cuggy. “We can imagine that it’s been well taken care of, well cleaned up and we’re looking forward to our visit today.”
As people visited the animals, there was still storm debris — many branches and trees lay on the grounds.
But many didn’t seem to notice that, as visitors young and old made sure to catch a glimpse of each of the animals and take in everything the zoo had to offer.
“We enjoyed the chocolate,” said Natalia Sarrasin, who was visiting the zoo with her two toddlers. “And they could run everywhere and it’s very safe for them too. So that’s very nice.”
The ecomuseum says it’ll take some time to clear the rest of the fallen branches and trees, but in some cases, the extra debris may stay.
The zoo says some of the animals actually prefer it this way.