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TAP JED A + Te SW TS - Ar Cee A NARI en Wd TT ALR ae Mean AY "A Famlly Tradition for 128 Years" By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star Residents and visitors of Scu- gog Township can take a walk on the wild side beginning this weekend as Northwood Exotic Animal Ranch opens to the pub- lic for the first time. } Lions, tigers, bears, wolves, lynx, cougars, deer and mon- keys are just some of the ani- mals who make their home at the ranch on Cookson Lane in Seagrave. Owned by Norm Phillips, close to 70 animals, many who have made their mark in the tel- evision world, inhabit the ranch, set along the woods. Mr. Phillips, who has long been a self-professed animal | PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 17,1994 - 17 | Opening to the public May 21 mals have included a Kitchener firefighter calendar, in which the firefighters posed with the animals. Mr. Phillips is also working on a contract with Walt Disney Studios in Toronto as well as a commercial for La- batt's Wildcat beer, which would feature one of his cou- gars. Sheba, a five-month-old tiger, who is the latest addition to the cats ranch also brought recogni- tion to the ranch through both local and Toronto newspaper stories which featured the tiger, and his new-found home. The ti- ger had shown up at a Caledon farmhouse and Mr. Phillips sub- sequently adopted her, after her owner agreed to give her up. One of the residents of Northwood gets a snack from own- er Norm Phillips. The black bear is one of many of Mr. Phil- lip's animals which have appeared on television. lover, began buying exotic ani- mals six years ago. He spent four additional years building contacts with people all over the world, who deal with such ani- mals. One who always wanted to own animals such as these, he said he waited for the day he would be financially indepen- dent, allowing him to look after them. Today, he not only feeds and cares for their needs, he wrestles and has formed friend- ships with some of the "Wild Kingdom's" wildest animals, in- cluding his favorite "pet", a black jaquar named "Jake." For the past several years Mr. Phillips' animals have 'been kept mainly as pets and for breeding, but word of his ranch skyrocked into a series on televi- gion, movie and commerical spots. Sheba's story set off her own new set of interested phone calls from all around the world, he said. Although Mr. Phillips has conducted school tours over the past two years, the main idea behind his animals was not to turn it into a tourist attraction, "ROLLS available at PORT PERRY STAR OFFICE CENTRE 188 Mary St., Port Perry * 985-7383 « Fax: 985-3708 ENJOY SUN OR SHADE ON YOUR PATIO OR DECK * Custom designed in any size Perfect for todays lifestyle * Self-storing * Beautiful fabrics from European designers but said that he recently changed his mind with all the publicity. "A lot of people were talking about wanting to come and see the animals so we thought we would give it a try for a year and see what happens, "he said, But, he added, the school tours will continue because "we feel it is has great educational value for the children." As the ranch grows and the animals follow suit, Mr. Phillips continues to expand and build new homes for his animals. He is in the process of building a new lions' den, among other pro- jects. The cats are all caged, most in pairs, and mingle very well with one another, he said, adding a Northwood Exotic Animal Ranch is having a grand open- ing on Saturday. The ranch will be open seven days a week Northwood, home to many exotic animals couple of his cats are expecting kittens soon. The odd animal, including deer, goats, a turkey, a donkey and llama roam the grounds. Mr. Phillips is also excited about two new additions, who will be moving to his home shortly. Arrangements are cur- rently in the works to have two Kodiac bears, delivered to his home. Northwood will be holding its grand opening this weekend and animal lovers are invited to visit the ranch on opening day, Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Admission prices at $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children. The ranch will remain open seven days a week until Thanksgiving. through Thanksgiving for interested parties to drop in. 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