BRAINERD -- This week in our "Behind the Scenes" series, we spend the day with many furry and feathered friends at Safari North Wildlife Park.

The park has something for everyone from squirrels to giraffes.

Kevin Vogel has always wanted to own his own zoo and looked all over to find the right

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location.

"When we were looking for a place to build, I looked all over the state and did a lot of traffic count numbers and Brainerd just fit," says Vogel.

Safari North Wildlife Park opened last month and Vogel says each day starts bright and early.

"We start every morning at 7:00 a.m. making sure every pen has fresh water, clean all the pens, pick up the droppings and once that's done we start with the chores and feeding the animals," says Vogel.

Each animal is taken care of differently and when it comes to feeding, Vogel says they use extra precaution.

"We always use two people when feeding as a safety precaution," says Vogel.

You will be able to see over 60 species of animals at the 43 acre park. All from different continents.

"We have it broken down by continents. We start out in North America, we go into Africa, then a little petting zoo, we have African Grasslands, Australia, Asia and end up in South America," says Vogel.

Vogel says he spent a lot of time traveling to other zoo's to help design his own layout.

"I did a lot of consulting with other parks and zoos as well as hire a firm out of Florida to come up and help us design and lay it out," says Vogel.

Vogel says the zoo has been in the works for many years and he hopes it brings as much enjoyment to others as it has to him.

 

Lemur's are just one of 60 different species waiting for you to see. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
Lemur's are just one of 60 different species waiting for you to see. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
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This week in our “Behind the Scenes” series, we see what happens to your aluminum cans, metals, and irons when they are dropped off at a salvage yard.Read More: Behind the Scenes: Opatz Metals | http://wjon.com/behind-the-scenes-your-trash-becomes-treasures-for-opatz-metals-and-steel-video/?trackback=tsmclip

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