Summerfield Zoo celebrates the grand opening of the Jeannie Hayes Memorial Hyena Habitat

BELVIDERE–Summerfield Zoo is excited to announce the grand opening of the Jeannie Hayes Memorial Hyena Habitat.  We would like to welcome the public to help us celebrate the grand opening on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6.

“This habitat has been a long time in the making.  We are excited to announce that Shenzee, our spotted Hyena, has a brand new habitat.  The new habitat includes a spacious indoor area and outdoor yard.

The outer yard is adorned with trees to help provide shade as they grow, and a swimming hole for the hyena.  The outdoor yard’s features were made possible by a donation from the family of Jeannie Hayes.   Jeannie was a great supporter of our zoo and the animals that live here.

Shenzee, the hyena, is the last animal from our zoo that made an appearance with Jeannie while she was at Channel 13.  Jeannie had a special way with animals that allowed even Shenzee to be comfortable with her.

Hyenas are known for being especially wary of strangers, but Jeannie’s quiet calm allowed for Shenzee to be comfortable on the set. We are proud to name our newest habitat after our friend Jeannie Hayes and hope that the public will come visit and celebrate it’s opening with us,” Director Rick Anderson said.

We will celebrate the grand opening of the Jeannie Hayes Memorial Hyena Habitat with special hyena activities for the kids, hyena sweet treats, and special animal encounter presentations.  Don’t miss out!

Hyenas are a very unique, intelligent, and exciting species that we are proud to house at the zoo.  Eventually we will obtain a mate for Shenzee to share her new home with and have a breeding program for them at the zoo.

In the meantime, Shenzee will continue to be a great ambassador for the species and will be helpful in educating the public about the species.

Summerfield Zoo is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $9 per adult, $7 per senior, and $5 per child.  All proceeds go to the care of all the animals, many of which are rescues.  Also enjoy animal presentations, pony rides, petting zoo, the baby goat bottle area, our gift shop, and snack shop while at the zoo.

Summerfield Zoo specializes in providing an up-close and personal animal experience for the whole family!  As a small zoo, visitors can get up close and meet many of our animals.

For more information about Summerfield Zoo and the exotic animals visit us on the web at www.summerfieldfarmandzoo.com or contact us at (815) 547-4852. We are located at 3088 Flora Road in Belvidere.