The Maine Wildlife Park in Gray is an amazing place. Operated by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, they have dozens of wild animals, including moose, deer, and bears, along with fishers, bobcats, owls, and turtles, and lots more.

I like the fact that these animals are not just in cages but are in habitats like they would live in in the wild. The deer, moose, and bears enjoy large areas in which to roam.

Last Saturday, our son Josh, his wife Kelly, and are two little granddaughters, Esme, age 2, and Ada, age 5, drove from their home in Massachusetts up to Gray where we met them to escort the girls around the Wildlife Park, to celebrate Father’s Day.

Ada insisted on seeing every single animal, so we spent 2 ½ hours there. There are wonderful trails taking you through all the habitats to see all the wild animals. We had seen everything but the turtles and were really eager to have lunch, but Ada refused to leave until she’d seen the “turtles and the fish.”

I, of course, enjoyed every single animal too, including the gorgeous peacock. And we were within a few feet of moose, deer, and bears.

It’s possible to purchase a little feed for the animals and to toss it to them. A small pond was full of ducks and geese and Ada made a good toss of the feed into the pond at which point the geese attacked and chased off the ducks and hogged all the feed.

The park has handicapped assessable bathrooms and lots of picnic tables where you can enjoy your meal or even host a party, and the entrance fees a very reasonable.

On the Saturday that we were there the park was full of little kids, every one of which was smiling and having a great time. But you don’t even have to be a little kid to enjoy the park, and I encourage you to visit sometime soon.

You can learn more about the park at their website:

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife-park/index.html