Sustainable Safari manager John Olson holds a baby Binturong on his shoulder that was just recently taken out of its cage. The smaller binturong are allowed to come out and be held by employees, but the six-foot binturong must remain in his enclosure. | Photo by Rowan Shaw

An exotic excursion

More than200 rare animals find sanctuary in a Maplewood Mall business that helps teach how to keep the planet sustainable and animals safe.

By Rowan Shaw | Journalism Student

John Olson walked around to the rear of the Binturong cage, unlatched the door and bent over stretching his right arm out to the ground.

“Who’s coming out?” Manager Olson said. “Who wants to come out?”

One of the two binturongs, or “bearcats” in the cage, turned around and began to climb down from his perch. His dark fur sleek in the light, slunk down a rope and onto the ground, from where he began his ascent up the outstretched arm next to him. Guided by Olson, the baby binturong came to rest on Olson’s shoulder

This is a typical occurrence at Sustainable Safari zoo. Binturong are mostly nocturnal mammals native to Eastern Asian countries like Indonesia and Thailand. With a face like a cat and a body like a bear, these tree climbing animals can get up to six feet long and weigh 60 pounds. They resemble raccoons and though they used to be more populous, the number of global binturongs is decreasing due to hunting and agribusiness, meaning they are currently becoming endangered.

The small exotic animal zoo is tucked in a corner on the second floor of the Maplewood Mall. Easy to miss at first, the sounds of goats whinnying and the faint smell of manure make it apparent when one gets close. Sustainable Safari opened in Maplewood on the Black Friday of 2018.

“My wife and daughter and I came here shortly after that. Fell in love with the place,” Olson said.

Olson began work for Sustainable Safari about three years ago. He had experience working with animals previously as a volunteer at a facility in Lakeville.

Olson learned most everything he knows now in on-the-job training since he was hired — just like his coworkers, who were also trained at the job — not necessarily with prior experience.

“We have a very extensive training program that we put everybody through,” he said. “We get a lot of the junior[s], seniors that are looking into going into the animal field whether it’s animal sciences, zoology, vet tech, things like that, and really gets them a good feel if that’s the path they want to continue down.”

This two to six month training program prepares employees to handle and care for more than 200 animals living in the facility. The animals, though many are originally foreign, come from only within the United states and have been bred in captivity. All of the animals find their forever homes with Sustainable Safari as well, and upon arriving will stay there until they die.

Two marmosets named Luke and Leia sit on a branch in their enclosure. A pipe runs from the outside through the cage wall to allow guests to slide food through and feed them. | Photo by Rowan Shaw

“Nothing comes out of the wild, nothing ever goes back into the wild,” Olson said.

“The animals get better care than most people’s house pets.” -John Olson, Manager at Sustainable Safari

In addition to numerous enrichment activities to keep them mentally occupied, they are seen weekly by a vet technician and monthly by a primary veterinarian that administers vaccines and ensures they remain in healthy physical shape.

“The animals get better care than most people’s house pets,” Olson said.

But what’s the purpose for any of this? The answer is education. Sustainable Safari’s mission is to teach people about how to keep the planet sustainable for all animals through demonstration. When people can see the animals first hand and interact with them, they get an opportunity to witness what is in danger and internalize that many animals face hardship at the expense of humanity.

What can humans do to prevent this hardship?

“A lot of it is recycling, getting people to get into the recycle centers, cans, plastics, all the stuff that we see out in the parking lots,” Olson said. “All that stuff has an effect on all the animals in the world, you know, because everything hurts the animals out there.”

A small kangaroo eats an apple slice that was given to it by the photographer. The kangaroo enclosure has one large alpha that is about six feet tall, and numerous smaller kangaroos, including babies. Guests are able to feed them through the wired fence using plastic spoons or their hands.| Photo by Rowan Shaw

While animal endangerment may not appear to be a local problem, endangered animals exist everywhere, including Minnesota. The Canadian Lynx is native to Minnesota and Canada, with between 100–300 left in MN. Urbanization, extensive trapping and overall habitat loss have caused a decline in the population to dangerously low numbers.

Sustainable Safari hopes to raise awareness about issues akin to that of the Canadian Lynx and hopefully prevent extinction of animals.

“If you kill off all the animals, it’s not gonna be not gonna be a fun place to live,” said Olson. “It’s certainly important to keep everything sustainable or yeah, we’re all in trouble.”